Aber vs. Brikha - the great plagiarism scandal

jtsuited

right here's the link to how it all happened, if you haven't heard about it already http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=28973101&blogID=415290964

basically it goes like this:

Aril Brikha hears a track of Shlomi Aber's called Efrat and goes 'hey that record is a direct copy of my 1997 hit 'Groove La Chord'. And I am credited nowhere, this is a joke.'

Shlomi Aber says 'you better watch your mouth bucko, because I'm taking legal action. anywho i got that sound from my Access Virus synth preset h46. there is a similarity but millions of records sound like that with the same chords'. which is a very weak defense of plagiarism in the style of 'it's dance music, sampling is commonplace'. yes it is but this is a lot different.

Brikha even goes as far as saying 'not only did you copy me, but i'm almost positive that you sampled those chords from Groove La Chord (shuffle mix). i made that chord stab on my ensoniq synth from scratch and the chances of you using an identical sounding preset on a synth released after my record, with an identical chord and rhythmic structure (and everything else), well, the chances are so bloody great that I hope you play the lotto'. These are not direct quotes by the way, I'm just trying to make it interesting and neither of them are native-english speakers so their language isn't great.

Aber responds 'you're acting like a jerk, this is very sad. you should actually spend your time trying to have a career as successful as mine rather than publicity stunts than this'. ouch, low blow. game on.

then there's a good bit of other unknowledgeable people saying silly things on both side of the argument. then Christian Smith (yes THE Christian Smith) chimes in and says 'hey aril, go easy, the guy clearly ripped you off, but it's happened me, and let's just look at it as imitation being the highest form of flattery. don't worry about it. aber's being a twat'. again not direct quotes but you'll see what i mean.

now it's clear to anyone with half a brain that aber either

a) sampled the chord stabs from brikha's shuffle mix (which was on the flip of groove la chord's 12")
or
b) found a preset on his access virus, said 'hey this sounds like groove la chord', i'm gonna make a track with that exact sound in it and make it the main element of the track
or
c) aber never heard any of this and it's one of the most colossal coincidences of all time. and the odds are so massive, it's laughable. especially considering the fact that it sounds like aber not only copied it but DIRECTLY sampled it. we're talkin coincidences of biblical proportions here.

anywho reading the whole saga unfold in the comment section of a myspace blog is highly entertaining, and a must for any techno fan.

Another particular highlight is when some guy posts two of aber's tracks and two tracks aber clearly copied for those tracks. when you hear them, you start to think 'holy crap, aber is relying on massive coincidences here'.

now there's nothing wrong with sampling. PROVIDED the original artist is credited if the sample used is quite a prominent sound in the track (ie a vocal line, melodic line, DISTINCTIVE chord stab!, etc.), and nobody's going around passing off work as completely original works.

and there's nothing wrong with making a track highly influenced by another track. In rock music these would be called cover versions.

But there IS something wrong with doing both the above and denying it all and then threatening legal action to anyone who points it out.

And here's the best bit.....

Brikha is Iranian-born, and holds an Iranian passport. Aber lives in Tel Aviv. Most importantly though, BeAsOne (aber's label and the label that released Efrat) is based there too.
So if Brikha wanted to take Aber to court for ripping him off he'd have to go to feckin Israel to do so. JAYSUS!!! what a mess.

The whole thing is crazy. Jesus Christ himself couldn't stop the Israelis fighting with their neighbours. Wonder what chance Christian Smith has??

Happy reading.

seannash

it is a joke that hes getting away with it.his remixes (coz that what efrat is)are very well made but hes being a total cockbag about the situation.
post the deadmau5 one next:D

jtsuited

seannash wrote: »

post the deadmau5 one next:D

all hell is gonna break loose when that gem of a scandal is unleashed here.

hey sean, you're forgetting the 1st rule of relaying plagiarism scandals on internet forums...

always leave them wanting more!!:pac::pac:

seannash

jtsuited wrote: »

all hell is gonna break loose when that gem of a scandal is unleashed here.

hey sean, you're forgetting the 1st rule of relaying plagiarism scandals on internet forums...

always leave them wanting more!!:pac::pac:

im new to this,ive got so much to learn about relaying palgiarism scandals:o

Neurojazz

The original writer just needs to contact his/her publisher... problem solved.