Phantogram and Broken Social Scene Collide on BandLab’s Latest Sample Pack

Josh Carter (Phantogram, pictured right above) and Justin Peroff (Broken Social Scene, pictured left above) have teamed up—not for a remix or a split single, but for something far more utilitarian: a sample pack. Chop Assembly, out officially as of July 18 via BandLab Sounds, is the result of a remote, cross-country collaboration built on text threads, voice memos, late-night drum takes, and shared folders full of analog grit. It’s loose, punchy, and built for producers who want something percussive without leaning too clean.

The pack focuses on the kind of rhythmic oddities and unpolished textures that feel designed for cutting up. Peroff brought the raw drum energy, Carter warped it through his glitch-heavy sensibilities, and the result feels like an analog conversation between two very different creative brains. There’s no polished polish here—just loops, fills, fragments, and ideas that push you to stretch the rules a little.

What makes Chop Assembly stand out, though, is that it lives on BandLab—one of the few free platforms where an artist-led pack like this can be made for both pro producers and mobile-first creators at the same time. Below, I spoke with Josh and Justin about how the project came together, what shaped the percussive-first approach, and how they hope other artists flip what they’ve made into something new.

What did the earliest version of this sample pack sound like before it evolved into Chop Assembly?

JP: Like most projects of this nature there was a lot of file sharing. Ultimately after some deliberation there was stuff left on the cutting room floor (perhaps to be used on a future Chop Assembly collab pack?). I sometimes like to use construction site metaphors when building out these projects: We framed the house, secured the walls and ceilings and when the time was right, we garnished it with accessories and furniture. 

JMC: The earliest version of this sample pack was full of random experimentation and sending things back and forth to each other. I think what brought it all together was us working more on the ideas that we gravitated towards the most at the time. I’m very excited, as we have quite a lot of ideas that are going to be fun to dig into next time.

What made you lean into the “percussive-forward” direction rather than something more melodic or harmonic?

JP: It was pretty clear early in the process that we are both beat junkies, so, it’s no surprise that the pack ended up leaning heavily in the drums and percussion lane. Josh is a master at flipping a sample on its head, my main instrument being the drums and with us both big into hip hop, it all landed somewhere in the middle of all of that. 

JMC: This was my first time working on a sample pack with BandLabs, and my first instinct was to lean into something more percussive-forward and I just followed that feeling. Now that I’ve had a taste of what I can do here and seen the freedom that BandLabs allows, I’m excited to hopefully dive into some more harmonic ideas next time.

How did working with BandLab shape the final direction or scope of Chop Assembly?

JP: I think the goal was to make something that was compelling enough to capture the attention of the serious studio professional – whether it be producer, songwriter or musician – as well as the casual beat maker using BandLab tools on their mobile while riding the bus home from school or work. BandLab creators fall into both categories so that established the goal we had in mind for the pack. 

JMC: What really shaped the final direction was the freedom they gave us. They put full trust into both of us as artists and allowed us to be as experimental as we wanted to be. This sample pack is as experimental as we are as artists, while also maintaining a strong sensibility that we hope inspires musicians to anchor their music to.  

How do you hope producers use this pack? Do you want them to recognize your fingerprints—or reinvent the material entirely?

JP: I want them to use it in any way that inspires them. Depending on the project, sometimes a creator wants to find a loop to establish the end result of a project. Sometimes it’s a central piece as a songstarter. And sometimes the loop takes you on a journey where you are endlessly reinventing it until it becomes something that is yours. I want all of that to happen. 

JMC:  I want producers to feel inspired – whether their song ideas or beats come completely from this pack, or elements, or even just chopped up bits of “Chopped Assembly.” This sample pack is meant to inspire people to have fun, think outside the box and experiment.

Justin, you’ve been on BandLab for a while—how has that community influenced how you think about releasing tools like this?

JP: I enjoy looking for and receiving feedback from the various packs I have put out. Musicians, songwriters and producers need solutions just like any other industry. They are hugely important. If something doesn’t seem to be working, I’ll take note. Same goes for something that is working, is embraced or celebrated. That all comes into play as I continue to create more tools like this. 

Josh, this is your first time working with BandLab—how did their format or tools shift your perspective on this kind of work?

JMC: The fact that they trusted us to just experiment and have fun shifted my initial perspective that leaned more “traditional”