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Remixing


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So I was looking around on the net for something like "remix tutorial" just to get some info about how people go about remixing, both in terms of creativity and technique.

 

Found this 9-part youtube playlist which seems really detailed but the song is Lady Gaga

 

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A1FE1706F6B9BE69

 

Anyway I was just kind of wondering why do people on here do remixes. Is it to make tracks easier to mix, to change how they sound to make them sound better or just to get themselves heard as a producer?

 

Also what do you consider when they do a remix? Do you pick a song you like and think "I want to make that better" or do you pick a song and think "That would make a great remix"?

 

I'm not looking for really deep level technical tips just kind of general ideas about how and why.

 

Lots of love,

 

Dopp

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I do 2 different types of remix, or have done historically anyways.

 

Type 1 - i've made a beat, don't know any emcees so chuck an acapella over it and call it a remix. This sort rarely works.

 

Type 2 - I want to flip a tune(or more specifically a rap) to give it a totally different feel, kind of reinvent it. eg like the 50 Cent ones and my Kanye West/Bob Marley one.

 

 

 

 

Some remixes are definitely people trying to get themselves heard...some people make sure they remix really current stuff to try and get exposure.

 

 

There's no specific science or workflow to remixing, everyone has a different approach.

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Oh my god I think I've bitten off more than I can chew here! I was super inspired by this:

 

http://soundcloud.com/fear-of-theydon/fleetwood-mac-sara-bobby-lost-fear-of-theydons-lost-bhagwan-mix

 

So then I thought "hey that's a piece of piss, he's just looped a riff, looped some vocals, layered some FX on, how hard can it be. I'm going to remix a 70s rock tune!" so I've been listening to all my Frank Zappa today and found a tune where I thought that all I needed to do was chop up some riffs and rearrange them to make a more driving bluesy song but FUCKING HELL it's so hard, especially when you don't even know the DAW you're working with.

 

Perhaps I should start small like Matt says and do re-edits!

 

My approach was to find the sections I liked so basically I just have them all sitting in their own tracks but no semblance of a song structure. I kind of have an idea of what I want to song to sound like and what I need to loop up but no idea about FX and everything's taking twice as long because I don't even know how to move stuff, cut and paste (well I do now but I didn't to start with).

 

PS. can we not embed soundcloud on here? I thought it was standard HTML?

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I have a friend that does a fair amount of remixes/mashups... he is a full time DJ and seems to do it for 3 reasons:

1) add an 8 bar intro if needed

2) get his name out a little and/or makes him more appealing as a DJ--basically nobody else can play the same set since he's mashed up or remixed almost every tune in the set list.

3) he's a full time DJ which means he plays a lot of current hits--remixing them gives him the ability to spin more of a style of music he likes while still satisfying the average joe with technically what's a top 40 song. It's like the Trojan horse approach to music :p

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the only time i've done it was outta tribute , was humming the beat all day , started doing my own beat feeling inspired, then just got carried away... For me pinching a riff is a good way to get started when your lacking direction

 

oh and i guess i;ve thrown plenty of acapellas over beats, but that just being lazy , it;s mostly when ive run out of ideas and a vocal finishes it off ...

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OK so here it is, it hangs together OK, feedback on any aspect of the tune gratefully received. I'm especially sketchy about the way I've structured the song but if you know the original maybe your judgement will be clouded.

 

I've used only cuttign and pasting of sections here, no FX, filters, compression, EQ, panning and all that. I'm too n00b.

 

http://soundcloud.com/doppelkorn-1/san-berdino-remix

 

Follow me and i'll follow you!

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OK so here it is, it hangs together OK, feedback on any aspect of the tune gratefully received. I'm especially sketchy about the way I've structured the song but if you know the original maybe your judgement will be clouded.

 

I've used only cuttign and pasting of sections here, no FX, filters, compression, EQ, panning and all that. I'm too n00b.

 

http://soundcloud.com/doppelkorn-1/san-berdino-remix

 

Follow me and i'll follow you!

 

Like it!

(edit: make it 320 or wav for download!)

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I hate doing remixes, I know many people do that for a quick buck because they find them easy to do but I alway feel restricted with them because I always want to put my own stamp on it and I either do something which is good where I don't think I've done enough or something over worked and shit. We're working on 2 remixes for different people right now and I'm pretty stuck with both of them.

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Just upped a new edit I've been doing. As you may notice at 1.03 there is a massive jerk between bits. If you can think of a way of resolving this please just holla at me.

 

I basically wanted to avoid the crescedno from the original and just keep that nice smooth groove until eponymous "breakdown" of the chorus.

 

Feedback gladly received. It's still a work in progress. Track is "Breakdown" by the way by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

 

EDIT: a link would be good wunt'eet http://soundcloud.com/doppelkorn-1/breakdown-wip

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