My First Remix

Well I’m quite chuffed with myself. I've nearly finished my first ever remix and have really enjoyed doing it. I say remix - it's more of a remake really, isn't really that true to the original, rather it's samples used in the original reinterpreted by me in a new track. But I’m still rather chuffed.

This is the first bit of music I’ve made for a long time and certainly the first piece I’ve made in years that I’ve nearly finished. Still a bit of polishing to do just to get all the levels right and I’m not sure about the ending, but anyway.

It’s a remix of a track that Dave entered into a remix competition on Discogs, which won and got remixed by all the others. I did think of entering at the time but knew I’d never have time to get it in on time. So I just plodded away in my own time.

I say plodded, it took me about 10 hours over two days to do including cutting up samples and loading them into samplers (a rather dull process creatively). It was the month and a half between the two days I spent working on it, not the fastest rate of production. And I’m still not finished.

Anyway, enough waffling, here’s a link to the track so far. I’m not gonna leave this here forever as it takes up a lot of space. Let me know what you think of it.

Fireworks

I have just discovered one of the really cool things about living up on this hill. It is always good to see the view out of my kitchen window which looks out over a large part of Brighton. Just to make things even better I have just been watching 13 different firework displays out of the window. Rather cool really seeing fireworks shooting up all across the horizon, and all without leaving the house!! Might go back to the window now....

Sunny Thursday Morning

It’s another sunny morning and I’m sat here listening to music and have just finished applying for another job. Maybe this time I might get a reply!! Have become rather good at knocking out cover letters now and my CV is probably the most concise CV I have ever had. Anyway, not gonna get my hopes up, the normal outcome of my applications is a resounding nothing at all. I get excited when I get a ‘sorry not this time’ letter!!

Anyway the sun is shining and the house across the street is getting much closer to being finished. Since the whole place burnt down in a spectacular fire last year it has been a source of interest to me as I sit here at my desk and work. The fire itself was pretty impressive, I was lucky enough to see it all from the point the builders hastily evacuated having set fire to the roofing felt they where fitting. From there it became a spectacular with fire engines from half the county including the huge engine with the platform on the end of a long ladder. You don’t get that kind of entertainment everyday.

Of course I felt really bad for the people whose homes and lives were destroyed in the process. It has also made me very careful and quite hot on fire protection around the flat. I’m one of those fussy people who turn everything off at the wall, which also has the advantage of saving electricity to, so I’m quite happy with that little obsession!!
Been having an album listening morning mainly although did start with a few choice singles. Bit of a disco theme at the start and now we’re getting jazzy.

Here’s the track list so far:

• Alice Smith – Love Endeavor : This record is simply superb, I just love it to bits and play it nearly every day. Love the musical arrangement of the Maurice Fulton mixes but it has to be the Freeform Five full vocal version. When the vocals take off…


• Peter Brown – Do Ya Wanna Get Funky With Me : Discovered this just after we moved down here when some friends came to visit and Leon bought a CD of old original disco. This is great old proper disco. Was having a mini mix moment and this fits nicely onto the end of Love Endeavor.


• Clara Hill & King Britt – Did I Do Wrong : Another great song that gets regular playing. A melancholy song analyzing a break-up but it just lifts beautifully and has really got soul.


• Metro Area – Metro Area : This is just a great modern disco album fusing electronics with strings and woodwinds.


• Mitchell & Dewbury – Rapping With The Gods : This album is just great. Its got Jazz, Soul, Funk, Latin, Afrobeat… well basically a bit of everything that goes into Russ Dewbury’s night at the Jazz Rooms


• Kahil El'Zabar – He's Got The Whole World In His Hands (Henrik Schwarz Remix) : Had a mini-mix moment during track 1 of Rapping With The Gods when I thought this would fit very nicely into the end of the track. I was right, it did!! Went back and listened to the rest of the album after my mini-mix moment...

That brings us up to now, just having a bit of a waffle before getting ready for work. Not to fussed about going today so hopefully it will be a good evening.

Bit off action on the scaffold across the street. There’s a man who has been doing a bit of filling round the eves of the house and he’s just accidentally knocked his trowel off the scaffold while lighting his fag. Bet he’s a bit miffed – he’s off down the ladders to pick it up from the pile of rubble round the bottom of the house. Shouldn’t really be amused, I’d be rather miffed to if I’d done it, but it does seem to be part of our nature to get some kind of enjoyment from these minor mishaps of others. In fact a lot of old silent movies derive their comedy from the mishaps of others.

Well the album is finished now so I suppose I ought to start getting ready for work…

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It’s off to work I go…