Shades (Beastie Dance Remix)

Thorsten Klose · Post by **Thorsten Klose** » 03/01/2007 - 18:24

Hi,

this is a preview version of a remix of Shades from Chris Huelsbeck: club style with some Beastie Boys vocal samples (Intergalactic).

It still needs some mastering, but since this is the first time I'm going to finalize a dance song, I would like to read your oppinions.

-> shades_alpha.mp3 (expired)
-> shades_beta.mp3 (update)

Best Regards, Thorsten.

Romeo Knight · Post by **Romeo Knight** » 03/01/2007 - 22:01

Mmmh, as much as I like the idea, this sped up version does not live up to the brillant brillant SID.
You should also check some chords you didn't reproduce right, especially at 1:54! (hurts me...sorry

)

Analog-X64 · Post by **Analog-X64** » 03/01/2007 - 22:19

I'm a fan of the Shades tune & Beastie Boys Intergalactic, so I'm a bit biast towards both. So here goes.

- I'm hearing 3 separate Speeds.
1. the Main Shades Lead sounds like is at one speed.
2. the dance/bass/beat portion sounds like is at another speed.
3. the Vocals are on another speed.

- 1:54 - 2:00 Shades Lead does not sound right.
- Bassline needs to come to the front a bit.

Listening to this track over and over again...now I'm thinking maybe the Vocals are too long....maybe just take a catchy hit from the vocals instead of using the whole phrase like that.

Thats my 2 cents. I'm sure you will get better feedback from others here.

Thorsten Klose · Post by **Thorsten Klose** » 03/01/2007 - 23:18

Thanks for the feedback so far!

@Romeo Knight: I must say that I felt a little bit queasy during the decition to use the Shades Lead and Chords for such a style genre - as you already said: the original tune is really brilliant; I know it since the release in the german C64 magazine and love it since that time.

The story behind the remix is, that during the creation of arpeggio textures I used some chords which were somehow known to me. Then I noticed that it's in fact Shades - and so the idea came up to create a remix.

Yes, I should check the chords (and tune) again, they are mainly played from memory, I missed to doublecheck this carefully enough with the SID (*blush*)

@Analog-X: thanks for the hint about the different speeds! I think that I should pause some days and then overwork the lead. It could also be played with a faster rhythm, I already tried it but it didn't "work" the first time. I will try it again.

As for the vocals I've no idea yet, how to use them in a different way without a "dadaism" result (does anybody know "return to dada" from Yello?

Best Regards, Thorsten.

omoroca · Post by **omoroca** » 04/01/2007 - 8:54

Hi Thorsten!

Shades is my favorite HÃƒÂ¼lsbeck song. I like the idea of making it a fast dance track, and I love the vocal part. Fits in perfectly!

I noticed only 2 different speeds: the regular (fast) speed that it has almost the whole time and the reduced (half) speed at 0:11-0:12 (repeated later several times), which sounds good because it's a surprising contrast. I like that. Don't make anything in this song faster or slower!

But Romeo Knight is absolutely right about the 1:54 issue (same goes for 3:06). This spoils the whole thing in a devastating way!

But if you get the chords right an maybe add some more filter or anything to make the lead sound more interesting and emotional, this song's absolutely KEWL!!! Not as good as o2's Shades version, which is absolutely classic and can never be outrun by anyone, but at least a rating of 75%!

Monty · Post by **Monty** » 04/01/2007 - 14:52

ÃƒÂ®t works surprisingly good. never thought i could like shades played that way, but i do.
as mentioned above, the chord-thing needs to be fixed and the bassline should be a bit more present.
apart from that i love everything like it is

well done so far!

Vosla · Post by **Vosla** » 04/01/2007 - 16:10

Without going into deeper details - I already love it!

Thorsten Klose · Post by **Thorsten Klose** » 05/01/2007 - 22:49

Thanks again for your valuable input!

Here is the beta version:
-> shades_beta.mp3

Chords are (hopefully!) fixed, volumes are adjusted, vocal samples are better in sync with the beat, and some distortion has been eliminated.

The lead sound is still the same, as a filter would make it too soft, there wouldn't be a clear seperation to the other synths anymore (and I just like the raw SID sound

)

Best Regards, Thorsten.

Monty · Post by **Monty** » 06/01/2007 - 1:54

sounds great & rocks hard!!
the only (veeeery small) thing i instantly missed in the new version was the bending-in of the lead at the very beginning.
it has gone and i want it back!

omoroca · Post by **omoroca** » 06/01/2007 - 8:03

I cannot remember the previous version exactly, but you've slightly altered the lead sound, as I had suggested, haven't you. Gives me goose bumps now. Especially the corrected chords, sounds perfect now. I'm glad I could contribute.

You're the artist, so you can do whatever you want. But if you ask me: DON'T CHANGE ANYTHING!

Post by **tas** » 06/01/2007 - 8:49

Good stuff this.. A nice experiment that just works.

Well done that chappy =)

Thorsten Klose · Post by **Thorsten Klose** » 06/01/2007 - 12:26

You will get back the sweep at the beginning in the final RKO version.

I'm just doing some last experiments with a multi-compressor in order to get the mix a little bit louder in the hope that it won't destroy the initial impression.

Best Regards, Thorsten.

Condor · Post by **Condor** » 10/01/2007 - 22:34

Now, this is nice. Another combination of Beastie Boys & C64

But, you should add some fat synth at 1:00

Somehow, lead synth reminded me to 'ttrance[]control - Vision fo mind (Live Simulation)'

Analog-X64 · Post by **Analog-X64** » 13/01/2007 - 15:20

I just got back from Vacation and downloaded the beta version and I like it. Good job of taking care of the timing issues.

Looking forward to the final version.

omoroca · Post by **omoroca** » 15/01/2007 - 8:15

Analog-X wrote:Looking forward to the final version.

Me too!