remixes
Articles about remixes:
BT – 10 Years in the Life
10 Years in the Life is a double-CD collection of some of the finest tracks and remixes by BT. While it is not a greatest hits compilation, it collects radio edits and rare versions of some of his best tracks.
Disc 1 is a retrospective of BT’s songwriting work, while Disc 2 is a continuous mix compilation of his remix work. The CD is packaged beautifully, with copious photographs and extensive liner notes. For each track, BT provides a little background information, either telling a story about what inspired the song or his reflections on making the track.
Following the response to their last remix contest, electronic music artist Cirrus has teamed up with Sony Pictures and ACIDplanet.com for the latest competition. The new single Get Loose is currently on the chopping block at ACIDplanet.com.
Months before the official street release date, fans and music-producer hopefuls are getting a chance to create their own versions of the upcoming dance release. Individual samples of the song are available for download and contestants can use their favorite music editing software to remix the Cirrus song. Remixes can be uploaded to the ACIDplanet.com website for entry into the competition and the winner will receive over $700 worth of Sony ACID software and sounds. The contest ends Monday, December 13, 2004.
Get Loose is set to be released on vinyl in early 2005 by Cirrus’ new label, Cirrus Cutz. Anyone who want to have access to all of Cirrus’ latest music weeks or months before official release dates can visit the Cirrus site.
Peter “Peas” McEvilley’s new release Filters, on Kanpai Records, (Domo Music Group) is a sonic adventure ranging from downtempo to breakbeat. Each track contains a sample from legendary Japanese world music pioneer, Kitaro, which Peas seamlessly weaves into his original beats and melodies.
McEvilley, who has produced and written songs for Hollywood Records, Miramax, ABC and many others, started work on this latest album last year after co-scoring a Japanese anime, Ninja Scroll, with Kitaro. Recognizing that Kitaro is one of the pioneers of electronic chill-out music, McEvilley decided to produce a full-length CD that would incorporate samples from Kitaro’s music into new, beat heavy, electronica tracks.
Peas started DJing in the mid-nineties at some of South Beach’s (Miami) hottest clubs including: Chaos’ millennium party, Nikki Beach Club, Pearl, Rumi, Touch, and Automatic Slim’s. He also toured as a drummer for several years with the reggae band, Inna Sense. When performing, McEvilley integrates live drums and keyboard into his DJ performance.
People in northern California will be able to catch him at this year’ seventh annual Earthdance event on September 18, 2004.
Established in 1994, Los Angeles-based Domo Music Group, is guided by founder Eiichi Naito’s mission, “To provide a home for both the creators and aficionados of quality music beyond the borders of categorization.” Staying true to this mission, this month Domo is launching its new imprint, Kanpai Records (www.kanpairecords.com). This new label will focus on electronic and indie rock hybrids – plus everything in between. “We want to put out music that encompasses the best of all worlds… nothing too genre specific, but rather the gray space in between,” says Michelle Ogata, Kanpai’s Marketing Director. Kanpai’s first three albums are due for release in Fall 2004 and include Filters by Peas, Unconscious Ruckus by Appogee, and Reinterpretations by various artists.
Various – Classics Regrooved
Reworking the classics with synthesizers has a long tradition, extending from Wendy Carlos’ Switched-On Bach to the Ferry Corsten/William Orbit take on Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Reinterpreting the classics is tough, though, and few electronic reinterpretations have proven to have much lasting interest.
Classics Regrooved is new compilation that features electronica arrangements of 15 themes from classical music. The tracks range from remixes to electronica-styled arrangements to new works based on the original themes.
The CD is a “lifestyle” release, from the concept to the cover that features a beautiful woman reclining languorously. The CD is quirky and unique, but not as challenging or interesting as some other takes on the classics. Some of the artists use the barest samplings of the original works, while others reorchestrate entire pieces. This brings variety to the CD, but also makes it somewhat uneven.
KOCH Records is releasing a compilation album, Classic Regrooved, that will feature 15 classical music themes, re-mixed and re-imagined by some of the top names in the emerging world of electronic music: Electric Skychurch, Skylab 2000, Holmes Ives, EROS and more.
The songs on Classics Regrooved use familiar melodies of some of the best-known classic tunes, which are then Regrooved. Ranging in style from “chillout” to “trance,” the CD was conceived by Larry Kraman, the founder and owner of Newport Classic Ltd, one of the top independent classical labels in the U.S. Kraman produced the project in collaboration with KOCH Record’s Bill Crowley.
“Electronic dance music has emerged from the underground through its prominent use in some of the most creative and widely seen TV commercials of the last few years,” says Crowley. “And listeners have taken note, as they have discovered and embraced artists like Moby, first encountered on TV. For this project, we sought out some of the most compelling and influential artists in the world of electronica and electronic dance music, who were eager to restyle, regroove and breathe new life into the classical tunes that most inspired them. The result is an album that has already found fans in unlikely places, with enthusiastic reception from fans of classical music, electronica, and everyone in between.”
Producer, Larry Kraman adds, “Johann Sebastian Bach was a remixer, an innovator on the synthesizer who ‘remixed’ works by Vivaldi and his other favorite composers. The organ was the ’synthesizer’ of Bach’s day, developed chiefly to imitate other instruments. Bach Regrooved Vivaldi’s violin concertos into concertos for solo organ, and ended up creating some of his most popular and accessible works.”
“Bach was a dance music artist as well, creating minuets, gavottes, gigues and other popular dances of his time,” Kraman continues. “Technology allowed the quantum leap in musical progress as the forte piano, valved instruments, and other innovations transformed music, much as ‘Classics Regrooved’ is transforming the classics today.”
The artists featured on “Classics Regrooved” have enjoyed their share of success. Skylab 2000 has two tracks on the giant mp3.com web site, where the tracks shared the number one most downloaded songs overall. On that site alone, there’s been close to a million downloads of skylab2000! Electric Skychurch has released numerous singles, and its second album, “Together,” climbed to #1 on the CMJ RPM chart and stayed there for 20 weeks. Eros was named the 2001 Breakthough Electronic Artist of the Year in Orlando, FL, and has released popular singles, “Mix Mag,” and “Resurrect the Funk.”
“Classics Regrooved” is debuting as a pre-release exclusive on Apple’s Itunes Music Store. Special 12-inch remixes have been commissioned for club play, and a music video starring DJ Keoki has been produced by international dance guru Oliver Chesler.
Tracks
- Für Elise (Beethoven Regrooved) performed by skylab 2000
- Habanera (Bizet Regrooved) performed by Jay Atwood
- Ave Maria (Schubert Regrooved) performed by EROS
- The Swan (Saint-Saens Regrooved) performed by Domingues & Ives
- Toccata & Fugue in C minor (Bach Regrooved) performed by Electric Skychurch
- Prelude In C# minor (Rachmaninoff Regrooved) performed by Sinestro & Archon
- Ase’s Death (Grieg Regrooved) performed by Joseph Jaime
- Hungarian Dance No. 5 (Brahms Regrooved) performed by skylab 2000
- Arabesque (Debussey Regrooved) performed by Mojo Jones
- Gloria (Vivaldi Regrooved) performed by DJ Scotty Marz
- Meditation from Thais (Massenet Regrooved) performed by Domingues & Ives
- Night on Bald Mountain (Mussorgsky Regrooved) performed by Jay Atwood
- Pavane For a Dead Princess (Ravel Regrooved) performed by Casey Baldwin
- Dies Irae (Verdi Regrooved) performed by EROS
- The Erlking (Schubert Regrooved) performed by Electric Skychurch)
