Though it's difficult to pin down quite what you should expect from someone pulling out of rank from Ariel Pink's odd-pop outfit Haunted Graffiti, The Samps certainly come as a surprise. After a teenage friendship as employees of a local Berkley grocery store, Harley B, Jason Whitemare and Haunted Graffiti guitarist Cole MGN recently formed the group as an opportunity to return to their love of sampling. Eventually developing a sound not far removed from what J Dilla would've produced had he grown up surrounded by perma-tanned hulks listening to Moroder on Sunset Strip rather than ditched in downtown Detroit, each track of theirs is a glorious jumble of pop gems, soul scraps and the sort of smoldering house you'd expect following their previous collaborations with Italians Do It Better disco beau Nite Jewel. "Everybody says Ariel's music sounds like AM," declares MGN. "I want The Samps to sound glorious compressed FM gold".

DD: How did The Samps come about?
CMGN: Harley and I used to have a rap group together when I was in high school. We met because we both worked at a grocery store in Berkeley. The place attracted real freaks. I was like the worst employee of all time. Then I moved all over the place and we only reconnected and started recording music together again recently. We started The Samps because we wanted to start sampling again.

DD: How did you end up working with Ramona (Nite Jewel)?
CMGN: Her and I have played music for a long time together. I played some of the bass and drum parts on her record, Good Evening. Never really thought about if the collaboration seemed right. The Samps and Nite Jewel just recorded a song together for her new EP.

DD: Would you say your music was feelgood?
CMGN: I think feelgood is the wrong term; it's more like ear candy.ÜMiserable, miserable candy for your ears.

DD: What are the key records that inform The Samps’ sound?
CMGN: I really love that breakdown part in Autobahn about ten minutes into it where all the cars are going by. But my favorite group of all time is Woo!
The three of us grew up listening to rap. The first record I bought was an Ice Cube record. But, I mean, I listened to Kraftwerk too. My dad had an old tape he had recorded off KUSF - this college radio station in San Francisco - that had a few of the songs from Die Mensch-Machine. I remember “Neon Licht” in particular having a real effect on me. And the first ten seconds of Kind Of Blue.

DD: How does (or doesn't) The Samps work live?
CMGN: I don't know, we never tried it. I like records more anyway.

Text by Samuel Strang