Examples in the sample: Beach House

By Derek Torres

Music Journalist

Many of the songs we have on repeat have something about it that keeps our earworm dancing. It is a surprise to find out that it may be a sample that an artist uses to hook listeners! What is a sample? A sample is a section of an existing audio, typically a song, that is reworked to be used in a new song. Now a sample can be a rhythm, speech, melody, or anything of the sort that is used to amplify a sound. Today we will touch on memorable samples coming from the artist known as Beach House.

Beach House is an Indie band from Baltimore, Vermont consisting of Victoria Legend and Alex Scally who produce synth-dream-pop music. Beach House has been prominent in the dream pop scene since 2004, establishing itself as a staple in the community. Their influence reaches beyond the subgenre and aids in the sounds of prominent artists who have sampled them.

A pop and R&B artist who has utilized Beach House’s elements is The Weeknd. The Weeknd has released iconic works such as Beauty Behind The Madness, Starboy and After Hours which solidified this spot in the mainstream media. In his first album House of Balloons, samples came from “Master of None” by Beach House in the song “The Party & The After Party” as well as “Gila” in The Weeknd’s “Loft Music.” The Weeknd reshaped Beach House’s directive in the storyline of the song “Master of None” to fit his narrative. The Weeknd successfully borrowed the musicality of Beach House and composed solid tracks for the launch of this music career.

Kendrick Lamar is another artist who utilized Beach House as a sample for one of their iconic songs “Money Trees.” Lamar’s discography is a powerhouse alone and shares the same experience of sampling Beach House in their early projects alongside The Weeknd. Sampling “Silver Soul” for “Money Trees” heightens the dreamy feeling that initiates Lamar’s upbeat rhythm of his style that all-around complements each other. Lamar created his sound assisted by Beach House’s original slow-tempo mystique that became the most streamed track on his album good kid, m.A.A.d city.

Although not entirely confirmed, Clairo’s parallel with one of Beach House’s songs is not discussed. Clairo’s song “How – Demo” has a melody, especially in the beginning, that is similar to the first verse of Beach House’s “She’s So Lovely.” In speculation, Clairo could have used the 20 seconds of “She’s So Lovely” to make her track. Both artists fall under the umbrella of Indie, yet Clairo has since evolved from slower dream-pop undertone to faster-tempo bedroom pop.

Beach House’s impact on a variety of mainstream and underground artists’ music conveys that the genre is making a return. Beach House gave the listed artists a hand in creating music in their respective genres, especially early in their music careers. Those were, I would like to say, the examples in the samples.