Random and Lesser-Known Drum Breaks
A collection of songs and albums with great drums to listen to and sample.
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A few years ago I made two playlists of random songs with drum breaks aka sections of songs where the percussion is isolated and ripe for sampling.
The songs range quite a bit in terms of genre and style, but all of them make for great listening. You can check out Randrom Drum Breaks and Random Drum Breaks Part Two on YouTube. Both playlists are also on Spotify, though some songs from the original YouTube playlists are not available on other streaming platforms.
The songs in the playlists above are mostly well-known or very well-known in the digging/beatmaking community, with a few obscurities sprinkled in.
In May of 2024 I also made a Twitter thread of albums featuring songs with lesser-known drum breaks. Each album has a song with a drum break that has only been sampled a few times or, in some cases, hasn’t been sampled at all. I’m including the list here for people who want to take a deeper dive.
Harlem Underground by Harlem Underground Band (1976)
The South Side Movement by The South Side Movement (1973)
Sophisticated Soul by The Marvelettes (1968)
Rossiter Road by Ahmad Jamal (1986)
Mystery Movie by James Clarke (1974)
Energy To Burn by B.T. Express (1976)
Soul Drums by Pretty Purdie aka Bernard Purdie (1968)
Under Pompelmo by Giuliano Sorgini (1973)
14 Karat by Fatback aka The Fatback Band (1980)
Drum Message by Okyerema Asante (Recorded in 1977, Released in 1993)
A Funky Thide Of Sings by Billy Cobham (1975)
More Specials by The Specials (1980)
Blue Suede Shoes by Johnny Rivers (1973)
Two Gentlemen Of Verona: A Grand New Musical by Galt MacDermot (1971)
Introspection by The End (1969)
Enjoy these resources. They’ll keep you busy - whether you want to chop up some drums or just sit back and listen.