Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Fight the Power.
JFine is tougher than nigerian hair.
Final Assignment: a song. not just any song, House-Hip/Trip-Hop epic remixing two pillars of 21st century culture: Lil' Wayne's 2006 Pop Bottles with Birdman and A Milli off Tha Carter 3. Basically like mixing Bach with Stravinsky.
Note: there were no samples used save the vocals and one baseline (the one that gets distorted 45 sec or so in.)
Overall Structure:
Initially, the track starts out with a house-y beat. To cite my sources Music 295 style, I used Discotech's Remix of Homecoming (see two posts ago) as inspiration. The main challenge for the first house part was getting a hip-hop sample to increase raveability. Pop Bottles runs at 100bpm, which is too slow for a 4 to the floor dance track, so I had to mess with the samples to get them to fit in at 120bpm.
Next, I wanted to work in the first full verse from A Milli. This would entail dropping the bpm down to 76 (so that it would match up with the acapella) and moving from a House to Hip Hop beat. I struggled with this transition the most: I already had a high energy level, and couldn't just shave off 50 bpm and throw away my 4 to the floor for syncopation in just one bar. So I ended up dropping out the drums for four bars, keeping one of the instruments through the transition, and adding a hint of trip hop with the echoed phrase and twinkly arpeggiator. But, ten seconds later the (sick as hell) drums drop and weezy f starts on his verse at 76 bpm.
The last transition would be moving back from hip-hop (a milli) to house (pop bottles). I gradually shifted the tempo while making a smooth transition between the lyrics of the two songs ("you can't man em then you...pour it on the models"). Midi-ing the samples proved to be absurdly difficult, because I couldn't program them in slower than the actual bpm (it would come out overlapping and awkward.)
I found a thunder roll sample to end with. I thought it fitting as it clearly reflects the impact this remix will have on 'the game.'
Issues encountered:
different BPMs. A Milli is at 76 bpm, and Pop Bottles runs at 100. Had to mix it so it didn't sound out of sync.
Lil Wayne's flow being too sick for its own good on A Milli. He weaves in and out of his beats so much that it makes it hard to construct a beat around his acapella (see 1:37 in Pop A Milli)
weak samplers. I never want to see the letters NNXT in a row again. Ended up with having to deal with 7 at one time. You had to go back into ReCycle every time...Al Gore would have been proud.
Making Bass sound legit. More difficult than you would imagine. It's mixed for speakers that can really crank bass, so the drums sound somewhat distorted on ipod headphones or weak computer speakers.
Volume control. Unruly to keep a somewhat consistent dB throughout the song. The HyperEditor was a godsend.
Having too much fun with effects. I stumbled around for an hour before I got the swirling delay-y effect when Lil Wayne first raps "a millionare, i'm a young money millionare..." a minute in.
Arpeggiators in Reason are Busted. Hurt my ears way too many times and didn't shut off when I paused the track in logic. Also I had to make different tracks for different Arpeggiator sections; I couldn't change on the fly.
Mixing lyrics together...cleverly.
25 hours for 3 minutes and six seconds of illery. Enjoy.
Final Assignment: a song. not just any song, House-Hip/Trip-Hop epic remixing two pillars of 21st century culture: Lil' Wayne's 2006 Pop Bottles with Birdman and A Milli off Tha Carter 3. Basically like mixing Bach with Stravinsky.
Note: there were no samples used save the vocals and one baseline (the one that gets distorted 45 sec or so in.)
Overall Structure:
Initially, the track starts out with a house-y beat. To cite my sources Music 295 style, I used Discotech's Remix of Homecoming (see two posts ago) as inspiration. The main challenge for the first house part was getting a hip-hop sample to increase raveability. Pop Bottles runs at 100bpm, which is too slow for a 4 to the floor dance track, so I had to mess with the samples to get them to fit in at 120bpm.
Next, I wanted to work in the first full verse from A Milli. This would entail dropping the bpm down to 76 (so that it would match up with the acapella) and moving from a House to Hip Hop beat. I struggled with this transition the most: I already had a high energy level, and couldn't just shave off 50 bpm and throw away my 4 to the floor for syncopation in just one bar. So I ended up dropping out the drums for four bars, keeping one of the instruments through the transition, and adding a hint of trip hop with the echoed phrase and twinkly arpeggiator. But, ten seconds later the (sick as hell) drums drop and weezy f starts on his verse at 76 bpm.
The last transition would be moving back from hip-hop (a milli) to house (pop bottles). I gradually shifted the tempo while making a smooth transition between the lyrics of the two songs ("you can't man em then you...pour it on the models"). Midi-ing the samples proved to be absurdly difficult, because I couldn't program them in slower than the actual bpm (it would come out overlapping and awkward.)
I found a thunder roll sample to end with. I thought it fitting as it clearly reflects the impact this remix will have on 'the game.'
Issues encountered:
different BPMs. A Milli is at 76 bpm, and Pop Bottles runs at 100. Had to mix it so it didn't sound out of sync.
Lil Wayne's flow being too sick for its own good on A Milli. He weaves in and out of his beats so much that it makes it hard to construct a beat around his acapella (see 1:37 in Pop A Milli)
weak samplers. I never want to see the letters NNXT in a row again. Ended up with having to deal with 7 at one time. You had to go back into ReCycle every time...Al Gore would have been proud.
Making Bass sound legit. More difficult than you would imagine. It's mixed for speakers that can really crank bass, so the drums sound somewhat distorted on ipod headphones or weak computer speakers.
Volume control. Unruly to keep a somewhat consistent dB throughout the song. The HyperEditor was a godsend.
Having too much fun with effects. I stumbled around for an hour before I got the swirling delay-y effect when Lil Wayne first raps "a millionare, i'm a young money millionare..." a minute in.
Arpeggiators in Reason are Busted. Hurt my ears way too many times and didn't shut off when I paused the track in logic. Also I had to make different tracks for different Arpeggiator sections; I couldn't change on the fly.
Mixing lyrics together...cleverly.
25 hours for 3 minutes and six seconds of illery. Enjoy.
what the fuck.
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The notice that we received from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and the record companies it represents, with any personally identifying information removed, will be posted online by a service called Chilling Effects at http://www.chillingeffects.org. We do this in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Please note that it may take Chilling Effects up to several weeks to post the notice online at the link provided.
The IFPI is a trade association that represents over 1,400 major and independent record companies in the US and internationally who create, manufacture and distribute sound recordings (the "IFPI Represented Companies").
The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. We are in the process of removing from our servers the links that allegedly infringe upon the copyrights of others. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. See http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=254 for more information about the DMCA, and see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Blogger requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.
Blogger can reinstate these posts upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and 3) of the DMCA. For more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification, see http://www.google.com/dmca.html#counter.
Please note that repeated violations to our Terms of Service may result in further remedial action taken against your Blogger account. If you have legal questions about this notification, you should retain your own legal counsel. If you have any other questions about this notification, please let us know.
Sincerely,
The Blogger Team
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Zach the Klingon
http://zackypoo.tumblr.com/
Well we all knew Warp Drive was the ultimate trip...
Zach Klion, for the Trip-Hop assignment, has created a smorgisborg of soulful samples. The parameters of tone are on point, and the use of samples was adept. Zach has created a more than adequate summation of modern attitudes to carnality.
First, the tone. The majority of the sounds are muted and low on the register. The legato synth sets a mood of introspection, and the changes in note are sufficiently subtle. The bass dominates, punctuated by high-register samples. The initial 'woooh' also brings a hint of sensuality. The use of stereo also adds to the trip.
Yet the use of samples definitely adds to the piece. The female voice followed by the snappy snare is clearly a trippy suggestion of ass-slapping. The empathy is apparent in the sample 'we all go a little mad sometimes,' solidified by the closing interrogative 'haven't you?'
While this song is not without flaws (the buildup of squeaky samples feels abrupt feels abrupt and out of place, the high synth sound accompanying 'Haven't You' makes for an awkward ending) Zach has certainly secured himself in the Trip-Hop pantheon.
DiscoTech knows his stuff
I just discovered this dj/remix artist DiscoTech. I want your samples.
Remix of Kanye's Homecoming
and TI's Whatever You Like
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Just because you're paranoid...
Jodie Foster terrifies me, as well as the newest jFine release.
Going in to the studio tonight, I wanted to make the Kings of Leon epic 'Knocked Up' into some nuts Jungle muzik.
Apparently, the genre invented by London dj's who wished they were born in the Bronx doesn't mesh well with former evangelicals singing about how they don't want their girlfriends to abort that shit. So, I ended up sampling the Arctic Monkey's Brianstorm, The Cold War Kids' Hang Me Up to Dry, and Wyclef singing La Bamba.
Though the doesn't sound particularly 'jungle,' I tried to make it reflect the urban paranoia from which jungle developed.
Listen to this alone. In your panic room.
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