Remixing

[~intro]

I've been working on a remix for the last two days, and something came to mind. There seem to be two kinds of remixes in the world. Ones that stick to the original song, and ones that deviate wildly, bearing little resemblance to the original song.

So, I was curious what you other musicians/producers thought about this, and how you approach it when you do your own remixes. Do you try to retain the vocals and/or melody? Or do you just go off on some wild tangent, filter and process a sample from the song until it's unrecognizable, create something that sounds nothing like the original and stick it on a CD?

-Mark
www.djintrovert.com

[~MidiRipper]

In my very humble opinion, a remix can sound like anything, in any style, but it ABSOLUTLEY MUST retain the song's integrity. Basically it should always keep the chords and melody, in a nutshell, the songwriting. If not, it would simply be like a DJ's mix over original music. Like taking an acappella of a song and mixing that with the music/beat/groove of a different song.

Filtering is a different story, as it won't really change the music (notes). Effects over vox is fine.

'Ripper

[~David Vesel]

I have only very limited experience with remixing material. In the past, the "remixes" I did were actually just longer elaborations on the same song. The last remix I did, of "The Coming of the Dead", for the first time I really went in and changed things around. But I didn't go so far as to completely munge the song.

I've heard those types of remixes, and I don't like them. I remember getting the "Chorus" single by Erasure back in 1990, and the remixes on there were unrecognizable except for a few vocal samples, and I really didn't get much out of them.

[~pop]

Remixing.... I like it when it is totally different.
What is the point of purchasing if it is just extended?
I could put the song on loop... Oooo... it is extended version....

Tip
1. Find a scale of the vocal (important)
2. Choices: keep the original chord progressions or give it a new one. If you are working with original key, you can get away with a murder.
3. Keep the vocal melody tracks.
4. Redo the drum track/bass/everything.

[~Mike Gjennestad]

i like remixes that you can at least identify the song you are listening too. too many times anymore you ca't even tell what song is being played because the mixewr has deviated so far from the original that it is a completely different song.


gjennmike

[~devapor]

depends on the music, like for example alot of hip hop remixes (real hip hop not mainstream pop-rap)has a completely different beat, i think it is up to the artist getting remixed and the person remixing a song can be very good if the remix doesnt sound almost exactly like the original version,the remixer has to put his own style into the remix somehow

[~Human Clone]

I agree 100% with Pop most remix discs will have an extended mix on there anyway. I would suggest trying to do something with a little more originality. I find singles with 4 or 5 versions similar to the original a pure waste of money.

I feel Simulator is one of the better remixers in this genre. He is able to reconstruct the work of others into something unique.

[~intervox]

There's only one rule in remixing:

1. There are no rules

(Well, maybe one rule: make sure it's in a favorable key to the vocal melody, lol)

[~Midihead]

Remixing is the remix artist's interpretation of the song. Depending on the song, I may feel the necessity to keep a lot of the original concepts, melodies, chord progressions, etc. in tact like the one I did for The Echoing Green. Or, if I listen to the original of...say "Drug" by BNW and decide that I don't like the original concept, I mangle the snot out of it to my taste. It's my right to do so. I've been assigned to recreate a song based on my own expertise and given the artistic freedom to do so.

Cheerz,

[~NullDevice]

I thinik it depends on the song, really.

I've heard some remixes that wildly deconstruct the song, but leave enough of it to be recognizeable, giving the original a whole new spin. the Lange Mix of PSBs "New York City Boy" is an example - trancy club mix, minor key, doesn't sound much like the original, but it works and sounds cool and you know it's NYCBoy.

Other remixes are decent just slightly altering the original. Like the single mix of dM's "Useless." Not a wild reworking, but effective.

I thik the best remixes are usually somewhere in the middle - they rework the song signifincatly but don't remove the fundaments.

[Synthpopalooza]

My remixing style is ... I tend to keep mostly to the original melody and idea of the song, yet put in elements which are unique to my retro-analog sound. I have done an "extended" mix before, but usually what I like to do is just give the song a nudge towards my sonic style, maybe improve the song's production quality a bit where possible.

[~rivetbadtz]

...and sometimes the remix eclipses the original!(For instance I love the VNV remix of SC's Hellraiser or Theatre of Tragedy's Machine better than the original)

So there's basically three types of remixes: vague stripped down
reinterpretation, vastly improved heavier dance reinterpretation, and holy cow if it wasnt for a brief vocal snipped I wouldnt recognize the song.

A lot of times, you'll hear a band on stage play a 'remixed' version(usually only if its their own) of a classic or fave of theres realizing it probably sounds more upbeat or energetic. Same thing at clubs, after a particulair remix comes out that grooves better than the original hit, they'll soon use that as the staple.

I do think keeping some form of the structure or flavor should be considered...my idea of a good remix personally is trying to outdo the original, to the point when people hear it they think 'Wow! I gotta check out this band's stuff' Well, that's the idea anyways;)

[~digitalia]

for me, i like remixes to be an alternate reality of a song, one that explores possibilities of the original that a listener picked up on that may have not been the intentions of the original writer. so that can mean just extending it with some (hopefully interesting) variations, or totally mangling it.

on the simple end, one of my fave remixes is Icon of Coil's mix or VNV's "Genesis" - looping the sampled astronaut's voice = brilliant, in my opinion...

on the other hand you have the NiN Closer remixes, i thought some of those were just excellent, totally different take on the groove and progressions.

as for myself, im doing my first ever remix, and im stoked about it! and i have an offer to do another possibly in the works. i will keep you updated on those!

cheers,
d

[~delobbo]

I personally enjoy just taking the vocals - and redoing everything else. But like it has been said - it really depends on the track, what kind of feel you are going for, etc... for example - for the remix of "Resolution" (GLIS) I will be recreating the main synthline with a different, but similar sound, because I feel that it goes right along with the rest of the mix - but for other remixes I may find the original parts sound somewhat out of place when laid over the new parts... also I find that as I'm working on a remix - sometimes it will just evolve into something different than what I had planned to do - and its just what happens...... you play with sounds, patterns, etc until you arrive at a cohesive piece that sounds good put together. :D just my $.02...

[~hEADaCHE]

In some cases, the artist will just give you the vocals...I'm not talented enough to recreate sounds (nor am I obsessive enough), so the entire song will change...
But for me, It totally depends on the song AND the material provided.

[~technosapien]

my .02.. i agree with devapor and nulldevice.. it depends on the song that you are remixing... its physically possible to do either so its whatever sounds good.. in the case of synthpop i'd probably strip most of the vocals away and just use the chorus melody or whatever hook there may be in the song

but i'm sure you've all heard stories about certain remixers just giving their old scraps away as remixes... like Aphex Twin for example... must be nice to be able to make a living giving away old tunes you didnt feel like using yourself

[~Scar Chemik]

Everybody has a different opinion on this I'm sure but what I want as an artist when somebody is remixing my work or I am remixing theirs, is different than what I want as a consumer.

When I get a song remixed or I remix a song what I want to hear is that remixer's 'style' on the track. Like Synthetik FM, when I remix somebody else, I put my signature sound on it. When I give a track to someone else to remix, I want their signature sound on it.

As a consumer, what I want from remixers is to not ruin the freaking song! I heard a remix of And One's Sitata Tirulala one time that was so repulsive I questioned And One's sanity for allowing it. It's one thing to reinterpret a song, another altogether to disrespect it and trash it.

Scar

[~atomico]

when ppl remix songs, its because they dont like the track? Thats why it needs remixing? I dont know ahaha.

[~tristraum]

We recently finished our MCD "Shiver" and recieved many remixes for consideration. We stuck to remixes that were different in structure to our original song but kept the spirit of the song. It could be using enough or Key vocals. Or perhaps some element of the music. I have to tell ya, a few submissions were so far from our song, we felt like the remixer just sent us one of their songs and wrote "remix" on it. Humm... So, I'd suggest keeping something from the original. Too close and it's the same. Too far and it's not our song anymore. Good luck.

[~scuba_cop]

how do you remix a song without isolating the original seperate tracks...or can you? it just that it seems like some ppl are remixing stuff and it sound authentic, but i dont always understand how theyre isolating the vocals without actually, like i said b4, isolating the vx track. dont remix so i have no clue.

some can obtain the individual tracks of a song to remix (with permission) and that makes since, but what if you just reconstruct the crucial elemenmts of the composition and then added sample extracted from the original...does that count as a remix? how do you remix a song with only the original mixed down tracks from say a lp?

i suppose it depends on ones definition...im confused

[~tristraum]

I can't think of a way to remix a song using a fully-mixed-down version unless with was something very minimal... say a ballad with few instruments backing the vocalist. I suppose you could try EQing too. But, I wouldn't bother. Just obtain the vocals.

What counts as a remix? Anything you want to do in your own voice. Re-structure the song. Re-arrange. Add new elements. Change it up. Use as little or as much of the original while maintaining some body of the original. That's up to you. That makes a remix official. I suppose if you chop-up an original, that would be a re-edit.

There's lots of remix contests out there where you can obtain isolated elements including vocals. You can also write your favorite bands and request the materials. Sometimes, they have that kind of stuff ready to go. For every ten nos, you'll get a yes or two. Also try Future Music magazine (UK). They sponsor a remix contest every month. Their magazine comes with a CD with the materials you'll need. Plus, they review every entry.

Good luck.

[~scuba_cop]

so basicall y those do remix work pretty much need to get the original tracks from the song via asking the original artist...thats what i thought. its just i hear about ppl doing tons of remixes and i wonder where and when they have the time to contact the original artists...it figures though...thx

so basicall y those who do remix work pretty much need to get the original tracks from the song via asking the original artist...thats what i thought. its just i hear about ppl doing tons of remixes and i wonder where and when they have the time to contact the original artists...it figures though...thx