SAMPLED examines the skeletal production of a contemporary rap, R&B, hip-hop or pop song — Where did the loop, sample, or chopped up vocal providing the backbone originate? SAMPLED gives you the history, the context, and the insight.

This week, we’re breaking down the sample from the lead-off track on Harry Fraud’s recent mixtape release Adrift, “Morey Boogie Boards” by Action Bronson:

Aphrodite’s Child were a Greek prog-rock band, active from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies, and formed by renowned film composer Vangelis. Even if you’re not a member of the cultish following that’s grown to appreciate Aphrodite’s Child since their disbandment, you’ve gotta give it up for Vangelis’ work on the Chariots Of Fire score, and/or the dystopian bleep-bloops of the Blade Runner soundtrack.

Shortly after Aphrodite’s Child’s formation in 1967, they decided to leave their native Greece to escape a newly established right-wing dictatorship that they worried could stifle their creativity. Finding a home in Paris, the band signed with Mercury Records and released “Rain and Tears,” a song that would sell over a million copies despite the lyrics of the song being in English instead of French. The band became well known for their psychedelic pop songs and ballads, but when Vangelis wanted to take things in a more experimental, progressive direction, resulting in the creative difference that would lead to the band’s ultimate demise. After the band broke up, their final, more experimental project 666 was released, eventually becoming the band’s most respected and influential release. Demis Roussos and Vangelis, the core members of Aphrodite’s Child, would go on to have successful solo careers after the band’s breakup, with Vangelis’ work on film scores being the most notable.

“Aegian Sea” is a good example of the anthemic, experimental direction Vangelis steered Aphrodite’s Child towards on 666. These ominous textures and foreboding, ambient vocals are a far cry from the palatable and poppy version of Aphrodite’s Child who sold over a million copies of “Rain And Tears” just four years previous.

“Aegian Sea” was recently sampled by Harry Fraud on the Action Bronson assisted cut, “Morey Boogie Boards”:

This isn’t the first time we’ve featured a Bronsolini/Fraud collab on SAMPLED, but it’s a safe bet that whenever these two crossover, we’re going to do some crate digging to figure out what Fraud cooked up for Bam Bam.

On the central loop for “Morey Boogie Boards,” Fraud chops the opening progression from “Aegian Sea,” and increases both the pitch and the tempo. Fraud supplements the sample with an 808 kit, a twinkling high-octave synth lead, and air-horn, and not much else. Bronson comes correct, as usual, with some of that clever foodie wordplay we know and love him for (“Lemon zest is subtle in the fish they call the cuddle / We grew up in the gutter break your jaw like a huddle”).

You can check out the rest of Harry Fraud’s Adrift mixtape right here. The project also features collabs with Rick Ross, French Montana, Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, Danny Brown, and more.