US Library of Congress unveils royalty-free sampling app

The tool, which includes samples from more than a century ago, lets creators make music using the library’s public audio collections. The app is currently in the beta version and expected to be released during the US summer.

Users can also remix sounds from the library’s massive collection of film, television, video and sound recordings. The sounds will be made available in three ways: through purchased sample packs, the hip hop music-creation app or by searching the metadata for specific sounds.

Citizen DJ allows users to shuffle the samples and drum kicks from a variety of drum machines from six collections including the Free Music Archive and Variety Stage Sound Recordings and Motion Pictures, and remix them using patterns like ‘60s funk, ‘70s soul, and ‘80s and ’90s hip hop.

The project was created by the library's innovator-in-residence Brian Foo, who says the aim of the app is to recapture the golden age of hip hop.

“The golden age of hip hop was said to be in the late '80s to early '90s when DJs had unconstrained creative freedom to collage from found sounds,” Foo said in a statement. “This small window of time produced landmark albums such as Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet and De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising, both considered to be culturally significant and selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

“I believe if there was a simple way to discover, access and use public-domain audio and video material for music making, a new generation of hip hop artists and producers can maximise their creativity, invent new sounds and connect listeners to materials, cultures and sonic history that might otherwise be hidden from public ears."

A preview of the Citizen DJ app can be found here.