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

Link... A Guilty Pop Mix - The Beatmeister

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

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.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3nLGBJIjc1Acom/watch?v=3nLGBJIjc1A

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

Link... An Experimental Alternative Mix - The Beatmeister

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!

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. :)

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.

The Beatmeister, Live and In The Mix - Somethin' Funky, Somethin' Retro

Had a blast last weekend. After 20 years, at last, I was able to play live again. I remember my first time mixing at a gig back in the 80s and man, I was really quite nervous then. Last Saturday, I had that same feeling once more when my nerves got the best of me, but as soon as I got the hang of it, I was mixin' my heart out like hell and pumping those beats hard. I really had a great time that night along with my old friends, whom I haven't seen for quite a while.

Would like to give a shoutout to my buddy, Chinaman (of 89DMZ fame), for giving me the chance to spin again, live that is. If you're in Manila, you might want to check out his place called "Astica" if you want a cool ambience and into the latest house grooves.

Here are some pics taken by my wifey dear...

My best buddy checkin' it out, in the background...

As a sort of treat to everyone, am uploading a mixset similar to what I've played that night with a theme of "Somethin' Funky and Somethin' Retro" sort of house. No tracklist this time, but expect tunes from the Doobie Brothers vs. Korin Ladke, Kaskade, Bell Biv Devoe vs. Evan Rhodes, Natural Rhythm, The Sound Diggers, Young MC vs Maverick Renegade to name a few.

Link here... Somethin' Funky and Somethin' Retro - The Beatmeister

Special thanks also to my blogger friends, DJ Chronic and Moley of Underground House Music, for the superb funky tunes, which I've included in my set.

Here's to more live DJ'ing and mixing in the future!!!

The Art Of Sampling and Remixing - Some Kind Of Retro

Because of plenty of requests for retro/new wave/80s stuff, I've decided to make another set of this sort.

Most of the tracks that I've used were either remixes of the original or samples from the original, so bear with me, but I guarantee that they fit well in the set. Don't expect full length tracks as some are sampled only, but still having that retro vibe.

I've handpicked a few of my retro/new wave/80s faves (either remixes or sampled tracks) including music from The Police, Industry, Mike & The Mechanics, Blur, Dexys Midnight Runners, Thompson Twins, New Radicals, A-Ha, The Church and more cool old school tunes.

Now for the tracklist:

1) S.O.S. - Filterfunk (Tom Novy Remix) - samples "Message In A Bottle" by The Police

2) State Of The Nation - Industry (Remix)

3) Wanna Have Funk - Filterfunk (Whitelabel Remix) - samples "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cindy Lauper

4) Let's Get Dirty - Dirty Funker (2006 Vocal Mix) - samples "My Sharona" by The Knack

5) Girls and Boys - Blur (2005 Hoxton Whores Remix)

6) All I Need Is A Miracle - Dirty Funker presents Red Kult (Main Mix) - samples "All I Need Is A Miracle" by Mike and The Mechanics

7) The Sun Always Shines On TV - A-ha (White Label Mix)

8) Alice - The Sisters Of Mercy (Dirty Funker Vocal Mix)

9) Under The Milky Way - The Church (Craig Obey Bootleg Remix)

10) The One Thing - INXS (Rhythm Scholar Dangerous Razors Remix)

11) Rock The Casbah - The Clash (Rhythm Scholar Boogie Bombs Remix)

12) Billie Dream - 11th Street (White Label Mix) - samples "Billy Jean" by Michael Jackson and "I Have A Dream" by The Great Martin Luther King, Jr.

13) Two Rivers - The Adventures (Remix)

14) Shiny Happy People - R.E.M. (Whitelabel Mix)

15) You Get What You Give - New Radicals (White Label Remix)

16) Come On Eileen - Dexys Midnight Runners (DJ Teva Circuit Revue 100)
17) Lies - Thompson Twins (DJ Teva Rat Boy Tribal Mix)

18) I Can't Go For That - Hall & Oates (White Label Mix)

19) Everybody - Madonna (Masi & Mello 2005 Remix)

Link... Some Kind Of Retro Mix - The Beatmeister

Enjoy another freakin' retro party weekend!

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - A Daft Punk Mega Mix

Hearing "Da Funk" from my "The Saint" soundtrack got me hooked up with this French duo of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter.

Daft Punk were the ones responsible for bringing French house to mainstream dance music with hits like "Da Funk", "Around The World," "One More Time," "Aerodynamic," and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger," which was also sampled by Kanye West on his 2007 hit "Stronger."

What I like about the duo is their ability to combine different musical styles and sounds, thus making their music distinct from other electronic acts. An example of this was the heavy use of electric guitars with their song "Aerodynamic."

They also produce interesting music videos to accompany their songs. Here's a sample of one of my favorite vids, "old school anime" style, called "Digital Love."

Tracklist of their hits in the mix:

1) Aerodynamic (Album Version)

2) Crescendolls (Album Version)

3) Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Deadmau5 Edit)

4) Digital Love (Boris Dlugosh Remix)

5) One More Time (DJ Antoine Remix)

6) High Life (Album Version)

7) Around The World (Beat Gate Remix)

8) Technologic (BuddhaBuser Remix)

Link... My Daft Punk Mega Mix - The Beatmeister

Let's hear it again, one more time...

Feelin' So Good - A Mix Of HipHop and R&B

Slowing it down once more, today's set is a mix of some popular R&B and hip hop tunes I've enjoyed listening to on mainstream radio.

After a dose of noisy big beats and some cool, but still pumping tracks from Deadmau5, let's bring down the BPM once more to the 90-100 range.

Expect cool and relaxing (but still danceable) rap, hip hop and R&B sounds from the late 2Pac mashing it up with Bruce Horsnby and The Range, J. Lo, Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, TLC, Black Eyed Peas, Will Smith, T-Pain feat. Akon vs. George Benson mash-up, Usher, some Rolling Stones, Nelly and Snoop Dogg.

Tracklist:

1) Changes - 2Pac vs. Bruce Hornsby & The Range (Mash-Up Mix) - samples "The Way It Is"

2) Feelin' So Good - J. Lo feat. Fat Joe (Album Version)

3) Runaway - Janet Jackson (Guccimix)

4) What About Your Friends - TLC (Guccimix)

5) Ride Wi'd Me - Nelly (Bass Mix)

6) Gettin' Jiggy Wi'd It - Will Smith (X-Mix)

7) Let's Get It Started - Black Eyed Peas (Funky Mix)

8) Caught Up - Usher feat. Fabolous (Spintech Remix)

9) Signs - Snoop Dogg feat. Justin Timberlake (Remix)

10) Gimme The Bartender - T-Pain feat. Akon vs. George Benson (Mash-Up Mix) - samples "Gimme' The Night"

11) Oops Upside Ya Head - Snoop Dogg (Dreamteam Remix)

12) Miss You - Rolling Stones (Hip Hop Mix)

13) Try Again - Aaliyah (DJ Barney Frando Remix)

14) Back & Forth - Aaliyah (Guccimix)

15) Tell Me How You Feel - Joy Enriquez (Spintech Remix)

16) Back To The Hotel - N2Deep (Dreamteam Remix) - samples "Rumpshaker"

17) Sweet Potato Pie - Domino (Guccimix)

Link... My Feelin' So Good Mix - The Beatmeister

Enjoy the finest in popular hip hop and R&B!

Setting The Firestarter's Sun - The Beatmeister's Dreamtime Mash-Up Mix

Here's another exclusive track from yours truly; a perfect mash-up of two of the most influential artists in the big beat scene, The Chemical Brothers and Prodigy.

Have already included this track in my previous Big Beat Mix and decided to post it individually as requested. For this mash-up, I've sampled The Chemical's "Setting Sun" over my fave Prodigy song, "Firestarter" adding more crunch to the already angry track.

Setting The Firestarter's Sun - The Beatmeister's Dreamtime Mash-Up Mix

I suggest pumping up your volume for a more boomin' experience!

It's Our Future - A DeadMau5 MegaMix

First of all, Happy New Year to all my blogger friends, frequent visitors, and lurkers alike. Hope all of you have a more fruitful and prosperous year ahead.

I'm kicking off the year with an excellent megamix from Deadmau5, which I did a few weeks back. He is currently my fave in the minimal/progressive house scene and I know will make it big this year.

I first heard and saw his video posted on YouTube mixing some original stuff using the Xone 3D MIDI mixer and Ableton Live software and that really blew my head off! He was really amazing. Here's the clip of that vid... DeadMau5 vs. Xone 3D .

Noticeable is the absence of the basic turntable/mixer combo on his setup, as he demonstrates the future of DJ'ing and with the growing number of Superstar DJs like Paul Van Dyk, Sasha, Kevin Saunderson, Ritchie Hawtin ditching the basic vinyl/turntable set-up and shifting to digital format with the use of MIDI controllers and DJ software, there is a bright future that lies ahead for bedroom digital DJs making it big.

As quoted from Adam from his Outrageous House Music blog, "... that if there was the Oscars for dance music, this guy would certainly win as Best Newcomer."

Now for the tracklist, which contains his originals and remixes:

1) Jaded (Original Mix)

2) Secondary Complications (Original Mix)

3) Toca Me - Fragma (Deadmau5 Remix)

4) Teaser - Cirez D (Deadmau5 Remix)

5) Sex, Lies, Audiotape (Redux Mix)

6) Finished Symphony - Hybrid (Deadmau5 Remix)

7) Community Funk (Deadmau5 Remix)

8) Lukabrazi is Dead (Original Mix)

9) Everything Before (Original Mix)

10) Nufunk - Nubreed (Deadmau5 Remix)

11) It's Our Future - Young Rebels (Deadmau5 Remix)

12) Dirty Sexy Club Music - Filter Freq (Deadmau5 Remix)

13) Moonlight Berlin (Scen Mash-Up) - Deadmau5 vs. Fonzerelli

14) Super Skunk - Noir (Deadmau5 Remix)

15) Not Exactly Voices - Deadmau5 vs. The Police (Dumb Dan Edit)

16) The Reward Is Cheese - Deadmau5 vs. Jelo

Link... A DeadMau5 MegaMix - The Beatmeister

Enjoy and hoping for a MORE MIXED UP year ahead!!! Special shoutout goes to DJ Chronic and Adam for some of the tracks I'ved used in this compilation.

Ending The Year With A Boom - Prepare Your Speakers For Some Big Beats

Now that Christmas is over, its time to prepare for the upcoming New Year and what better way to end 2007 than with a mix of the best in bangin' electronic beats.

As my biggest influence in electronic music, I've compiled and mixed the best tracks from four of the biggest names in the big beat genre: The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, Prodigy and The Crystal Method. I remember the first time hearing "Block Rockin' Beats" from The Chemical Brothers back in '99 and that was when I've decided to get back into mixing and DJ'ing.

Big beat tends to feature distorted and compressed breakbeats at moderate tempos, usually between 90-140 BPMs, acidic synthesized lines, and heavy, repetitive loops. Big beat is like drum n' bass' retarded cousin, both sharing frantic breaks, heavy bass, and an odd "jittery rhythm," but the former tends to have more simplistic loops beats than the latter.

The Chemical Brothers, formed by the duo of Tom Rowlands and Ed Simmons, were the pioneers of this electronic dance genre and were known for their high-quality live sets with the use of MPC samplers, Electribes, and the ever so popular Kaoss Pad Effects processor.

The Prodigy, another English band, known for various styles ranging from rave, hardcore to industrial, looks more like that of a live act with members, Liam Howlett, Keith Flint, Maxim and Leeroy Thornhill.

Fatboy Slim, the only single act of the four, is Norman Cook, former bassist of the 80s band, "The Housemartins," reinvented himself as one of the best DJs in the world and a well-known big beat producer/artist.

Lastly is The Crystal Method, which is the only American act in the group, consisting of the dynamic duo of Ken Jordan and Scott Kirkland, and considered the pioneers of this genre in the US. They have a very distinctive musical style, which features hard hitting "big beat" percussion, driving synthesized baselines and often distorted synthesized lead tones.

Today's set comprises some of the four's best original tracks and remixes.

Tracklist:

1) Come On Beats Version 2 - Moby vs. The Chemical Brothers (Beatmeister's Method Rockin' Bass Mash-Up Mix)

2) Rock The House - The Chemical Brothers (Prodigy Remix)

3) The Roof Is On Fire vs. Hey Boy Hey Girl - Rockmaster Scott vs. The Chemical Brothers

4) Not Another Drugstore - The Chemical Brothers (Planet Nine Mix)
5) Don't Stop - Freestylers (Fatboy Slim Mix)

6) Block Rockin Breaks - The Chemical Brothers (Counterfeit Beatz Mix)

7) Breathe - Prodigy (Erick E Re-Edit)

8) Right Here, Right Now - Fatboy Slim (Carrison Vs. Scorpio Mix)

9) Hey Boy, Hey Girl - The Chemical Brothers (2006 User Friendly Mix)

10) Outta Space - Prodigy (Autobots Mix)

11) Praise You - Fatboy Slim (46th Street Mix)

12) The Salmon Dance - The Chemical Brothers (Herve Mix)

13) Girls - Prodigy (2006 Rogue Elements Remix)

14) Slash Dot Dash - Fatboy Slim (Act Of Dog's Hack Dot Slash Mix)

15) Galvanize - The Chemical Brothers (H.A.B. Electroplate Mix)

16) Crystalized - Crystal Method (Extended Mix)

17) Electrobank - The Chemical Brothers (Album Version)

18) Everybody In The Place - Prodigy (Act Of Dog's 3 Oh Frenzy Mix)

19) Setting The Firestarter's Sun - The Chemical Brothers vs. Prodigy (Beatmeister's Dreamtime Mash-Up Mix) - another mash-up from yours truly

Link... MyBlockRockinBigBeatMix - The Beatmeister

Here's to an explosive year ahead!! Happy New Year!!!