Relics are Sampladelic

The art of Sampling and breathing new life into work with new purpose.

In the 90’s, I got into my Igor Stravinsky era. How? Through my high school Marching Band. We did our entire halftime show to his Firebird Suite. I marched 8-to-5 with my tenor saxophone to the intense, driving tempo, weaving through classmates and drill charts along the football field.

NOTE: This is not our Championship winning set with The Firebird, but with Rimsky-Korsakov’s Russian Easter Overture.

A Russian composer who basically blew up the rulebook of classical music, Igor Stravinsky worked with the Ballets Russes delivering shock waves through Paris with The Firebird and later detonated The Rite of Spring, whose jagged rhythms and pagan fury sparked an actual riot.

Openly queer, restless, and always reinventing himself, he stayed decades ahead of his time, proving modern music could be dangerous, physical, and thrillingly new all at once and uncompromising. Who knew back in 1910 Stravinsky’s sounds would continue pushing the boundaries of creation.

65 years later, a computer technology company in Australia needed audio samples to introduce their new product:

The Fairlight CMI (Computer Music Instrument) was the first commercially available digital synthesizer with a sampling function, a technology able to digitally reproduce acoustic instruments and sample any sound in the world.

Known at Orch5 Hit, the programmers just happened to have the record on a shelf nearby and “sampled” it to build their catalog for producers to tool around with their new CMI.

Here are some modern-era songs which incorporate the Orch5 Hit: (thanks Mind Flux):

Back to The Firebird, those familiar with the entire ballet may have heard excerpts in various iterations.

The Salsoul Orchestra was formed in 1974 by vibraphonist and producer Vincent Montana Jr., emerging from Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International. Blending lush strings, driving percussion, and symphonic disco, they helped define the orchestral sound of the mid-1970s dance era. Their recordings powered the rise of Salsoul Records and influenced club culture worldwide. Montana’s “Magic Bird of Fire” showcased his signature fusion of classical grandeur and infectious disco rhythm.

Here’s one of my favorite interpretations of The Firebird from The Salsoul Orchestra, with the Ernie Flatt Dancers on the final episode of the Carol Burnett Show in 1978.

Taking a deeper dive, here are some more samples you may learn and appreciate. Innovation is retooling existing work…