Sam Pool dedicated the beginning of his electronic music career to making drum & bass under the moniker SPL, but after ten years he felt like he was “doing the same thing over and over again.” In order to break out of this creative rut, Pool began producing for a new project named Champagne Drip in 2014 that showcases an entrancing tropical vibe.
I just felt like I was doing the same thing over and over again. I was interested in branching out, I felt like I was hitting a plateau. I had been doing SPL for about 10 years at that point and I thought it would be fun.
Champagne Drip began as an anonymous project with an official remix for Bassnectar\’s Noise vs. Beauty album and various compilations of tracks that exhibited Pool’s new innovative style. Although, as the buzz for Champagne Drip started to grow Pool thought that being anonymous was a bit “cheesy.”
When I started out with Champagne Drip it was interesting to be anonymous. But when it came down to if I was going to wear a mask, I decided there was an element to it that was kind of cheesy and when everybody else started doing it, it wasn’t that cool. I just wanted to abandon it but it helped build the intrigue in the beginning.
Pool’s new project served as a creative outlet that allowed him to be more melodic than his SPL moniker. The flavor of Champagne Drip was also based on certain influences such as 80’s music, jazz, videogames, chiptune, and tropical vibes. Despite switching up his sound a bit, Pool hasn’t lost his SPL fans because he continues to be enthused by heavy bass.
The new stuff has a little bit of a harder sound. I am super into the beat scene [with] artists like Shades (Eprom and Alix Perez) and Noisia [when they’re not making drum & bass.] So I think I’m regrouping some of my older audiences because SPL was based on harder sounds.
The heavier side of Champagne Drip was quite noticeable as he played the penultimate set at Mr.Fiji Wiji’s Los Angeles show at The Union![\"mr\"](\"https://edmchicago.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/mr-204x300.jpg\")
. The bass was throbbing throughout the club as Pool dropped new tracks that can be found in Champagne Drip\’s June 2016 Megamix (above). Before playing his set, Pool mentioned that he is also currently working on collaborations with Brillz and Paper Diamond.
Most recently, Pool released an official juke/footwork remix from Moondoctor & Freshtilldeath of his song \”Chicago Yacht Club.” Check out the new remix below and be sure to stay tuned to Champagne Drip.
Photo Credit : Known Media
