I seem to take forever to do remixes. Not that it takes me forever to make an actual remix (this one took about 3 hours from start to finish), but it just takes me a while to actually gettin’ around to them. I’m thinking the tape is going to evolve into a showcase of sorts. I didn’t want to make this one available for download just yet…if I give out all my remixes none of you will buy the tape! However, if you’re a DJ and you’d like a copy, just shoot me an email via the contact link and I’ll send it out.
So why did I choose this particular song to remix? Simply because I love the original. “Kick, Push” is easily one of my favorite songs of 2006. The content of the song is quite refreshing, and Lupe manages to deliver it in a manner that doesn’t make skateboarding seem boring to outsiders, and actually uses it as a metaphor for finding yourself and being an individual…something I think everyone can relate to. I like the original beat as well (soundtrack, what’s poppin?!?). The original is a loop, so I definitely thought I should chop it up this time around. Plus, Lupe gets extra points for mentioning SB Dunks (he’s quite the sneakerhead, proven by the fact that he’s a blogger for hypebeast)!
Like I said this one took about 3 hours from start to finish. The clock starting on when I dropped the needle on the track I ended up sampling (curtis, what’s poppin?) and finished upon export from Cubase. It took me a bit to find the right sample to use. I like to build my beats around the acapella when I do a remix;I tend to shy away from throwing a ‘pella over an existing beat but it does happen sometimes (ghostface remix, anyone?). Anyway, I chose this one for the strings/flutes as well as the vocals because to me they just seemed to fit the mood I was looking to set. Once I start constructing the beat, I run the acapella over it to make sure I’m going in the right direction, and tend to sequence my chops based on how the vocals are sounding over the drums. Once I’m satisfied with the beat, I break it down and send it tracked out, to cubase. Once the beat is tracked out properly in cubase, I record the acapella onto a new track and line it up properly. From there I do the drop-outs (subtracting elements of the beat in certain parts) and make sure the mix sonds good (to the best of my ability, I suck as an engineer) and when I’m finally satisfied I export it to an mp3.
You’d think after all that I’d be done, right? Wrong, it has to undergo the “car test”!!! I have to ride around and listen to it in my car to know if it’s worth keeping (yes, sometimes songs fail the car test and head to the recycle bin. You may be thinking “wow, that’s an awfully low-tech quality control method” but in reality it makes perfect sense. Your car is where you play your most favorite music, and if you live in a place like Raleigh, NC where there is no real public transportation system, then you drive a lot. My point is this: you can easily judge your music in this manner because it’s quickly apparent if the fresh studio tracks stack up to the music you listen to on a daily basis, and I mean that on more than one level. You’ll get a quick grasp of what levels need to be tweaked and whether the music is really even up to par. I know I can’t be the only musician that does this either. And look at this way: if you can make your music sound decent on shitty factory speakers, it should sound freakin’ sweet on better systems! Stick around, you might learn something…
I’ve done way too much talking and hopefully I haven’t hyped this up too much or ruined the listening mood. Just click play below:
P.S. That’s hosted by Odeo.com and I think I’ll use them when I start my online mixshow/podcast. Yeah, you didn’t even know that was coming, did you? Anyway, their site is cool so make sure to check it out
I should sleep now…
