In July 2021 we announced our Young Creator's Competition. We prepared a selection of samples from our Instruments INDIA sample pack, making them freely available to download and create new non-commercial tracks to submit to our competition. This competition was aimed at young producers and musicians aged 14-21, to experiment and create new music of any style or genre with samples of Indian instruments. The sample pack showcases the beautiful sounds of Indian instruments, performed by renowned Indian musicians in partnership with Milap - the UK's leading Indian arts development hub. The sample pack includes a selection of one-shots and loops, and producers were free to use as little or as many samples as they liked in their creations. There were three awards categories for these awards, for the age categories14-17 (UK-based), 18-21 (UK-based), and 14-21 (International Award) - with a £500 award for the winner of each category.
We received over 30 submissions from around the world, with the winning tracks being chosen by an expert judging panel. The jury featured Ramshanker Sathianarayanan (composer and orchestral conductor), Girishh Gopalakrishnan (producer, composer, and singer), Kousic Sen (Tabla), Jonny Batchelor (sample pack producer), and Hayley Suviste (composer).
Listen to the Winning Submissions
Listen to the podcast episode in which the judging panel announces, listens to, and discusses the winning submissions, and showcases a selection of other highly recommended submissions.
- Analise Lang (LAEL) - The Mountain Queen
- George Moncur - Pack Tarif (Sketchy Monc.)
- Aidan McLean - A Storm on the Horizon
- Maximus Lang (XAMANOIZ) - Nakshatra
- Josh Christie - Agra Nights
- Ananya Nath (GEMINUS) - Indian Experimentation
- Cameron Naylor - Passage (Lovegrove)
Name: Joshua van der Hagen (artist name: Liopli)
Track: Confused Circus
Joshua is 17 years old and based in the UK. He has been making music for just over two years and was initially inspired by watching others on YouTube make music.
Joshua: “I used quite a few of the samples from this pack. The main sample that I used was the “sangu”, which I quite liked as I thought it sounded a bit like a mellotron. The other 2 dominant samples I will mention are the “baga ghey” – which I processed to make a kick drum and an 808 – and the “santoor hit” which I made into a hi-hat. All the other samples that I used were added to create a bit more atmosphere, depth, and rhythm.”
Name: Nicolas Garcia-Peguinho (artist name: Acrux)
Track: Silk Stria
Nicolas is 20 years old and from London, and is currently in their third year of studying music at the University of Manchester.
Nicolas: “My biggest personal connection to Indian music is through bhangra by going to daytimer events in London and Manchester. I also thought that given the age range of the competition, Indian youth culture would be particularly relevant. Therefore, my aim was to explore some typical bhangra grooves and develop these with British glitch and bass music techniques in keeping with what I’ve heard these daytimer crews play recently.”
Name: Eugene Mantilla (artist name: EUMAN)
Track: Blinding Daylight
Eugene is an 18-year-old from Peabody, Massachusetts. He has been making electronic music for over five years using Ableton Live.
Eugene: “Every sound in this song was made with the sample pack, from the loud bass synths to the drums to the ambient synths… The track itself was inspired heavily by experimental dubstep artists G-Rex and PEEKABOO. Making something totally different from my usual style was so much fun, and I LOVED how it turned out in the end. Thank you very much for hosting this competition!”
