Sunday, February 24, 2008

Bridging The (Generation) Gap - A Guilty Pop Mix


While brainstorming with myself for new ideas for my upcoming mix, my family suddenly popped up. I suddenly realized how great it would be if I would be able to connect with my favorite nieces and nephew through music and what better way to do this than to come up with a mixset solely dedicated to them. Enjoy this one kids, as this mix is for you. :)

Honestly, I never imagined myself including Britney Spears or Paris Hilton (no offense to their fans reading this blog; it's just not my cup of tea) in one of my mixsets, but thanks to great DJs and remixers like Tiesto and Jason Nevins that I suddenly appreciated and even tolerated pop songs like "Piece of Me" and "Nothing In This World."

With some hesitation at first, I eventually enjoyed doing this mix and unknowingly found myself even humming to Soulja Boy's catchy chorus and somewhat retro/DefJam-like beats of Fergie's "Glamorous."

BTW, before publishing this set, I had them listen to it in the car yesterday (test driving it somewhat) and voila, we suddenly had an instant karaoke and dance party! :)

Tracklist:
1) Promiscuous (Indian Sunset Remix) - Nelly Furtado feat. Timbaland and Amar
2) My Love (Rene Goulets D-Cup Send-Up Remix) - Justin Timberlake
3) Piece Of Me (Tiesto Club Remix) - Britney Spears


4) Don't Stop The Music (The Wideboys Club Mix) - Rihanna
5) Real Girl (Moto Blanco Remix) - Mutya Buena
6) I Got It From My Mama (Vibelicious House It Up Mix) - Will.I.Am
7) Crank Dat (Steve Angello & Laidback Luke) - Soulja Boy - very catchy tune!
8) Sexy Back (Richard Humpty Vission Mix) - Justin Timberlake
9) Gimme More (Stonebridge Club Mix) - Britney Spears

10) Umbrella (7ups Klubhouse Rework) - Rihanna feat. Jay-Z

11) Hot Stuff (Chase and Status Mix) - Craig David
12) Stronger (A-Trak Remix) - Kanye West
13) Bounce It From My Mama (MashUp Mix) - Sean Paul versus Will.I.Am
14) Glamorous (Culture Shock Remix) - Fergie
15) Lovestoned (Justice Remix) - Justin Timberlake
16) Nothing In This World (Jason Nevins Remix) - Paris Hilton
17) Since You've Been Gone (Jason Nevins Remix) - Kelly Clarkson
18) Big Girls Don't Cry (Raphael Gomes Remix) - Fergie


19) Don't Cha (Kaskade Club Mix) - Pussycat Dolls
20) The Way I Are (TT Helge Mashup) - Timbaland
21) Maneater (Kenneth Keith 2008 Remix) - Nelly Furtado


For a heavy dose of pop fix, have a listen...

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Experiment and Innovate - An Experimental Alternative Mix


Here's a mix I did a couple of days back while experimenting with some tunes and even including a couple of songs from "Sandwich," a local act currently making waves in the band scene here in Manila with their unique sound.

Celebrating their 10th year in the local music industry, their sound evolved from simple indie rock to now, what sounds more like 80s new wave, having similarities with the B-52s, The Pretenders, Violent Femmes and the like.

Led by frontman and former Eraserhead, Raimund Marasigan, they had just released their latest album titled, "(S) Marks The Spot," which for me is a must-buy album, including a bonus disk with some remixes of their past hits (I myself just bought one and it rocks man!).

Check out their new vid , "Procrastinator," directed by Quark Henares (a famous director known for great indie films and music videos in the Philippines) and it goes well with the upbeat melody of the song; quite unique visuals BTW. Have also included this rockin' tune in today's set. This goes out to my fellow Pinoy visitors and non-Filipino blogger friends alike. Give it a try and you won't regret it.


In this mix, expect varying moods, tempo and music styles, which is very much what I felt while doing this set. The sound ranges from New Wave to Alternative to Trip Hop to Reggae to Punk, that is... whatever tune pops out of my mind. This set contains songs from my favorite alternative bands like She Wants Revenge, Sublime, and Sneaker Pimps to name a few.

Tracklist:
1. Procrastinator - Sandwich - my head keeps on wobbling with this rockin' tune!
2. Gone Daddy Gone (Culture Shock Remix) - Gnarls Barkley - nice remake of a Violent Femmes classic
3. Tear You Apart (Culture Shock Remix) - She Wants Revenge - really sound like Joy Division

4. Whip It (Philip Stein & Ramin Sakurai Remix) - Devo
5. Walang Kadala Dala (Remix) - Sandwich - a Filipino song by the band meaning "persistent and never giving up"

6. Just Like Heaven (Chuck Remix) - The Cure
7. Doin Time - Sublime
8. Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz
9. Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz
10. Cowboy - Kid Rock
11. Walking Dead - DJ Z-trip feat. Chester Bennington
12. What Its Like - Everlast
13. 6 Underground - Sneaker Pimps - very cool track!
14. Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve


Thanks once more to djDoc for some of the tunes from his Culture Shock collection.

Go ahead and don't be afraid to do some experimentations on your own. Peace!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

My Tribute to The Original Beat Masters and Sampling Gurus - The Art Of Noise Mega Mix


Before there was "The Chemical Brothers", there was "The Art Of Noise". I remember back in the 80s when I first heard "Peter Gunn Theme" from WXB102 (check out my tribute mix to this superb new wave station) and this tune eventually got me hooked up with this band (if you can call it a band).

As quoted from their biography, The Art Of Noise was never a band and they never were. They could be described as an organization, a distinctly non-rockist creative, post-modernist collective. Starting out as a mysterious Trevor Horn led experimental studio outfit, the primary contributors to this so-called "adventure in experimental dub" were Royal College of Music graduate, Anne Dudley; producer/arranger J. J. Jeczalik and songwriter, instrumentalist and engineer/producer Gary Langan.

The Art Of Noise was best known for great instrumental tracks and were one of the first to use computers and electronic samplers in pop music. Among my favorites are "Legs," "Moments In Love," and "Beatbox," which was also included in the soundtrack of the 80s cult movie, "Breakin'" (which BTW, is a great track for breakin' and poppin').

They also had collaborations with the likes of Duanne Eddy ('Peter Gunn'; 1986), fictional TV presenter Max Headroom ('Paranoimia'; also from 1986); and Tom Jones (a cover of Prince's hit, 'Kiss', 1988).

Perhaps, The Art Of Noise, could be considered as "Hall Of Famers" when it comes to beat making, noise sampling and tape splicing, mixing hip-hop beats with studio trickery. Enough said, this is my personal tribute to this great collaboration of music geniuses from the 80s.

Tracklist:
1) Peter Gunn Theme (Beatmeister's Art Of Twang Remix)
2) Kiss featuring Tom Jones (Battery Mix) - many thanks to my buddy, djDoc, for this superb vinyl rip
3) Legs (12" Extended Version)
4) Beat Box (12" Extended Version)
5) Paranoimia featuring Max Headroom (1989 Ben Liebrand Dance Mix)


6) Back To Peter Gunn (Original 12" Extended Mix)


Link... The Art Of Noise Mega Mix - The Beatmeister


Now who needs Ableton Live or Fruits Loops when you can have the raw, analog beats and samples from The Art Of Noise. :)

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Break It Down - More Bad Ass Beats

Let's admit it, hearing the same thing over and over sometimes makes us feel bored and tired. No offense to the househeads out there (am a househead myself), but it's nice to hear something different once in a while to refresh our minds and give us new ideas.

So to break the four-to-the-floor monotony for the meantime, am going back once more to my other favorite genre, which is drum n' bass. Even though it's one of the most difficult genre to mix (IMO), I really love to challenge myself once in a while and take the more difficult path, as it's nice to learn from our mistakes and is also the best way to improve our craft, DJ'ing that is.

For today's mix, expect minimal to hardcore beats from Krust, Eternity, DJ Sage, Fatboy Slim, Roughcut, Touch And Go, Illkillaz, and more.

Tracklist:
1) Joy & Pain (Cartel Meltdown Mix) - Eternity
2) Spoils Of War - Krust
3) Groove Tube - Illkillaz
4) Agent Orange - DJ Sage
5) One Blood - Roughcut
6) Made You Look (SKC Remix) - Nas
7) The Rockafella Skank (Mulders Urban Takeover Mix) - Fatboy Slim
8) Rapture - DJ Sage & Elektra
9) Would You Go To The High Plains (The Beatmeister's Krust & Go Mash-Up Mix) - Krust vs. Touch & Go
10) Would You... - Touch & Go
11) Why Must It Be So Tainted - Bachelors Of Science
12) PNG - FSOL (Future Sound Of London)
13) Bass In Your Face (Breakbeat Science Remix) - Camp Lo-Black Nostaljack
14) Dilemma (Drum & Bass Mix) - Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland

Link... BadAssBeatsMix - The Beatmeister

So whatchu' waiting for, try somethin' different, relax and free your mind.