I picked up a 2009 Royksopp disc entitled Junior from Borders the other day and was surpised to hear the bassline from Too High copied note for note with no credit given to Stevie Wonder.

I couldn't find anything about a lawsuit from searching Google. It makes me curious about how laws apply or don't apply internationally.

Royksopp is Norwegian and the disc was released on EMI out of France. Too High was released on Motown in the US.

Anyone know anything about this?

Could it be that Stevie or Motown either gave them informal permission or just don't care?

Or is it a lawsuit still waiting to happen?

Bassline comes in at :44.

WOW! It surely is!

I don't know for sure, but just because the credits don't say it was a sample or something, doesn't mean that Stevie is not getting paid as a cleared sample. I'm not sure, though.

[Edited 8/16/11 18:08pm]

They probably didn't care, meaning Stevie/Motown/Universal.

How about Part Time Lover sounding like Hall & Oates Maneater?

MickyDolenz said:

How about Part Time Lover sounding like Hall & Oates Maneater?

That has nothing to do with this song, smartypants lmao

Timmy84 said:

They probably didn't care, meaning Stevie/Motown/Universal.

One thing I've learned about Stevie is that HE CARES.

daPrettyman said:

Timmy84 said:

They probably didn't care, meaning Stevie/Motown/Universal.

One thing I've learned about Stevie is that HE CARES.

Maybe this song went under his radar lol

daPrettyman said:

Timmy84 said:

They probably didn't care, meaning Stevie/Motown/Universal.

One thing I've learned about Stevie is that HE CARES.

Excellent, funny and so appropos for the thread.

daPrettyman said:

WOW! It surely is!

I don't know for sure, but just because the credits don't say it was a sample or something, doesn't mean that Stevie is not getting paid as a cleared sample. I'm not sure, though.

[Edited 8/16/11 18:08pm]

Well the thing is it's not really sampled from the original recording but there's no question the musicians are recreating the bass line from Too High.

Does that make it fall through some kind of loophole?

Cuz the credits for each of the 11 songs are careful to cite all guest performers courtesy of XYZ records etc. and the samples used plus the writers of said samples... for instance:

In cut one it's "...contains a sample of the recording < Do That Stuff> as performed by Parliament, written by George Clinton Jr. / Gary M. Shider / Bernard G. worrell, published by Bridgeport Music Inc. (BMI) Used by permission. Courtesy of The island Def jam Music Group under license from universal Music Enterprises. All rights reserved."

So if they are being that detailed and precise about actual samples hows come there was nuthin' bout the Too High bass line... not even in the "thanks to" section?

This reminds me of the video for Gett Off where Prince walks over to an old Victrola, sings, "reminds of something James used to say" as he drops the needle on a record and the band quotes a brief passage from James Brown's Mother Popcorn. It's not the original recording but the NPG plays it pretty faithfully to the original.

"I like 'em fat, I like 'em proud. Got ta have a mother for me... now move your big ass round this way so I can work on that zipper, baby."

I always wondered if JB ever got any coin for that passage.

[Edited 8/17/11 0:20am]

daPrettyman said:

Timmy84 said:

They probably didn't care, meaning Stevie/Motown/Universal.

One thing I've learned about Stevie is that HE CARES.

I love his sense of humor..... just a legend.

DakutiusMaximus said:

daPrettyman said:

WOW! It surely is!

I don't know for sure, but just because the credits don't say it was a sample or something, doesn't mean that Stevie is not getting paid as a cleared sample. I'm not sure, though.

[Edited 8/16/11 18:08pm]

Well the thing is it's not really sampled from the original recording but there's no question the musicians are recreating the bass line from Too High.

Does that make it fall through some kind of loophole?

Cuz the credits for each of the 11 songs are careful to cite all guest performers courtesy of XYZ records etc. and the samples used plus the writers of said samples... for instance:

In cut one it's "...contains a sample of the recording < Do That Stuff> as performed by Parliament, written by George Clinton Jr. / Gary M. Shider / Bernard G. worrell, published by Bridgeport Music Inc. (BMI) Used by permission. Courtesy of The island Def jam Music Group under license from universal Music Enterprises. All rights reserved."

So if they are being that detailed and precise about actual samples hows come there was nuthin' bout the Too High bass line... not even in the "thanks to" section?

This reminds me of the video for Gett Off where Prince walks over to an old Victrola, sings, "reminds of something James used to say" as he drops the needle on a record and the band quotes a brief passage from James Brown's Mother Popcorn. It's not the original recording but the NPG plays it pretty faithfully to the original.

"I like 'em fat, I like 'em proud. Got ta have a mother for me... now move your big ass round this way so I can work on that zipper, baby."

I always wondered if JB ever got any coin for that passage.

[Edited 8/17/11 0:20am]

From my understanding, it doesn't matter if the sample is replayed or used from the original recording, it still counts as a "sample."

Prince sampled "Tramp" from Lowell Fulsom for "7", but you can tell he replayed the bassline. In the credits, he lists it as a "sample."

The same goes for MJ on the other hand with "DS." He lists "Owner of A Lonely Heart" as the sample because he replayed the intro in "DS."

I'm not sure what constitutes as a sample or interpolation, though. Either way, the original songwriter still gets paid.

The sampling has also been picked up by the website whosampled.com. They compare the tracks side by side:

http://www.whosampled.com...oo%20High/