Yes, I really am posting at 1:23 am. I was just so excited to bring you my third song of the year, hot off the presses or whatever it is you create music entities with! As I had mentioned, my lack of hearing in one ear makes it a bit tough to sing, so this week I bring you the very first remix I’ve ever made! (Okay, so maybe the reason I’m up late is that I’m using the demo version of Ableton Live which wouldn’t let me save my work, so I had to do this all in one shot and hope my computer didn’t die.)
Anyway, I bring you an original Josh Mock remix of Interpol’s Pioneer to the Falls. Mmm Interpol.
I actually started out working with the instrumental track from M.I.A.’s Paper Planes, but then when deciding what to mash it up with, I realized it was better for samples anyway. So I sampled out some of the beats and gunshot sounds and MIDIed my way to a decent beat. Then I added some glitchy sounds to the Interpol track, and there you have it.
I know it doesn’t seem like much, but you would be surprised how long that took me. If it sounds awesome (riiiight) you can only imagine what a full version of Ableton, some accompanying hardware and a little practice could do for me. Guys! I have potential to be a remix master! Sponsor me or something!
I’m going to bed.
Sorry for the posting hiatus. The music world tends to hibernate for the few weeks surrounding Christmas and New Years, but things are finally starting to pick up again (new Shins, Six Parts Seven, Deerhoof, Clinic, Of Montreal, Fujiya & Miyagi releases next week! Woo!).
The only thing I have to really discuss is the upcoming RPM Challenge 2007, where musicians all over the world unite with the common goal of recording an album during the 28 days of February. It’s a fun and supportive community. I’ve joined with my solo project, Saviors, which is/will be my instrumental post rock alter ego. We’ll see how that goes. I’m blogging my progress over there. It should be fun.
Oh, and one more fun little link: check out a couple Jimi Hendrix remixes. The Jimi/Jay-Z mashup Voodoo Problems is especially awesome.
In case you haven’t been on the Internet in the last year, mashups are the hot new thing. A mashup is pretty much what it sounds like: a mashing-up of tracks by different artists to make a new song that contains characteristics of each included track. There are a few mashpus that you really need to listen to:
The first sample I would be showing you is Dean Gray’s “American Edit.” Unfortunately, their record label decided that remixes are a copyright infringement and a cease and desist order was made. Either way, check out AmericanEdit.org for the latest news on what’s happening with that. Who knows, you might even be able to find a rogue link to a place where you can still get it.
Second up, we have Q-Unit. Queen + 50 Cent = Q-Unit. They’ve probably been targeted with cease and desist orders too, but I’m too lazy to find out for sure. The important part is that you can still download the songs.
Last we have a great mix called Best of Bootie 2005. It mixes everything from M.I.A. to Gwen Stefani to The Ramones to Coldplay to Nirvana to LCD Soundsystem. I’m listening to it right now, and it’s absolutely amazing.
Enjoy mashups. Find more mashups. Make your own mashups. What a great way to stick it to the man.
