Night Ripper
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''Night Ripper'' is the third
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
by American musician Gregg Gillis, released under his
stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
Girl Talk on May 9, 2006 by
Illegal Art Illegal Art is a sampling record label that was started in 1998. The label gained immediate notoriety from legal threats surrounding '' Deconstructing Beck'', a compilation made exclusively from sampling Beck's music. This was followed by two oth ...
. It is a
mashup Mashup may refer to: * Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture * Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting * Mashup (mus ...
album primarily composed of samples taken from other artists' music, while also incorporating minor amounts of original instrumentation recorded by Gillis himself. Produced as one seamless piece of music before subsequently being broken into individual tracks, ''Night Ripper'' was composed by Gillis in a period of around eight months, during which he divided time between production of the album and his work as a biomedical engineer. Illegal Art initially released ''Night Ripper'' as a digital download on their website, later making the album available on other sites and shipping the album to select record stores due to strong demand. None of the samples used on the album was cleared prior to release, causing several online retailers to pull the album from their listings. ''Night Ripper'' was later re-released for download on the Illegal Art website through a new "
pay what you want Pay what you want (or PWYW, also referred to as value-for-value model) is a pricing strategy where buyers pay their desired amount for a given commodity. This amount can sometimes include zero. A minimum (floor) price may be set, and/or a suggest ...
" pricing system. ''Night Ripper'' received generally positive reviews from critics, who commended Gillis' choice of samples and his efficiency at layering them together to create new tracks. It appeared in numerous publications' year-end lists of the best albums of 2006. The album has been described as Gillis' breakthrough album, helping boost his reputation and leading several artists to commission him for remix work.


Background and production

The second studio album by Girl Talk, ''
Unstoppable Unstoppable may refer to: Film and television * Unstoppable (2004 film), ''Unstoppable'' (2004 film), an American film directed by David Carson * ''Unstoppable: Conversation with Melvin Van Peebles, Gordon Parks, and Ossie Davis'', a 2005 America ...
'', marked a shift away from the
glitch A glitch is a short-lived technical fault, such as a transient one that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among pl ...
style of his debut '' Secret Diary''. While still retaining the
sample Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...
-based nature of ''Secret Diary'', ''Unstoppable'' focused more on beatwork as well as
structuring Structuring, also known as smurfing in banking jargon, is the practice of executing financial transactions such as making bank deposits in a specific pattern, calculated to avoid triggering financial institutions to file reports required by law ...
and layering samples into full tracks. The album's stylistic change was brought about by Gillis' experiences performing live, which influenced him to "make the music more accessible and push the party vibe." Following the release of ''Unstoppable'', he spent an additional two years touring before beginning work on his third studio album. Described by Gillis as "a record that reflects isown personal music tastes," ''Night Ripper'' features over 300 samples of other artists' songs, spanning several decades and genres. Commenting on the process of choosing samples to use, he explained: "I'll just hear something on the radio or at a party and go ahead and sample it off a CD or record or download it. I sample loops and breaks and vocal clips all the time. So I've been cataloguing samples for years, I have this massive library. Songs come out everyday so it's never ending." The entirety of ''Night Ripper'' was produced using a
WAV Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced or ) is an audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on personal computers. The format was developed and published for the first time in 1991 ...
digital audio editor Audio editing software is any software or computer program which allows editing and generating audio data. Audio editing software can be implemented completely or partly as a library, as a computer application, as a web application, or as a ...
, with Gillis manipulating samples by chopping, layering and transitioning them. He also recorded original synthesizer and keyboard instrumentation for certain tracks. The album was created by Gillis as one long piece of music, which he subsequently split into individual tracks. He was also working as a
biomedical engineer Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)
at the time, obliging him to divide his time between his day job and his music career, including production of the album; production of the album took around eight months to complete. Subsequent
audio mastering Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will ...
was done by Jonathan Schenke.


Release

Illegal Art Illegal Art is a sampling record label that was started in 1998. The label gained immediate notoriety from legal threats surrounding '' Deconstructing Beck'', a compilation made exclusively from sampling Beck's music. This was followed by two oth ...
released ''Night Ripper'' on May 9, 2006 as a digital download on their website. Strong demand prompted the label to produce physical CD and LP copies of the album for shipping to select record stores, as well as make it available for purchase on several online retailers. Illegal Art did not clear any of the samples used on ''Night Ripper'', leading to several problems in the album's distribution and release. At least one CD manufacturing plant refused to press the album, and the head of another plant asked Gillis and his label to justify the use of two specifically chosen samples. Online music stores
eMusic eMusic is an Online music store, online music and audiobook store that operates by subscription. In exchange for a monthly subscription eMusic users can download a fixed number of MP3 tracks per month. eMusic was established in 1998, is headquart ...
and
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
both pulled ''Night Ripper'' from sale due to sample clearance concerns. Anticipating lawsuits, Illegal Art prepared a defense citing the
fair use Fair use is a Legal doctrine, doctrine in United States law that permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission from the copyright holder. Fair use is one of the limitations to copyright intended to bal ...
trademark law as a legal backbone for the album's use of samples. The label also went over the possibility of a royalty system, but ultimately scrapped it when they decided that it would only weaken their fair use argument. When asked about the possibility of suing Gillis and Illegal Art, however, one major-label executive stated his belief that filing a lawsuit against a minor independent label – especially for an album which, at that point, had barely sold 10,000 copies – would only bring bad publicity. Ultimately, no lawsuits materialized in wake of the album's success, which Gillis described as "liberating." The album's positive reception boosted Gillis' popularity and reputation, and ''Night Ripper'' has been described as his breakthrough album. Following the album's release, American musician
Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...
asked Gillis to open for him at a concert in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. ''
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'' also invited him to perform at their
MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...
after-party. Several artists commissioned Gillis to produce remixes of their tracks, including Beck,
Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band formed in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1995. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of Joel Madden (lead vocals), Benji Madden (guitar, vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (guitar, keyboards), and ...
,
Grizzly Bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...
and
Peter Bjorn and John Peter Bjorn and John are a Swedish indie pop/ rock band formed in Stockholm in 1999, named after the first names of the band's members: Peter Morén (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Björn Yttling (bass, keyboards, vocals) and John Eriksson, known ...
. ''Night Ripper'' has sold over 20,000 copies in the United States, according to
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
. Recalling in a 2016 interview, almost ten years after the release of the album, Gillis said, "''Night Ripper'' was clearly the album that took off for me and definitely changed my life."


Critical reception

''Night Ripper'' was generally well received by contemporary music critics. In a rave review, Cam Lindsay of ''
Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'' praised the album's "extraordinary" cohesion and wrote: "Gillis is a rigorous craftsman, and his assembling skill is near perfect down to the second, introducing the next song at the most opportune moment." ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
''s Sean Fennessey also responded favorably, commending the "pure precision" of Girl Talk's sampling and naming the album the "soundtrack of the summer" for 2006.
Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...
, in his "Consumer Guide" column for ''
MSN Music ''MSN Music'' was a part of MSN's web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. The website also served as a digital music store from 2004 to 2008. History ...
'', called ''Night Ripper'' "the best mash-up album since 2002's ''The Best Bootlegs in the World Ever''" and compared Girl Talk to prominent samplers
DJ Shadow Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972 in San Jose, California, San Jose, California), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, ''Endtroducing.....,'' was released in 1996. He uses l ...
and
The Avalanches The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They have released three studio albums, ''Since I Left You'' (2000), ''Wildflower (The Avalanches album), Wildflower'' (2016), and ''We Will Always Love You'' ...
, "only with obvious samples rather than obscure ones". While stating that the album's reliance on samples of popular music makes it "lose its appeal after a few spins", Marisa Brown of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
wrote that Girl Talk's "ability to draw from a myriad of musical sources" allows ''Night Ripper'' to "appeal to anyone who's heard the radio... in the past few years." Similarly, Nate Dorr of ''
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
'' remarked that the album "holds undeniable appeal, both for sample trainspotters and music geeks... as well as, more importantly perhaps, for the much broader cross-section of listeners who just want to put on a consistently catchy, entertaining record." Dan Silver of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' said that while the "sheer scope" of Girl Talk's sampling sets him apart from other mash-up artists, ''Night Ripper'' "begins to feel much less than the sum of its samples," ultimately describing it as "not so much a work of art, then, as the basis for a 21st century parlour game." Cameron Macdonald of ''
Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...
'' dismissed the album as "nothing more than a DJ mix with escapist fun so thick that it is unlikely that listeners will pause the record after every minute to discuss how Gillis battles tentacles of the corporate record industry's squid." While writing that the album "isn't exactly high art", Noel Murray of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' described ''Night Ripper'' as "one of the most purely fun albums to come along since
The Go! Team The Go! Team are an English indie rock band from Brighton, England. The band initially began as a solo project conceived by Ian Parton; however, after the unexpected success of the Go! Team's debut album, '' Thunder, Lightning, Strike'', Parton ...
's
debut Debut or début (the first public appearance of a person or thing) may refer to: * Debut (society), the formal introduction of young upper-class women to society * Debut novel, an author's first published novel Film and television * ''The Debu ...
" and advised readers to obtain the record "before it gets sued out of existence."


Accolades

Publication lists Awards ! , - !scope="row", 2006 , rowspan=2, ''Night Ripper'' ,
Shortlist Music Prize The Shortlist Music Prize, stylized as (shôrt–lĭst), was an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination. First given as a cash prize in 2001 under ...
, , align=center, , - !scope="row", 2007 , ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
'' Rave Award , , style="text-align:center;",


Track listing

All songs composed by Gregg Gillis (Girl Talk). # "Once Again" – 2:40 # "That's My DJ" – 2:08 # "Hold Up" – 2:50 # "Too Deep" – 2:29 # "Smash Your Head" – 3:01 # "Minute by Minute" – 3:12 # "Ask About Me" – 2:26 # "Summer Smoke" – 2:17 # "Friday Night" – 3:12 # "Hand Clap" – 1:53 # "Give and Go" – 2:53 # "Bounce That" – 3:24 # "Warm It Up" – 2:15 # "Double Pump" – 1:45 # "Overtime" – 2:15 # "Peak Out" – 3:20


Personnel

Credits for ''Night Ripper'' adapted from album notes. Production * Girl Talk – music,
production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...
* Jonathan Schenke –
audio mastering Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will ...
Design * Andrew "Andriu" Strasser – sleeve
design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...
In addition, 164 artists sampled on ''Night Ripper'' are thanked in the liner notes of the album.


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


''Night Ripper''
at
Illegal Art Illegal Art is a sampling record label that was started in 1998. The label gained immediate notoriety from legal threats surrounding '' Deconstructing Beck'', a compilation made exclusively from sampling Beck's music. This was followed by two oth ...
* * {{Authority control Plunderphonics albums 2006 albums Girl Talk (musician) albums Illegal Art albums