Nile Rogers partners with Samsung to launch StemDrop

Mother, working in partnership with Samsung, brings together the legend that is Nile Rodgers with some of today’s most exciting new artists.

This latest collaboration captures musical history in the making, aiming to open StemDrop – a global music collaboration programme that gives new artists a platform to showcase their talent - to diverse talent.

The documentary series, Make It With Nile, aims to uncover some surprising changes in how people make it in music, thanks to technology - specifically smartphone tech and platforms like TikTok. There will always be a debate if this is better or worse, so what better way to find out than ask a music icon and some of today’s most exciting music-makers?

Over four episodes, Make It With Nile hosts conversations and collaboration sessions between Nile and the latest and greatest in young music makers, all of whom ‘made it’ using nothing but their phones, their bedrooms and their raw talent. Armani White, ALTÉGO, INJI and Dréya Mac have honest discussions about how they all ‘made it’, which is compared with Nile’s experience through decades of pushing musical boundaries, along with more than a few anecdotes.

Shot on location at the iconic Real World Studios - the birthplace of tracks from Amy Winehouse and Beyoncé to Van Morrison and Kylie Minogue - the films will form the backbone of Samsung’s latest UK marketing campaign for Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 and Galaxy Buds2 Pro. Offering insightful viewing whilst showcasing the possibilities of Samsung tech.

James Sellick, Creative Director at Mother commented: “Our young, TikToking, bedroom-rocking, million-view-clocking musicians learnt a lot more from Nile (after all, he is Nile Rodgers), we also found that inspiration runs both ways, with Nile learning more than a few things about the intricacies of cutting through the chaos in 2022. This combination of talent and experience makes for compelling viewing.”

Samsung has chosen to feature diverse artists as we enter a new era of finding raw talent - and want to help by partnering ‘StemDrop’. StemDrop is an online music collaboration and discovery hosted by TikTok to be a more democratic process, judged by the masses, not just the moguls as the TV talent format shows are.

Annika Bizon, Marketing and Omnichannel Director at Samsung Electronics UK added: “ ‘Make It With Nile’ lifts the lid on the future of music and builds on our series of collaborations with creators and technology. Embracing long form content allows us to showcase the role of our unique Galaxy Z Flip4 device in the real world in an authentic way. The technology revolution, especially enabled by smartphones, has opened music up to the masses like never before. In effect, we all now have a music studio in our pocket, and in the case of our ZFlip, a perfect partner for capturing video content too. Partnering with TikTok for StemDrop, supported by Make It With Nile, helps to position Samsung at the heart of future technology and creativity.”

The series is running over the next few weeks, with a range of assets used to initiate and sustain interest. The launch phase focuses on leveraging talent reach and paid social - with the talent selection partially informed by the differing online communities they enable the campaign to access. Paid media was planned and managed by Starcom.

In episode one (above), Armani White reveals all about his smash hit Billie Eilish and Nile Rodgers learns what makes a track go viral on TikTok.

Filmed in the iconic Real World Studios, we follow Armani & Nile as they share where and how they wrote their most famous hooks. Armani explains how Billie Eilish was written on the toilet and reflects on the life-changing moment Billie reposted the song. Nile talks about his song writing process and tells the hilarious story of how he turned a bad night out into one of the most famous songs ever written. We get a rare insight into their musical processes as they jam together, laying down the start of a brand new original track (you heard it here first, people).

In episode two (above), Altégo reveals how mashing up timeless classics led to overnight fame and Nile shares his opinions on sampling.

As they settle into Real World Studios, Altégo and Nile explore how sampling and composition has changed over the years. Nile reveals what it’s like to be one of the world’s most sampled artists and reflects on the shock and confusion he felt when he was first sampled in the 80s. As the discussion deepens, Nile gives us an honest insight into the first time he heard Mo Money Mo Problems by The Notorious B.I.G, who sampled one of his biggest flops, and Altégo let us in on how they choose which songs to mash up. We get unrivalled access into their process of making songs as they both share tips for how to flip sounds and samples into the most interesting StemDrop entry.

Credits

Brand: Samsung

Campaign: Samsung x The Drop

Marketing and Omnichannel Director at SEUK: Annika Bizon

Head of Brand, SEUK MX: Alex Conaway

Brand Lead, SEUK MX: Lucy Coombs

Brand Graduate, SEUK MX: Sonia Caldiorni

Junior Marketing Manager Audio & SmartTag, SEUK MX: Sophie Henwood

Senior Media Manager, SEUK MX: Richard Neil

Creative: Mother

Strategy: Mother

Production Company: Mother Studios

Director: Theo Williams

Director of Photography: Ahmet Husseyin

Producer: Georgia Wall

Production Manager: Edie Connealy

Production Assistant: George Morris-Mean

Post Production: Mother Studios

Editor: Paco Sweetman

Editor: Jess Waterhouse

Sound: Beyond Real

Colour Grade: Black Kite

Talent: Nile Rodgers, Armani White, ALTÉGO, INJI, Dréya Mac

Sessoin Musicians: John Baggott (Keyboards), Damon Reece (Drummer), Dale Davis (Bassist)

1st Assistant Director: Dawn Smith

2nd Assistant Director: Chris Mears

Runner: Lukas Pace

Runner: Georgina Vowles

Location Manager: Jamie Lindsay

Camera Operator: Svetlana Miko

Camera Operator: Adenike Oke

Focus Puller: Emily Jane Robinson

Focus Puller: Jeff Vine

Focus Puller: Samuel Harding

Clapper Loader: Ada Wesolowska

Clapper Loader: Tom Watson

DIT: Matthew Oaten

Key Grip: Micheal Farell

Playback Operator: Andrew Spindle

Camera Trainee 1: Lee Pyefinch

Camera Trainee 2: Chad Worsley

Gaffer: Saul Harris

Spark: Barry Keegan

Spark: Simon ingram

Spark: Lee Wilson

Spark: Zac Kassapi

Production Designer: Charles Whiteway

Assistant Art Director: Jo Scholar

Master Props: Max Roach

Props Assistant: Alicia Thorpe

Props Assistant: Cam Seymour

Sound Recordist: Tristan Williams

Hair and Makeup Artist: Eve Coles

Wardrobe Assistant: Louise Foley

Paramedic: Tom Burton