The Big Beat Manifesto (2020)
Stream On Youtube Stream On Spotify Stream On Bandcamp
The Big Beat Manifesto took shape in April 2020 as a side project when I began using samples from the film ‘Natural Born Killers’ and turned them into a song which was far different in genre to anything I’d done previously. Over the course of the next few months, I added ‘Over The Top’ with samples from The Tony Hancock Half Hour (as sampled by Hideki Naganuma in ‘Let Mom Sleep’) and Reservoir Dogs to cement the project as a film and tv based media sampling project focused on big beats.
Taking inspiration from ‘Peep Show’ I adopted the name of the Big Beat Manifesto - despite the actual big beat manifesto going “Big beats are the best, get high all the time”. Further tracks sampled Jet Set Radio sound effects, Trading Places, The Room, and other cult films. I also dabbled in self referential tracks such as ‘The Big Beat Manifesto’ and ‘Big Beat Interlude’. I felt the most creative freedom and fun in the compositional process that I’d had in a long time.
The cover shows a briefcase which I spray painted, before donning and suit to carry it in London as if the Big Beat Manifesto was ready to be delivered to Westminster as a real party manifesto. Since the project was very sample and media heavy, I used videos from several films which influenced the project for track videos.
The Big Beat Manifesto - (Video)
Track video for The Big Beat Manifesto featuring clips from the classic anime series Lupin III. This track introduces the concept of The Big Beat Manifesto and establishes the tone for the album as a whole.
As a big fan of Lupin III, I wanted to include a reference to the series since I didn’t have any samples I could use from the anime itself. The clips featured are from the 1985 movie Lupin III: The Legend Of The Gold Of Babylon, the third feature film in a series of eleven, stretching through to 2019’s Lupin III: The First.
Natural Born Underachiever - (Video)
The very first track written for The Big Beat Manifesto, Natural Born Underachiever uses clips from Juliette Lewis singing as Mallory Knox, in her jail cell, chopped up in a style similar to The Prodigy.
The video features clips from the film Natural Born Killers, which is also the source of the samples. The screenplay for this film was written by Quentin Tarantino, though he didn’t end up directing it. Oliver Stone was instead chosen to direct, and put his own stamp on the direction of the feature.
Underdog Strut - (Video)
This track was heavily inspired by the work of Hideki Naganuma, particularly his soundtrack contributions for Jet Set Radio on the Dreamcast, one of my favourite video games.
The track itself samples Casablanca, The Simpsons, the cartoon Doug, a Queen drum intro, and Jet Set Radio’s wide array of SFX.
The video was shot by capturing footage from Jet Set Radio, and using custom Big Beat Manifesto graffiti, designed by Jonathan Wentworth.
What A Story [Big Beat Mix] - (Video)
This track was originally conceived during my 24 hour album writing stream in 2018. Using samples from Tommy Wiseau’s cult film ‘The Room’, I put together a fun track which sat untouched for a couple of years until I was finishing up the Big Beat Manifesto album.
Adding some new sections and some mixing touches to the existing track, the big beat mix was born. The video features the scenes from which the samples were taken in ‘The Room’, which I have still yet to see in its entirety.
Got The Message? - (Video)
Featuring samples from just one scene in Quentin Tarantino’s debut feature, ‘Reservoir Dogs’ this track is my tribute to my favourite film director. The scene’s brilliance in its simplicity shines through with some added bass and editing touches.
Once again the video was put together using clips from the source material, as became a staple with The Big Beat Manifesto.
Action Replay - (Video)
Action Replay takes cues from Pendulum and video game style synths, with samples from Balls Of Fury, the 2007 table tennis comedy film featuring Christopher Walken.
The video features scenes from the 1993 film Falling Down featuring Michael Douglas in the main role, as a series of outlandishly bad events ruin a man’s day. The energy and pacing of the film fit with the track, and having found the clips to use in the video, I was inspired to watch the film itself.
Big Beat Interlude - (Video)
Halfway through the album comes a rest, a breather if you will. The Big Beat Interlude is a reminder of what you’re tuned into. Featuring various clips, synonyms and rhymes to change up the words “Big Beat Manifesto” this short track is a time-out before diving back into the album.
The video features clips from the classic PS1 game Incredible Crisis, an off the wall mini game fest which is a ton of fun in addition to being charmingly insane.
Beats Of Rage - (Video)
A play on the Mega Drive title ‘Streets Of Rage’, this track seeks to capture the night time excitement of its namesake with club inspired sound and driving bass.
The video features clips from the 2011 British film Attack The Block, which featured a fun mix of science fiction, horror and comedy into its short runtime.
Imagination - (Video)
Not the only song on this album to be influenced by The Prodigy, this track features the chipmunked vocal style set to big beats. ‘Imagination’ by Prayer was sampled and rearranged for this one.
The video features clips from True Romance, another Tarantino screenplay which he declined to direct. As one of my favourite films of all time, I had to get this on the album somewhere.
Over The Top - (Video)
The second song I wrote for the album, but always intended to be the album closer, Over The Top uses a sample from ‘The Tony Hancock Half Hour’, the same sample source as ‘Let Mom Sleep’ by Hideki Naganuma, though I used a different episode.
The video features clips from Trainspotting, another classic movie by one of my favourite directors, Danny Boyle. Many of the scenes seemed to fit perfectly with the music almost effortlessly when I was putting this one together.
