Okay, that’s a mouthful of a headline, but I’m happy to have had the opportunity to get the stems and work on this remix. In total there were 252 entries. Some of them are amazing. This is a challenging piece of music that doesn’t seem a likely contender for the remix community… but then again it’s not all about dancing.
Some of the music that ultimately got me here come from The Art of Noise, DJ Shadow and Delia Derbyshire. Not exactly dance floor killers. But those three artists are some of the best at manipulating audio to create a unique sonic experience. I grew up with Delia Derbyshire’s arrangement of the Doctor Who theme, found The Art of Noise through tracks like Paranoimia, then DJ Shadow’s …Endroducing album got me realizing what could be done with a sampler, some deep thought and hard work.
Remixing, I’ve learned, is a delicate skill. I like to let the music “tell me what to do” and not impose myself on it. Of course, just by manipulating the tracks, I’ve placed my will upon the piece. So as a remixer I have to let the track determine the direction of the work. It’s not about coming to the table with a preconceived idea about how music should be put together.
I’ve listened to over a dozen of the entries so far, and I’m proud to have my work among them. I guess it’s no surprise that many of the folks who would chose to take on the challenge of reworking a piece of music by Steve Reich should be up to the challenge. So far, Leah Kardos’ entry has been one of the most inspiring.
So go and listen. Vote. And enjoy some new music.
You can hear everything here.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh wow I just randomly found this. Thanks very much for the kind words! It was a fun remix project, wasn’t it?
x
Yes, it was fun. Looking forward to working on some more. Cheers!