Sour Mash was the first of only two pieces I've assembled entirely from a sample
loop library. In the late-90s when Acid (a loop-based recording app) was introduced,
Sonic Foundry sent me the full twenty-four CD loop library. I decided to try the
software by building a jam with at least one loop from each of the CDs. So I just
started grabbing samples and "painting" them into tracks and somehow making
them fit together. This new-to-me type of compositional "improvisation" was really
fun, and totally different than creating music from scratch. And though I've rarely
used this method of songwriting since Sour Mash and its companion jam
Big Feat
, it
did give me insight into why and how many popular musicians use this method to
compose. Why call it Sour Mash...you may ask? After I completed it, I wanted a
name that reflected its crazy mish-mash of musical influences. I thought of a big ol'
vat full of all of the random bits and pieces, and those were the two words that first
came to mind. I like this tune...for a bunch of musical bits that were just kinda
randomly tossed together, it holds together well!
Sour Mash © 2024 - Joey Arata