> > I don't know if I am alone here but don't most people sample everyone elses > melodies, bass lines etc.
well kind of yeah but if he's being completey ripped off that's a different matter surely. > I mean Ben Sims has had his beatssampled loads of times and he doesn't > send out lawyer letters?? i'd say that beats are a different matter as they are more commonly sampled and ripped from other people (esp. in house, but that as not necessarily a criticism)....and don't really consitute the 'character' of the track.... having said that i haven't heard wink's 'new' track (tho i have all the others referred too, both dan's and wink's) so perhaps i'm not qualified to comment on this :) i'm kinda shocked that wink would do this (couldn't he just have offered a remix? oh wait he'd have to share the credit/cash then) but from the figures given (500,000 copies of 'don't laugh' sold!!) i can see the motivation. robin... > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 10 April 2002 09:41 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [313] FWD: Letter from Daniel Bell > > > ----- Forwarded message from bumtschak2000 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----- > > Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 08:12:40 -0000 > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > X-Mailer: Yahoo Groups Message Poster > User-Agent: eGroups-EW/0.82 > Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > From: "bumtschak2000" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [minimaltechno] Letter from Daniel Bell > > Making it's way though illegal MP3 sites, BBC Radio 1 and being > played by world famous dj's such as Richie Hawtin and Dj Hell is the new > release from Josh Wink "Freak" (or sometimes listed > as "Superfreak" or "Phreek"). > > If it sounds familiar when you hear it is because it bears more than a > passing resembelence to Daniel Bell aka DBX "Phreak" that was > originally released on Accelerate records in 1992. > > Says Bell "I've heard many records copy my sound but this is > ridiculous. I've known Josh for over 11 years and in my opinion, this is > his lowest he's ever gone." > > He stands to sell hundreds of thousands of records of this release > without giving any credit to the original . Please help us make the > techno community aware of what is going on. > > Enclosed a lettter (with minor changes) that was sent to UFA (Daniel > Bell's publisher for "Phreak"): > > It's a difficult thing to establish when an artist is influenced or is > in effect copying another artist. I'm aware that in this age and that in > my specific genre of music making that the issue of copying another > artist's work has become an even more black and white issue mostly due > to the frequency of digital sampling and more specifically the clearing > of digital samples. > > And while digital sampling has made the idea of copying musical ideas > less ambiguous and more easily detected than ever before, I find > myself in the situation where I feel I have become the target of good > old-fashioned copyright infringement. > > I am writing this in the sincere hope that you will listen without > prejudice to the evidence I'm providing to you. > > Introduction > > I believe that the recording artist Josh Wink (aka Winx) has > knowingly copied arrangements, sounds and production techniques from my > own copyright protected work and has failed to acknowledge the source of > his success. It is my belief that Wink has developed a > pattern of loosely basing his musical structures and arrangements on my > own original work. I also believe that his next release "Freak" is his > most daring copy yet of one of my arrangements. [...] > > 2 > History: > > I have met Josh Wink several times. The first time was in November 1990 > in Detroit where I was scheduled to perform as Cybersonik with Richie > Hawtin at a nightclub called "1515 Broadway". The performance was > canceled hours before it was to start and we only found out when we > reached the venue. There was no line-up or crowd waiting to get in, only > two people were waiting when we arrived. One of them was a disappointed, > then unknown, Josh Wink, who I remember had traveled from Philadelphia > to see us and was a "big fan" of our music. > > I saw Josh Wink again in 1992 in either Rochester N.Y or Philadelphia PA > while on tour again as Cybersonik. The DBX "Phreak" (the track in > question) was released weeks before on my label Accelerate. He was sent > a copy of this record from the +8 label directly (the label > pressed and distributed my label Accelerate). He said he "loved" the > track "Phreak" and that he "just wished the track was longer" - it's > approx. 3 and half minutes long (his "Freak" approx. 5 mins). > > The next time I had an encounter with Josh Wink was in 1995 just > months after I had released my "Losing Control" record. The record was a > huge underground success most notably because it featured a monotone > voice repeating the words "I'm Losing Control" on every bar faded in and > out of the song. The effect was similar to a melodic hook in popular > music. The entire song was based on the manipulation of the vocal. At > the beginning of the arrangement the vocal is > introduced with the high frequencies muted and only the audible > frequencies are the lower frequencies. As the song progresses more of > the high and mid-frequencies are revealed until the whole phrase > of "I'm Losing Control" is audible. The vocal is then manipulated and > echoed and then disappears by subtracting the frequencies in the > reverse way they were added. To my knowledge, this way of slowly > manipulating a frequency filter over a repeated vocal phrase, over the > course of an entire track was never done before in dance music prior to > this record > > Josh Wink called, he told me he had a similar track called "Don't Laugh" > that had a "laugh" instead of the vocal "Losing Control" that was > manipulated and arranged in a similar way. It was strange that Wink had > phoned me about this because I had never received a call from him before > or since that day. "Don't Laugh" was released in 1995 and was licensed > to several high profile record companies who were able to promote the > single into mainstream markets that were not > familiar with "Losing Control". In contrast, Peacefrog records of the > U.K., the original label to release "Losing Control" froze sales at > 10,000 copies in order to make the release rare and in-demand to > develop prestige for the label. Even though the release was the > biggest seller on the label to that point, no promotion was done. In the > end, 500,000 copies of "Don't Laugh" were sold worldwide. Despite the > similarities and the overwhelming feeling that he was trying to > capitalize on my ideas, I felt that that there was no recourse for me > because his track still had some differences. > > 3 > > In 1995 Josh Wink released a successful mix-c.d. on the DMC label > entitled "United DJs of America Vol. 3 " in which he licensed "Losing > Control". > > In 2000 Josh Wink released "How's Your Evening So Far" a track that > featured a digital loop of Lil Louis' 1988 hit "French Kiss" . The track > also featured a voice repeating the title - similar again > to "Losing Control" - only this time the way the vocal was > manipulated in almost the exact same way, as if 7 years later he > finally figured out the specific technical approach on how the > original was done. > > Regarding the Lil' Louis aspect of the song the New Music Express > reported on July 4th 2000: > > "JOSH WINK has run into a legal wrangle with PETE TONG's label ffrr over > his version of the LIL LOUIS' acid house anthem `FRENCH KISS'. The > record is due to be released in the US on Ovum label at the end of July, > but a worldwide release is not likely until an agreement has been > reached over how the Wink version will be credited". > > Josh Wink reportedly resisted the Lil Louis co-writing credit that he > was eventually forced to put on his release. Many reviewers noted that > the release sounded like a remix of "French Kiss" rather than a new > song. > > In December 2001, Josh Wink showed up at a club in Philadelphia PA that > I was djing at and told me that "I have a track called "Freak" that's > going to be really big" and that it was inspired by early > tracks. The track has been tentatively titled either "Freak" > or "Superfreak" (I also have a track entitled "Superphreak" a 1993 > release on Peacefrog) and has been played on Pete Tong's show on > Radio 1 in London. > > This track "Freak" sounds like a remix or remake of my track "Phreak" > from 1993. It features a pitched-down robotic voice saying "Freak" on > every bar. The arrangement is sparse like the original Also the main > musical repeating notes are very similar and may even be samples of my > track cut up. > > There already is a big buzz in several countries regarding this > release and I believe it is slated for release on the Ovum records in > the summer months. I feel that this is the last straw and that this > track is too close to my own. Please help to publicize this > situation. His New York lawyers claim there are no similarities. Let the > people judge for themselves by supplying them with all the > information. > > Thank-you for your understanding and attention, > Daniel Bell > > > www.7th-city.com > > > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> > Buy Stock for $4 > and no minimums. > FREE Money 2002. > http://us.click.yahoo.com/k6cvND/n97DAA/ySSFAA/rFPplB/TM > ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> > > To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > ----- End forwarded message ----- > > -- > Hans Veneman > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://technotourist.org > http://www.TV-99-AD.com > > > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > robin... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Robin Pinning | E: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Manchester Computing, University of Manchester, | T: +44 161 275 7028 Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom. | F: +44 161 275 6040 --------------------------www.mrccs.man.ac.uk------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
