The Mind Behind 2024's Summer Hit
Sabrina Carpenter's "Espresso" is essentially a Splice sample collage
Earlier this week, I attended a 4th of July pool party in the San Fernando Valley with my friend and most-loving-and-patient-host-ever, Sophia.
It was a blazing hot summer day, and, while I devoured an impossible burger, the host of the pool party, Alex, a movie producer, told me something intriguing about this summer’s pop hit.
“Have you heard about the lawsuits brought against Sabrina Carpenter for her new song… I don’t remember the name…”
“No…” I shook my head, rummaging my brain for the title… “Do you mean ‘Espresso’?”
“Yeah that’s the one. Apparently that song is entirely composed of Splice samples. And now she is being sued for copyright infringement.”
When I got home I immediately went on to do some research on Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Espresso,’ a song that was declared the song of the summer by various media outlets, as early as April of this year.
Here’s the song, along with the music video, in case you haven’t heard it yet. If you’ve been shopping in any US supermarket, it’s pretty hard to avoid:
While I couldn’t really find anything substantive regarding a plagiarism lawsuit against Carpenter, I found the idea of a Splice’d pop song new and intriguing.
Splice is an online subscription service that allows music producers to search and collect royalty-free samples, to use in their songs. It’s as simple as dragging and dropping the samples into your DAW.
After doing some online sleuthing, I found a TikTok producer who recreated the song using almost only samples from Splice. The samples stem from a sample pack called Power Tools Vol. III, one of the most popular sample packs created by the American record producer Vaughn Oliver.
A sample pack is essentially a mini-sound library in which various samples can be combined to fit together, much like lego bricks.
To hear how the Carpenter song is indebted to the Power Tools sample pack, check out these Loops:
OLIVER_104_pop_loop_surf_dad_rhythm_lead_C.wav combines two electric guitars parts: a rhythm guitar playing chopped chords, and a wide and pitch-shifty lead guitar.
OLIVER_104_pop_loop_surf_dad_rhythm_C.wav here’s just the rhythm guitar
OLIVER_105_drum_loop_disco_live_feel.wav. A compressed drum loop that has a retro-feel to it.
‘OLIVER_85_drum_fill_tom_slap_delay.wav’. Appears to be the drum loop used later in that same song.
Notice the similarity? Oliver was interviewed by Splice about the use of samples in his song:
According to this interview, Vaughn Oliver’s samples have been used in more than just one song. He mentions, among others, Doja Cat, SZA, Dua Lipa, Justin Timberlake. Check out this video to see how various drum loops and one-shots from his Power Tools pack were used as the basis for Doja Cat’s 2019 hit “Say So.”
My Thoughts on Espresso
While I love a good shot of espresso, I have to say, I’m not a *huge* fan of this song. This judgement has nothing to do with it being based entirely on Splice samples, or even the fairly basic lyrics, it’s more that the song lacks an edge. Perhaps it’s just that the song avoids being abrasive in a very obvious way.
The song is seems to avoid drawing attention to itself, which makes the final song a bit, well… vanilla.
The lyrics revolve around the idea of Carpenter having a boy, who has a crush on her “wrapped around [her] finger.” Thinking about her keeps him up at night, just like a shot of espresso. That’s basically it.
Formally speaking, the song follows a traditional Verse/Pre-Chorus/Chorus structure, giving us the Chorus right from the get-go, a formula that it shares with dozens of songs to keep the listener engaged right from the beginning. The song also lacks a bridge section, which it makes up for by closing with a double chorus.
Chord-wise the song is more than straight forward. It shuttles between a Dm7add9 and a C∆7add9, which are essentially ii and I in the key of C major. The added extension of the 9th on each of the chord gives the chord loop a floating feel. This adds to the non-abrasive character of the song. It feels like it can go on forever.
One cool thing about the song is the filter effect that opens the song: we hear a muted version of the chord-loop at the beginning. It slowly opens, letting more and more frequencies pass, preparing us for the chorus, which has a satisfying arrival. The closed-filter effect returns in the outro of the song. Can you hear it?
The song is credited to Amy Allen, Julian Bunetta, Sabrina Carpenter, and Steph Jones. Interestingly, Vaughn Oliver, even though the entire song is essentially powered by his samples, is not credited on the song. That’s because Splice samples, once they’re uploaded, can be used royalty-free, which means crediting the author is optional, but not required.
Splice Hits
All of this Vaughn Oliver stuff raises a bigger question: how many pop songs are actually based on pre-existing samples from Splice?
I found another producer, whose samples are at least as ubiquitous as Vaughn Oliver’s. American producer Niles Hollowell-Dhar, who goes by the artist name KSHMR, has released several sample packs online, titled Sounds of KSHMR, vols. 1-3, some of which have found a new lease on life in K-Pop hits.
Some of these include “How You Like That” by the girl group Blackpink, “S-Class” by the boy band Stray Kids, and “Money” by Thai singer Lisa. Read this Guardian article if you’re interested in the use of KSHMR samples in K-Pop, or watch this YouTube video:
Ok… that’s it from me! Now back to vacation mode. For the next 2-3 weeks you can expect a couple of pop song picks from me. Hang on tight for those…