Rainbow Chan, the Australian music maverick, has once again proven her ability to transform the ordinary into extraordinary.

Her latest musical endeavour takes her out of the studio and into the heart of nature, the Sydney Botanical Gardens. 

Armed with a Sennheiser MKH 8060 shotgun mic, her HD25 headphones and a keen ear, Chan embarks on a sonic exploration, capturing the unique soundscape and turning it into a very vibey sample pack.

With a DIY spirit and an experimental mindset, Chan sets about crafting a samples that are as diverse and vibrant as the gardens themselves.

This isn’t just about creating music; it’s about connecting with the environment and finding inspiration in unexpected places.

So, put on your headphones, close your eyes, and let Rainbow take you on a sonic journey through the Sydney Botanical Gardens.

Huge shoutout to Neumann for sponsoring this session.

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – RAINBOW CHAN

Keep up with Rainbow Chan on Instagram.

Find out more about Neumann here.

Take a wander with Willo through Fagan Park as she unearths the park’s hidden sounds and spins them into her own fresh beats.

In the latest episode of Somewhere Sounds, Sydney-based producer Willo takes her gear outdoors, capturing the unique vibe of Fagan Park to craft a brand-new sample pack.

Equipped with a Sennheiser MKH 8060 shotgun mic and her trusty HD25 headphones, Willo immerses herself in the park’s rich soundscape, skillfully intertwining nature’s organic textures with her distinctive electronic edge.

Nature has always played a big role in Willo’s creative journey. Her debut single, Past Time, was written during lockdown, right here in the tranquil surroundings of Fagan Park. The park became her escape, helping her develop a meditative approach to sound that’s defined her music ever since.

You can hear this influence in her highly praised EP ‘Watching A Memory’ and collaborations like ‘left u’ with JOY,  and ‘Next Life’ with Nils Hoffman and Dustin Tebutt where she effortlessly fuses electronic production with organic inspiration.

Get your hands on Willo’s Somewhere Sounds sample pack now, and experience Fagan Park in a whole new way.

Huge shoutout to Neumann for sponsoring this session.

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – WILLO

Keep up with Willo on Instagram.

Find out more about Neumann here.

Offbeat Collective take us behind the scenes of their studios and community while making exclusive sample pack that captures the raw essence of Marrickville’s industrial sounds

As part of Happy Mag’s Somewhere Sounds Series, Founder Jannah Beth, alongside Offbeat Collective resident artists POOKIE, PA777IENCE, and Sid Swindail, have unearthed the studio’s hidden gems to create a gritty, offbeat collection.

This pack features a range of sounds, from ambient whispers to toilet flushes that reflect not only the studio’s electric atmosphere but the people who call Offbeat their creative home.

It’s more than just a tool for music production; it’s a deep dive into the spirit of Offbeat Collective, designed to ignite creativity and celebrate their collaborative ethos.

For artists seeking to inject genuine, organic vibes into their work, this sample pack offers a direct connection to Marrickville’s musical core, straight from one of its most cutting-edge creative spaces.

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – OFFBEAT COLLECTIVE

Stay connected to Offbeat Collective via instagram

More about Thirst Trap here.

Jermaine Sakr, the psychedelic pop mastermind behind Jermango Dreaming, recently embarked on a sonic adventure through Sydney Park

Known for its iconic smoke stacks and expansive green spaces, the park is a favourite haunt of Sakr’s.

Fresh off the release of his infectious indie dance track “My Love” with Butterbath, the artist traded in his signature euphoric synths for the raw sounds of nature, traffic, and everything in between.

The result is a captivating new sample pack, part of the Somewhere Sounds series in partnership with Thirst Trap. This project aims to create a vast library of field recordings for musicians worldwide.

Jermango Dreaming’s signature blend of laid-back grooves and dreamy melodies, often reminiscent of classic funk and disco, takes an experimental turn in this collection.

The Sydney Park sample pack is available now, offering a unique sonic palette as diverse as the park itself.

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – JERMANGO DREAMING

Stay connected to Jermango Dreaming via instagram

More about Thirst Trap here.

Musician Tim Commandeur, known for his project Channings, ventures beyond drums and DJ decks in our latest Somewhere Sounds session, partnered with Neumann

This time, the creative space is a pottery studio! We follow Tim to Love Ryan Ceramics, a beachside haven in Tamarama, where he crafts a unique sample pack using the sounds of sculpting clay.

Witness the magic as the potter’s wheel spins and unexpected sonic textures emerge.

We used a Neumann MKH 8060 shotgun mic and a portable Sennheiser kit to capture every detail. Tim, ever the prepared producer, sported his trusty Sennheiser HD25 headphones.

This Somewhere Sounds session isn’t just about sound creation; it’s about exploring creativity in new environments.

By stepping outside his comfort zone, Tim discovers a new way to express himself and capture the unique sounds that inspire him.

Big thanks to Neumann for sponsoring this session.

Download Tim Commandeur’s Somewhere Sounds sample pack:

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – TIM COMMANDEUR

Stay connected to Tim Commandeur via instagram

More about Neumann here.

Creepy dolls, Antique bells, and the click of a 100 year old suitcase? Check! Unearth field recordings with Charlie Villas at Victory Theatre Antique Centre

We teamed up with Thirst Trap for a unique “Somewhere Sounds” session with Charlie Villas at the Blackheath Victory Antique Centre. 

Charlie Villas, one of Sydney’s top DJs and music curators, known for her eclectic style blending disco, Prince, and 80s boogie, captured a bucketload of intriguing sounds from antique bells to ancient kitchen utensils, old suitcases, and wooden furniture at Victory Theatre Antique Centre, a sprawling art deco gem in Blackheath.

This session delivers an incredible mix of spooky and insanely fascinating samples, reflecting Charlie’s genius talent to turn everyday objects into musical gold.

Charlie Villas has gained international acclaim, performing at venues like The Glory in London and Le Comptoir Général in Paris. In Australia, she’s a staple at events like the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and Vivid Sydney. 

Huge thanks to Thirst Trap offering up Australian spring water in infinitely recyclable cans, and for promoting environmental consciousness alongside Charlie’s vibrant music sessions. 

Download Charlie Villas’ Somewhere Sounds sample pack:

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – CHARLIE VILLAS

Stay connected to Charlie Villas via instagram

More about Thirst Trap here.

Music producer Charlotte Adele went to her sanctuary Maroubra Beach, but this time to capture the ambience to make the year’s first Somewhere Sounds Sample Pack.

Sydney music producer Charlotte Adele holds Maroubra Beach (AKA the Bra) special in her heart. It’s where she goes to chill after a long day working on music, letting a feeling of tranquillity wash over her as she’s immersed in sound.

The sounds of the environment like the fizz of the waves, the birds, and the wind were high on her agenda to record and transform into snares, percussion and ambient loops. She wanted to use these textures from the beach and its surroundings to create a beat that’s a sensory experience.

Using a field recorder and a shotgun microphone (with a good wind sock), Charlotte headed down to her local beach to explore the area more than she normally would. Heading back to her home studio she dived into Ableton to start creating some samples. We’ll show you how she recorded the sounds, processed them, and made a beat from them.

“When Happy Mag asked me to be part of Somewhere Sounds I was VERY happy. I’ve been following Somewhere Sounds and seeing different producers that I follow do it and I think it’s an awesome initiative.

It’s a really creative way for producers to go to a space they connect with, sample it and then share it with the community.

I think it’s awesome!”

Download Charlotte Adele’s Somewhere Sounds sample pack below:

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – CHARLOTTE ADELE

For more on Charlotte Adele head over to her Instagram page.

Strapping on kicks and heading down to a Basketball Court in Western Sydney, Producer Kase Avila had a unusal agenda — to make a Somewhere Sounds Sample Pack.

Avid basketballer and music producer Kase Avila merged his two passions on the court as he sampled all the sounds that one might expect (and not expect) to hear when shooting hoops.

Every sound imagined in an outdoor, Western Sydney Basketball court was recorded, sampled and processed from net swishes, to sneaker squeaks, to the poles that hold up the ring to make a well-curated sample pack from one of Sydney’s best music producers.

Working with some very simple field recording equipment and Ableton in his home studio, Kase Avila was able to get a lot of drums and percussion, and some found-sound synths that will make your production far more interesting that using the usual suspects. We’re going to go through how he recorded the sounds and how he processed them, just for you to download.

“When Happy Mag reached out to me I was super stoked! They’ve done some really cool videos in the Somewhere Sounds series in the past with other amazing artists, so to be part of that roster is an honour.

My music is feel-good hip hop and boom bop, and i use found sounds in a lot of my drums and percussion to give it more ambience and texture.

We’re going to a basketball court today. I’ve always loved basketball, growing up watching the sport, I wanted to be an NBL or NBA star, but I’ve got the Filipino gene — so it didn’t happen. But I still hold basketball dearly to my heart.”

Download Kase Avila’s Somewhere Sounds sample pack below:

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – KASE AVILA

For more on Kase Avila head over to his Instagram page.

For the first time in the Somewhere Sounds series, we headed to Melbourne to meet with producer IJALE. He created a sample pack inside an African Percussion store and from curious objects around his home — like his partner’s impressive loom.

To start creating his sample pack IJALE chose the Melbourne music store African Drumming. Being very familiar with African percussion instruments, he was very clear on what he wanted to sample at the music store from goat’s toes shakers to Dunun drums (West African drums) to deep low Djembes.

Leaving behind the music store, he then took inspiration to sample objects around his home like lamps, a huge array of books, singing bowls, some of his partner’s trinkets and her loom — a device used to weave cloth and tapestry.

IJALE’s Somewhere Sounds sample pack is one of the biggest we’ve seen in a while, and it’s a huge world of interesting sounds for you to dig into. We’re going to go through how he recorded the sounds and how he processed them, just for you to download.

“When Happy Mag asked me to do this I was ecstatic, I felt like I was replying to the email before I even formulated the words to say.

Yes, just definitely yes was my answer. I’ve watched every single one and I’ve been fans of all the people who’ve done them before and I’ve worked with them before.

I sample music all the time, just for fun, to do it in this way — curated — is a joy”

Download IJALE’s Somewhere Sounds sample pack below:

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – IJALE

For more on IJALE head over to his Instagram page.

Artist Liyah Knight took over her mum’s costume workshop yet again, but this time to make a sample pack from the sounds of machines, beads of all sizes, and curious findings.

Choosing a space that she’s extremely familiar with, Liyah Knight, entered her mum’s costume workshop — not to make another outfit for a show — but to make a sample pack. Using a few Sennheiser mics and a field recorder she created her entire Somewhere Sounds Sample pack in the tiny room that was full of weird and wonderful things, including a cash register that had been in the family business for generations.

Being no stranger to manipulating sounds in Ableton, she was eager to create something interesting and unique for you, herself, and her demo beat. Knowing that the workshop would be full of very cool drum and percussion instruments, she made it her mission to try to get some melodic sounds.

For her Somewhere Sounds Sample Pack an overlocker sewing machine was transformed into a bass synth, a drum rack was created from another sewing machine, and some fancy hats — obviously made for stage — were made into a few different synths. And that’s not all of it. Read on to see what she captured and how she processed them.

“When Happy Mag asked me to be part of Somewhere Sounds I was honoured and a bit surprised cos the only music I’ve made that’s been shared, has been sounds I’ve made with my teeth and with pens and things like that.

I like to make sounds, I am a noisy person. I like to do that at my desk, record things and manipulate them until I like them and they sound like something different.

I do that stuff in my studio all the time, but to do it in front of a camera is something new and different!”

Download Liyah Knights’ Somewhere Sounds sample pack below:

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – LIYAH KNIGHT

For more on Liyah Knight head over to her Instagram.

Producer and multi-instrumentalist Setwun explored the creaks and cracks inside his home studio and the sounds of his suburb the created a sample pack. Watch his process of finding and manipulating samples.

Exploring the quirks of his home studio, Setwun armed himself with mic and field recorder to sample these sounds. Venturing outside with a mallet in hand he wandered the streets of his suburb of Chippendale to collect sound bytes of street signs, beer kegs and traffic.

No stranger to manipulating found sounds and samples, he already had creative ideas in his head of how he wanted to process them including some processing through guitar pedals. 

From a broken stair inside his studio being transformed into a kick drum, unusual samples from his piano, to a beer keg as percussion and a random skateboarder being sampled in the park, Setwun used these two spaces to create an original and fascinating sample pack.

“I was very hyped when Happy mag asked me to be part of the Somewhere Sounds series. I love recording random sounds and making lots of music from them.

Today I’m going to be recording found sounds with this Sennheiser shotgun microphone. I’ve been using Sennheiser stuff for as long as I can remember to be honest. Headphones, mics, they’ve always been around me.

I use found sounds and samples all the time in my work. I think they add incredible texture and imperfection. 

I’ve been living in Chippendale for about 5 years now in this house and it’s usually lived in by lots of creatives and musicians and great people who let us keep doing that. My relationship to the space is incredibly important to me, as I can invite friends around from different states or countries to come and make music.

I chose this space and the surrounding neighbourhood because it’s where I spend all my time and I’m always making music right here and all the sounds from the street tend to bleed in on a lot of the records I make. 

So I figured I should lean into that and get those sounds as loud as possible.”

Download Setwuns Somewhere Sounds sample pack below:

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – SETWUN

For more on Setwun head over to his Instagram.

Musician, Artist and Producer Jonti loves found sounds: watch as he creates a sample pack inside his favourite music venue.

Heading into Phoenix Central Park, without his guitars and synths, Jonti wandered around the remarkable venue armed with a field recorder and a microphone ready to create his free Somewhere Sounds sample pack.

Having performed in the musical playground that is this venue, Jonti already had his heart set on this space to collect found sounds for his Somewhere Sounds sample pack.

Phoenix Central Park is not just an empty space with a PA, it’s an alluring music venue that is also the host to two insanely cool and highly regarded pianos, a Fazioli grand piano and Blüthner PH grand piano and a chair that has a harp built into it!

“I was very excited when Happy mag asked me to be part of Somewhere Sounds. I’m a big fan of the series and I love every opportunity to make a sample pack.

I love using Ableton and exploring Sydney and I am just very grateful to be part of the series.

My relationship with Phoenix Central Park started during the pandemic. I perform with an artist called the Die Youngs, and he said man you gotta check this venue out. We were like man, one day we gotta perform there.

Then Phoenix emailed me about doing a Jonti show and we performed that show, which was a dream come true!

The venue also portrays the sounds of Sydney, as most of the new bands I see perform at Phoenix Central Park.”

Download Jonti’s Somewhere Sounds sample pack below.

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – JONTI

Listen to Jonti’s latest release here and find out more on Instagram.

Chelsea Warner took a literal stroll down memory lane sampling the Art Gallery of NSW and Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music.

Chelsea Warner is no stranger to found sounds and sampling, as she leans heavily on creating interesting and new sounds in her productions both for herself and for other artists she produces. Looking back on her childhood, she was inspired by two places for her Somewhere Sounds sample pack.

When Chelsea signed up for Somewhere Sounds the worlds of visual art and music met. Upon trips with her mother to the Art Gallery of NSW she fondly remembers how those events inspired her to create. Being a student of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Chelsea wanted to create music in a much different way from the usual internal setting.

Her goal for the sample pack was quite simple — find sounds with a tone or pitch so she can make a synth or keys rack to start the beat, and find some percussion from foliage to make drum sounds.

“When Happy Mag asked me to be a part of Somewhere Sounds I was so thrilled. I really love all of the artists that have done this previously. So inspiring!

I work a lot with found sounds in my music. I love making my own samples, I love messing with things in Ableton. Stretching things and warping things are already a big part of what I do.

I chose the Art Gallery fo NSW because visual art has a big place in my heart. When I was growing up my mum would encourage my brother and I to do a lot of different creative things. We would go to the art gallery together when I got older so that holds a special place in my heart as a my creative roots and what initially inspired me to create.

The Conservatorium of music is where I’m doing my bachelor of music and where I had a lot of my first musical experiences outside of school. It was where the world opened up to me and I feel like I blossomed into a creative person and musician through being with and seeing a lot of amazing musicians around me.”

Download Chelsea Warner’s Somewhere Sounds sample pack below.

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – CHELSEA WARNER

Listen to Chelsea Warner’s latest release here and follow her on Instagram.

For 2022’s first Somewhere Sounds pack, Mr Rhodes samples a wrestling ring and more inside a Sydney boxing gym.

Mr Rhodes is a rapper and producer originally hailing from Lismore who moved to Sydney in early 2022. He’s been dropping tracks since 2018 and 2020 saw him win a Create NSW Generations fellowship. As a producer who works with sound design in Ableton and on his Push 2, he was a perfect choice to launch the Somewhere Sounds sample pack series in 2022.

When Mr Rhodes signed up for Somewhere Sounds, his passion for wrestling (that he shared with his cousin) and sound sampling collided as he found a gym in Forest Lodge, Sydney called Padded Gloves that features a full-sized ring, boxing bags, slam balls, and skipping ropes.

His imagination ran wild with percussion samples from body slamming, hitting boxing bags, sounds from the ring, and Mr Rhodes even found a few unsuspecting sounds in skipping ropes and the chains that suspend items from the gym’s ceiling.

“When Happy Mag asked me to be a part of Somewhere Sounds I was super excited. I was a huge fan of their Sydney Sounds series and I use the sample packs regularly.

The thought of being able to create something to share with the rest of the producer and artist community, that they will be able to use for themselves, it makes me very full of joy and very keen to see what they do with it.

I chose the ring to create a sample pack because I’ve been a massive wrestling fan since I was nine. Me and my cousin — who has cerebral palsy — couldn’t do much sport so we would hang out and watch wrestling all the time and it’s how we connected. I thought it would be an awesome way to tell the story of my connection to wrestling and my cousin through sound.” 

Download Mr Rhodes’ Somewhere Sounds sample pack below.

DOWNLOAD SOMEWHERE SOUNDS – MR RHODES

Listen to more Mr Rhodes on Spotify and follow him on Instagram.

Check out Sydney Sounds here.