Back on the grind this week, and in today’s lecture, which the metro system of Melbourne brought me 15 minutes late to (damn your delays), Dan spoke about the concept of remixes, going through with the idea that at it’s core, there isn’t such a thing as originality.Dan talked about Ed Benjamin and the work of art in counter reproduction, and how his work dated back to the golden age of Hollywood in the 1930’s. This saw the first Scarface, King Kong and Wizard of Oz, classics which have been re-worked and revitalized for years after. Benjamin wondered how reproducing changes the artifact and how reproduction might seem authentic.We then spoke about Eduardo Navas, and his remix theory, based around the aesthetics of sampling. Navas bases his theory largely on the music industry, discussing “regressive mashups”, which are essentially when an original song is created out of putting together several songs. It raises questions of its legality due to copyright infringements, but is certainly interesting.

I make music on my computer, so unsurprisingly I already have an understanding of what remixes are, composing many as a form of starting up. I also use many samples when I create tracks; my 808 kicks to my snares and hi-hats are all samples from different packs, which I use to form the percussion part of my tracks. Almost all producers uses samples: it’s too repetitive to have to record new ones for every track you make, especially when you’re making many.

However when I’m producing, I always like to put a spin of originality on my remixes that really makes it unique. This way the remixed track is more inline with what I believe a remix is – a reimagination or reinterpretation of the original track through the eyes of someone else.

Here is an example of a track I recently remixed: Run by Alison Wonderland:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YD8fXWMnmo

And here is my reimagination of the track:

https://soundcloud.com/drxptail/run-drxptail-flip

As you can hear, they are in two different keys, and even though there are a lot of elements that remain the same, they are almost entirely different tracks. This to me is a true remix, as you are taking inspiration from a track and doing something with it. You can also hear the many samples I’ve used throughout, including the various grunts during both drops.

I love sampling, and I will never let someone tell me that remixing can’t be considered your own track. Yes not in theory but my track you couldn’t possibly say sounds anything like the original.