While preparing a lecture that I will be giving on composition and incorporating sampling into your music, I decided to include an example of one of my favourite artists, Estelle, who took the George Michael song ‘Faith’ and created a modern interpretation in her song ‘No Substitute Love’. What I had never realised however is that Estelle has taken it a step further and is actually incorporating major references from an additional song, ‘I’m not a substitute lover’ by reggae artist Half Pint. She has done an incredible job of referencing both songs in such a clever way, while still creating something unique, modern and catchy. I absolutely love how instead of directly sampling the music of the other two artist she has rewritten and reworked to songs to make them relevant to her music and style. Extremely fresh and inspiring, I’m loving it.
Check out the first two tracks below, and then finally see how Estelle has brought them together.
“I’m not a substitute lover’ by Half Pint
‘Faith’ by George Michael
‘No Substitute Love’ by Estelle
