EDM Global Producers, Djs & Artists
Born in London then moving to New York at age nineteen, rising DJ, Producer and Songwriter Holly T first started her career writing for other artists, which paved the way for her own recording artist career. Her first few solo releases have been very well received and now she is back with another Pop infused electronic jam entitled “Born to Be Free”. Check out the Thrive Music released single after the jump and keep a tab on Holly T!
Sample packs are the sustenance of any electronic music producer’s studio setup.
But what’s better than regular samples?
Free samples.
So, to help you out on your production journey, we compiled this massive list of free sample pack resources for you to explore. We’re constantly updating this, so feel free to send us more resources.
Let’s take a look at what’s on offer across the internet, from individual packs to entire websites. You can use these sounds in any DAW, from Ableton Live to FL Studio.
(Not all of these sources are necessarily royalty-free sounds, therefore do your own research before using these in released tracks.)
Pro-tip: don’t just download samples that fit your specific genre. Branch out, using different sounds in new ways helps to create a unique sound.
Recommended: How To Sample Music: The Complete Guide
You better believe it – we have free samples which you can pick up right here, right now.
Our biggest pack here at EDMProd, including:
Download EDM Starter Kit
We recorded a bunch (over 700) samples of analog synths and interesting sounds, from the Roland Juno-6, Roland Jupiter 8, the Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators, a Korg Microkorg and more.
Grab it for free below:
Download Analog Sample Pack
We made this dedicated pack for our Lofi Hip Hop guide, but you can get it right here for free. It includes:
Download the Sample Pack
Grab 53 foley sounds in our latest pack, including:
Download the Sample Pack
Now I know you’ve probably downloaded some of our packs already, and you’re armed, ready to get a whole bunch more.
But I want to talk for a second about the importance of not having too many samples. Because with services like Splice Sounds, this list of free samples and a whole lot more, you can get caught up in collecting packs and not making much music.
So, here’s a little process for trying out sample packs. Imagine you’re trialling a demo of a new plugin, but instead, it’s a sample pack.
Now, you can carry on with the downloading frenzy.
Recommended: The Producer’s Guide to File & Sample Organization
Possibly the first free samples I ever downloaded came from MusicRadar’s sister resource – SampleRadar. This ever-growing haven of free sounds will give you enough material to work with for a life time – curated into themed packs so you’re not wasting time sifting through irrelevant samples.
Browse the list of 68,445 samples
The makers of the sample subscription service Noiiz also have a bunch of free sounds you can grab on their website. They vary from trap, to D&B, and to tropical bass. You do have to make an account, but you don’t have to pay a subscription – just an email.
Check the sample packs out here
Known for their great tutorials and resources, BassGorilla has a whole section on their website dedicated to free samples. Some of them are their own packs, but some are just random ones they’ve found online somewhere. As with all sample packs, they can be hit or miss, but this will keep you busy for a while.
Check out their list of packs here
The e-mastering service created a sister website not long ago called wavy, but now they’ve rebranded it as LANDR Samples, and it’s dedicated to free packs only. No paid options here, just free stuff.
There is a solid range of options on the site, ranging from drum loops to dirt sounds.
All you have to do, once again, is create a LANDR account. Then you get to grab as many of the high-quality packs as you want.
Long-time friends of the EDMProd team, ModeAudio, have a great selection of sounds available when you sign up for their email list. £84 and 800MB worth of samples for free, to be exact.
This is split across 5 packs from granular FX to chill electronic loops, with a few massive presets thrown in too. Not a bad deal at all.
Recommended: Serum Presets: The Best Free/Paid Packs in Each Genre
If the site name doesn’t make it clear, this website hosts soundpacks, uploaded by users. For that reason, you can get a great variety of sounds here.
It goes without saying, but you have to be careful not to infringe copyright in this situation, as the freedom to upload also means the freedom to distribute paid packs illegally.
Apart from that, this resource is a gold mine for any sort of sound, from staples to experimental.
These guys love their free samples. Not only do you get 3.3GB of free sample and preset content when you sign up for their newsletter, but they also have a solid portion of their site dedicated to giving away free stuff packs that you normally have to join their subscription service to access.
The only catch is that these downloads are all through the Pump Your Sound fangate, meaning you have to follow them on Soundcloud. Not a big deal though.
This website has some weird and wonderful sounds (being around since 2001), some are more bread-and-butter, while others are definitely a mixed bag.
One of the cool features this site offers is the ability to download ‘random’ packs, so you don’t really know what you’re getting. This way you can get sounds you might not normally pick – great for inspiration.
On top of that, if you want to grab the entire collection at once, you can buy it for $29. If you don’t like it, they’ll give you $34 back.
If you’ve ever been in a situation where you need a specific sound but don’t have it – Freesound is the answer.
This sound sharing website hosts a bunch of samples, not just for music production, but also for video games, video production and foley art, and a lot more. So the types of sounds you get on here are quite varied.
Simply make an account and you can search for any sound you like. You can get individual files, whole packs or even browse a certain uploaders catalogue of sounds. Neat stuff.
Sample pack companies often create solid packs because, well, they sell. Everyone needs staples. Not everyone needs more obscure sounds.
That’s where Reddit comes in, offering up a plethora of great subreddits for sharing home-made sample packs. Some of these resources are for sharing packs, some of them are for sharing sample-able music.
Once again, be mindful that some of these resources could infringe copyright, so be smart. Here are a few of my favourites:
Germany-based underground producer Legowelt is an industry stalwart of sorts, with a decent release catalogue and a reputation for obscure sounds.
In addition to these things, he’s also put out a number of analogue sample packs over the years, all of which sound warm and fuzzy.
Check them out on his website, all available for free
Sample Magic makes incredibly high-quality samples – some of the best in the game (in my personal opinion). Anyone with a Splice Sounds subscription would know that they are constantly recommended, with their packs being available on the platform.
If you want a taster of this quality, the numerous free packs they have available should satisfy.
A lot of great free samples (and presets) available from a solid rotation of talented sound designers. You’ll get everything from bread and butter sounds to weird and wonderful nuggets. Particularly good for that modern EDM sound, but also some stuff that’s begging to be used in fresh ways.
Our friends at The Pro Audio Files have a great free download from one of their blog authors, Cristofer Odqvist. You get 100+ hand-crafted drum samples, loops, effects, transitions, impulse responses, reverb tails, synths, harmonies and more.
If you want to achieve an esoteric, spaced-out aesthetic on your tracks, why not use actual sounds from space? NASA has built a great library of recorded sounds from various interstellar activities over the years, and put them up on their Soundcloud and website.
Make sure to read the ‘sound use policy’ before releasing anything, but go nuts on these sounds.
BPB was a haven for poor producers like myself who were young and had no money of their own when starting out in electronic music production, and I still find myself coming back there today.
Not only do they have a knack for compiling high-quality free plugins and sampler instruments, but they also release their own free sample packs.
They also started a side project, 99Sounds, dedicated to their original resources.
Visit the free packs section of their site
A personal hidden gem – prrrrrrr on Soundcloud has two free sample banks for you to use in your own productions. These are a nice variety of sounds, so you’ll always be surprised what you get, but they’re quality nonetheless.
I downloaded a massive pack of free vintage drum samples a long time ago, and I’m not 100% sure where I got it. But this was the closest thing I could find.
You’ll get lots of 707, 808 and 909 emulations, among more obscure drum machines, which is great if you need some solid, timeless drum samples.
Lastly, this is technically designed for Native Instruments Kontakt, but you can use the WAV files on their own.
This pack essentially made trap music. Essentially, it’s a bunch of 808 drums processed to sound snappy (the snare) and boomy (the kick, hence why some people call them ‘808’s). If you want some solid sounds for that kind of music, look no further than this kit.
Need some carefully curated, high-quality vintage drum sounds? That’s Samples From Mars’ speciality. You can find a few free packs on their website that are smaller versions of their paid packs.
You do need to checkout in order to grab them, but hey, free samples are free samples.
Back in the days when Neurohop Forum was around, the userbase compiled together a massive pack of bass, FX, drum and a whole lot more. If you’re a bass music producer, this is a cornerstone resource for you.
It took a lot of digging, but here are the download files for both volumes.
That Sound creates awesome samples that span beyond electronic music, including this free pack of 500 sounds. No matter if you make hip-hop, pop, rock or EDM – this pack will give you sounds you need.
You might have seen a video or two from Jonas Aden before on his YouTube channel. He makes great music production content detailing his journey as a producer and does great challenges and fun music things.
He also has a selection of free packs on his website of sounds he’s made – some of which he’s used in songs that have been released on Spinnin’ Records.
I love the british. And I also love these sounds.
Note that while these sounds are free to download, you’ll need to purchase a license if you want to use them commercially.
Blu Mar Ten have been in the drum and bass game for a long, long time.
Here’s a collection of sounds used in tracks from 1989-1999.
Acapellas are super useful tools for coming up with a hook. You can chop, pitch and process them in a number of different ways.
Voclr.it is a great place to get all sorts of free acapellas. Simply create an account and you’ll get 5 download credits a week.
Bear in mind a lot of these are copyrighted, so use at your own discretion.
Signup here and get free access
I’ll be honest, when I came across these guys, I was astounded at the amount of free samples and presets they were giving out.
They’re also doing a series called #FreeSoundFridays where they put out packs of random but quality sounds.
Making techno? You have to check this great free pack from the trio Diode Eins. In total, you’ll get 181 samples – not bad for $0.
I know, that was a lot of options. But if there’s more stuff out there that we’re missing, let me know by flicking me an email at [email protected] – I’ll add them here.
Big Hit Entertainment (BHE) and Universal Music Group (UMG) have announced a joint venture that they say will “mark the beginning of a new chapter in music history”.
The announcement was made in a global press conference stream earlier today (February 17) by UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grange, BHE chairman Bang Si-hyuk, Interscope Geffen A&M Records chairman and CEO John Janick, and BHE’s global CEO Lenzo Yoon.
The venture, which will see Big Hit team up with Geffen Records, will include the launch of a “brand new global artist project”. Yoon explained that the companies would debut a new K-pop boy group together “for the global stage” and that the band would be formed via an audition programme. The labels are aiming to broadcast the show with a US media partner in 2022.
On this project, Big Hit will be responsible for discovering and training the artists, as well as fan content production and communication with fans through the community platform Weverse, which launched in 2019. UMG, meanwhile, will take charge of music production and global distribution, as well as producing the audition programme.
“UMG has a robust network of the world’s best producers and composers, production capabilities and marketing expertise,” Yoon said. “Likewise, Big Hit is the company that can best realise the K-pop style that is loved by music fans all over the world […] Music fans the world over will be able to experience the birth of an unprecedented group that brings together world-leading capabilities.”
The artist that debuts through the audition programme will “follow the K-pop system”, which the global CEO described as including “music, performance, fashion, music videos and engagement with fans”. “This is a new challenge for both UMG and BHE,” he added. “The result will transcend a partnership between two companies and the combination of two industries to become the fusion of cultures.”
The new partnership between UMG and BHE will also see the companies expand on the latter’s digital platforms, Weverse and live-streaming service VenewLive. Three UMG artists – Gracie Abrams, New Hope Club and Alexander23 – have already joined Weverse, the platform that allows fans to better connect with their favourite artists, as well as with other fans. With Yungblud set to open his own Weverse space soon, Grange said he was sure that fans could expect “many more of our artists” to join them in the future.
Of VenewLive, he added: “At a time when virtual concerts have become the new normal, we look forward to showcasing curated performances from our artists through VenewLive, using the best in tech and interactive experiences.”
According to Yoon, fans from more than 200 countries now use Weverse, which also acts as a media content platform and merchandise shop, “making it a true ‘global mega fandom platform’. More features will be added to Weverse soon, he said.
“The goal of all of this is to expand the experience of fans, the most important entities in the music industry,” Yoon explained. “At Big Hit, we are always thinking about new fun and convenient ways fans can communicate with artists and enjoy their content. To these ideas, we apply today’s most cutting-edge tech.”
Of the partnership, Bang said: “UMG’s influence, as well as expertise accumulated in the world music market, coupled with Big Hit Entertainment’s pioneering ideas and innovation, will enable previously unimaginable feats […] I strongly believe that UMG and Big Hit, two companies that endlessly pursued innovation, will create a synergy that will rewrite global music history.”
Janick added that the joint venture gave both companies “an incredible opportunity to learn from one another, to challenge one another and to help shape the next stage of one another’s evolution”.
“We are certain that together that this great partnership built on the shared foundation of innovation will help shape the next great era for music, benefitting artists and fans alike,” Grange said, while Yoon noted that the collaboration would work to strengthen the fast-growing industry of K-pop even further.
“We will strive to secure competitive platform leadership and develop a top group of artists through the close partnership between our two companies, working together to enable K-pop to transcend all borders and languages,” he said. “We look forward to your interest and support.”
Big Hit launched its first audition programme, I-LAND, last year, which was broadcast on cable channels across Asia, on Big Hit’s and Korean network Mnet’s YouTube channels, and streaming service Rakuten Viki. Rookie group ENHYPEN were formed from the show, making their debut in December 2020 with the EP ‘Border: Day One’.
Last week (February 10), it was announced that UMG – alongside K-pop label YG Entertainment – were set to invest in VenewLive. Big Hit launched the platform last year with US streaming service provider Kiswe. So far, it has been used to host livestream concerts from Big Hit Labels’ artists like BTS, Seventeen and GFRIEND, as well as the Big Hit New Year’s Eve Live family concert.
Odesza’s last release was in August 2020, when they teamed up with Golden Features for the debut album of their collaborative project, BRONSON. Before that, in November 2019, they finally dropped their remix of “Waited 4 U” by Slow Magic (at least, on Spotify). It’s been a little under four years since they dropped their last studio album, A Moment Apart, but make no mistake, the boys are working.
We’ve seen studio updates before, notably in October 2019, but no one could be blamed for taking last year a little slower. Earlier this week, the duo tweeted, “hi guys we workin I promise,” which received over 15,000 favorites and nearly 2,000 retweets. Clearly, excitement for any forthcoming material from Odesza is still high.
We’ll have to wait and see when they next release some new music, but some sort of drop in 2021 isn’t out of the question. An album, if one were on its wait, would likely come out either toward the end of this year or early 2022.
hi guys we workin I promise
— ODESZA (@odesza) February 16, 2021
Photo via aLIVE Coverage for Ultra Music Festival
It looks like Armin van Buuren and Alesso have a hit on their hands.
Since the duo tortured the lovelorn on Valentine’s Day 2021 with a cryptic teaser of a track called “Leave a Little Love,” they’ve remained quiet about their first-ever collaboration—until now. Alesso and van Buuren each took to social media today, February 17th, to share a preview of the upcoming song, which sounds like an instant dance classic.
The clip is short, but fans can hear bubbly piano chords akin to Alesso’s signature progressive house sound. It also offers up a taste of the track’s vocals, crooned by a singer whose name is yet to be announced. However, it sounds an awful lot like Bonn, the superstar Swedish singer-songwriter who has featured on global hits by Avicii (“Ain’t A Thing,” “Freak”) and Martin Garrix (“No Sleep,” “High On Life”), among others. Nevertheless, it’s important to note that Bonn has not been confirmed as the track’s vocalist.
“Leave a Little Love” will officially release on streaming platforms Friday, February 26th. Check out the preview below, courtesy of Alesso’s Instagram.
Facebook: facebook.com/arminvanbuuren
Twitter: twitter.com/arminvanbuuren
Instagram: instagram.com/arminvanbuuren
Spotify: spoti.fi/2WHsl2t
Facebook: facebook.com/AlessoOfficial
Twitter: twitter.com/Alesso
Instagram: instagram.com/alesso
Spotify: spoti.fi/3kHFy5c
by: Rachel Narozniak
Feb 17, 2021
Welcome back, BRONSON.
On January 13, Foreign Family Collective sent YouTube into a tizzy with a boxing glove emoji. BRONSON fans didn’t have to think twice about its significance; the scarlet cue signaled a joint ODESZA and Golden Features “Intermission Broadcast” mix—”012,” to be exact.
The day of BRONSON’s “Intermission Broadcast” reckoning would come on February 17, just a little over a month after Hayden James dictated the sound of “Mix 011” in the serial. Needless to say, BRONSON’s “Intermission Broadcast” lead role was hotly anticipated, and not without good reason. The band of collaborators largely remained silent on the release front after furnishing their show-stopping, self-titled debut LP, save for BRONSON Remixes N°.1 and N°.2, of course.
BRONSON’s second-ever mix—following their Triple J debut during the August of 2020—features two of their own edits, one of DJ Koze‘s remix of Moderat’s “Bad Kingdom” and the other, of CamelPhat‘s spin on Fatboy Slim‘s “Right Here, Right Now.” All this and more is yours in the 57-minute mix below.
Categories: Music
Upcoming UK producer Tiiva recently dropped a feel-good new remix of Luan Mei’s single “Yellow”, adding a zesty electronic twist that is both alluring and addictive. Tiiva’s striking production adds a euphoric dimension to the quirky track, delivering a profusion of earworm sonics that sit between the dynamic and the buoyant. A major Charlie XCX vibe lingers throughout, hinting at major future pop and hyper pop influences. This a seriously impressive offering from this clever collaboration, cementing both talents as ones to watch in 2021. Keep an eye on both rising acts, cherck out a quote on the remix via Tiiva below and under that stream the new flip now. Enjoy!
“Luan Mei’s song called my attention as it’s the perfect emotive journey that an LGBTQIA person goes through, discovering themselves and the new landscape of realizations. As soon as I heard it I wanted to dive in and make a remix, adding fun to all the conversations about life. Our queerness and music identity heavily inspired where I wanted to take this song.” – Tiiva
Crowded House have announced their first new album in a decade, ‘Dreamers Are Waiting’, set for release on June 4.
The record is set to include last year’s single, ‘Whatever You Want’, the video clip for which featured Mac DeMarco. The track marked the band’s first new music of any kind since their 2010 album ‘Intriguer’.
Today, they’ve shared the record’s second single, ‘To The Island’, a creeping, psychedelic, slow-pop burn that continues the surprisingly contemporary bent of Crowded House’s new material.
The track’s music video channels that uncanny feeling, by seeing the band members make a rugged cross-country jaunt to a secret island bandroom – watch it below.
The single also gives its name to their upcoming New Zealand arena tour, kicking off in March. The Crowded House lineup on ‘Dreamers Are Waiting’ and the tour are founding members Neil Finn and Nick Seymour, as well as returning producer and keyboardist Mitchell Froom, singer-guitarist Liam Finn and drummer Elroy Finn.
Neil Finn released a statement, detailing the recording of the new album amidst the pandemic.
“We were fortunate to be recording in the studio right before lockdown and so began this album with band tracks recorded live in a room, all brimming with character and energy,” he said.
“We then spent our strangest year, 2020, at distance from each other but connecting daily, swapping files and making those tracks complete. We’re so excited and grateful to be back in one room together now, rehearsing, first to play live in front of audiences in NZ and soon we hope for the rest of the world.”
Finn also spoke about the direction of the new material: “I’ve always been afraid of just repeating the same formulas, and somehow this feels like a fresh and authentic way to reapproach Crowded House today with an awareness of all our history and where, how and why it began in the first place,” he said.
The band recently shared two archival live albums from the early ’90s to raise money for Australian music crisis charity Support Act.
1. ‘Bad Times Good’
2. ‘Playing With Fire’
3. ‘To The Island’
4. ‘Sweet Tooth’
5. ‘Whatever You Want’
6. ‘Show Me The Way’
7. ‘Goodnight Everyone’
8. ‘Start Of Something’
9. ‘Too Good For This World’
10. ‘Real Life Woman’
11. ‘Love Isn’t Hard At All’
12. ‘Deeper Down’
UK’s nightlife industry is itching to reopen, but unfortunately, it will have to wait.
Minister for Business & Industry and COVID Vaccine Deployment, Nadhim Zahawi, said nightclubs and music venues are unlikely to reopen until September at the earliest. This is in order to allow proper time for the majority of the population to be vaccinated.
On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally addressed reopening plans for nightclubs. He said rapid testing in combination with a mass vaccine will be key for the safe reopening of nightlife businesses across the country. His roadmap for ending COVID-19 restrictions is due out next Monday.
In addition, Zahawi did not rule out the continuation of social distancing, masks, and other safety measures for future events.
A recent Ipsos MORI poll indicated that 89% of the UK population plans to get vaccinated. The survey also reported 73% of Australians, 71% of Americans, 68% of Germans, and 57% of French plan on taking the vaccine.
Meanwhile, the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) has called for government support, warning UK nightclubs could become “extinct” due to restrictions put in place to fight the coronavirus.
Source: Mixmag
As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, a number of marquee Las Vegas pool clubs are set to reopen after a year of unprecedented cancellations and layoffs.
The imminent return of the clubs are attributed to Directive 037, a new edict signed and executed by Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak on February 14th that eases COVID-19 restrictions across the state. The order effectively relaxed restrictions on public gatherings by allowing those of 100 people, or 35% of a venue’s capacity—whichever is less. In January, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said that Las Vegas is “ready to welcome back the world” in her annual State of the City address.
Famed MGM Grand pool party destination Wet Republic, which has featured electronic music superstars such as Martin Garrix, Tiësto, and deadmau5, will reopen on Friday, March 5th and operate Thursdays through Sundays from 11AM until close. According to a blog post on its official website, the Hakkasan Group-owned venue will “pivot from its regular offering” to adhere to Nevada’s safety measures. Moving forward, the club will use a touchless menu system, which patrons can access via a scannable QR code from their devices.
The return of Aria’s Liquid Pool Lounge is slated for Friday, March 12th, and the club will be open Fridays through Sundays starting at 11AM. Since it is also owned by Hakkasan Group, it will adopt the same safety mandates as Wet Republic, including plans for “rigorous cleaning.”
Encore Beach Club, an award-winning dayclub at the Wynn, will also return on March 5th and will be open Fridays through Sundays. Detailed safety measures are not yet publicly available at the time of this article’s publication, but a post published on the venue’s Facebook page says that it will follow “all current governor directives regarding social distancing” and face masks will be required.
Daylight Beach Club at Mandalay Bay, which has hosted Zedd, Axwell, and Duke Dumont, will kick off their pool season on March 5th. The pool lounge will be open from 11AM to 6PM Fridays through Sundays until early October. According to Electronic Vegas, guests must make a daybed or cabana reservation to be enter Daylight, and operators will impose a strict limit on the number of guests at each table to adhere to social distancing requirements. No general admission tickets or guest list entry will be available.
The Cosmopolitan’s The Pool Marquee is also set to reopen on Friday, March 5th. The venue’s Facebook page, which promotes the experience as a “new socially distant daylife format,” recently shared an announcement inviting partiers to make a reservation. Electronic Vegas notes that the club will instate similar social distancing measures as Daylight, such as eschewing sales of general admission tickets and guest list entry.
Sources: Electronic Vegas, KTNV Channel 13 Action News
