Crate Digging: Eric Medina, Music Supervisor

Eric Medina, Music Supervisor at Raedio, discusses his top two finds.

Sampa the Great – As Above, So Below

“As Above, So Below" is one of the most unique albums I've ever in a long time and definitely one of my favourites from 2022. I've been a fan of Sampa since 2018 when first hearing her popular song "Energy". In her newest album I fell in love with her wordplay and African influenced instrumentation. 

With a flow reminiscent of Little Simz with a hint of Lauryn Hill, and production that stays true to her African Roots, it's hard to skip any tracks from this album as each song is unique, yet fits the overall theme and sound of the album - which is entirely her own sound. Drawing influence from Hip-Hop, Singer songwriter, and her home of Zambia. The album is poetry.

"Let Me Be Great" - I remember listening to this song the day the album came out and found a spot for it within seconds in one of my series because of how great and empowering/motivational it is. It's one of my go-to tracks when showing friends Sampa the Great who have never heard her before.

"As Above, So Below" gets me hype, and has an overall motivational captivating energy to it. For one of my series I was specifically looking for a female lyricist with inspiring and powerful lyrics and production to push certain scenes forward for our female protagonist. "Let Me Be Great" worked to wrap up the pilot episode and leave viewers wanting more. I can also see this album working for big trailers and video games. Some big and anthemic moments.

Stax Soul Explosion

Last year I had the privilege of visiting Memphis on a music supervision retreat and got to check out the Stax Museum and was inspired by the amazing musicians and sound that came from the '50s. Since leaving, I've been riding the high of everything Stax. Although a compilation, this album has something for everyone who loves the soulful sound of the '50s - '60s.

The sound of all songs from this album completely embodies the sound of Memphis Soul from the '50s-'60s. It was such a beautiful time in music and provided so much influence for generations of musicians to come. The artists, producers, writers were so collaborative and geniuses in their craft. If someone today wanted to know what real soul music should sound like - I'd point them to this album as a starting point.

"PRIVATE NUMBER". I'm a sucker for samples and listening to new songs and figuring out where the original sample derived from. As a kid I loved the song "Playaz Club" by Rappin 4-Tay (which sampled Private Number), so this song is a bit nostalgic for me as I began listening to "Private Number" as a kid as well. Now as an adult, the song is so soulful, so soothing, and such a beautiful duet.

Songs from "Stax Soul Explosion" are such classics and I mainly envision these songs for period shows from the '50s and '60s. Or even films/series that take place in Tennessee/south that want to stay true to that sound and region.

If you’d like to know more, or you’re keen to discover more of our repertoire, please contact: labelsyncuk@concord.com.