REMIXERS - Full of talent or left wanting?

[Commie_User]

Obviously, a Commodore Remix Forum will be packed with revamped old tunes. Remixers put a lot of skill and care into their work, winning competitions and showing the world that old game tunes can work outside the sonics of a crumbling 8-bit.




Or, perhaps, new tunes can also work sent the other way.



But let's ask a question - why do people take up remixing? Is it because they may feel they can't write enough good original tunes? Or is it because they may feel arrangement is more their suit and adapt that?

[RealNC]

Because it's fun. Why it's fun, I don't know. I could come up with enough reasons, but that would be just rationalizing it after the fact.

[Analog-X64]

Remixing an old tune is challenging. I have an easier time to create and original of my own vs trying to remix someones classic.

[Commie_User]

I'm not really a covers man so there's some nice insight for me here.

And does remix experience enhance production of your own tunes Analog?

[Chris Abbott]

Originally I felt both a historical aspect ("these tunes must be preserved") as well the belief that the composers meant something entirely bigger than they were able to realise. Mostly because I wanted to make the tunes sound like they did originally in my head, almost as a catharsis. I certainly didn't feel as if I wanted to impose myself on them.

Chris

[Analog-X64]

And does remix experience enhance production of your own tunes Analog?

Indeed it does.

[poke16384]

Ok! Warning! submission from 'an old composer'......

On one level, (and I guess this is unique to myself, Reyn, Jonathan Dunn and any others who have submitted remixes), you are tinkering with your own history and, to
a certain extent changing the original to 'How you would have made it sound' given the same level of technology and polyphony available now. So, in that sense, it is still
a voyage of discovery, especially as far as the new parts you add are concerned. I guess that the composers also get an easier ride with regard to 'changing' things. "Hey!
It's my tune so i'll remix it anyway I damn well please' without worrying about respecting the composer. (Woo! Is this getting too psychological? ).

But... Then again, we all worry about how the end product will be received. So, you still pay attention to what you're doing.

When it comes to remixing/re-arranging someone else's work, then I become just like everyone else. Respect for the original work is important but, (like Chris said), how
you hear it in your own head, for me, that's what I'm after. It is challenging. Far more challenging than I thought and I have to say this.... The standard of the best remixes
on this website is high. Like very H I G H ! ! ! Production values in some pieces are massive and perfectionism is a rife disease which is good for everyone. It delivers better
sounding tunes for the listener, pushes the ceiling up and makes every remixer/musician strive that little bit harder.

Having played in bands for 30 years and used backtracks with click tracks for about 15 of those years, I've spent a lot of time trying to created a perfect clone of each and every
pop and rock tune we've wanted to cover, before dropping out the guitar, bass and drums, (normally), which will get played live on stage. That! like this, is a skill that develops
over months and years.

Overall, for me anyway, it's really, really good fun and, even now at 53 years of age, I learn more with each and every piece of music.

[Doddsy]

When I first discovered RKO from Retro Gamer magazine I thought "Now thats cool. People are still entertained by the sid chip!" So from there I decided to have a go at remixing some tunes from my past. Its great fun and puts the gear you buy or get for free to good use. A nice side effect I found is that there is a ready made audience. If you create your own tunes, put them on sound cloud or what ever you need to promote the tracks very well to get anything heard. On RKO although the hits have gone down in recent years the amount of listerners far exceeds anything I'd do totally original otherwise.

[Commie_User]

I gather remixers can have a greater awareness of sound as they concentrate more on a specific flavour. And as Doddsy says, there's also a pre-made audience.

Modern technology also opens those doors ever wider.

Thanks a lot for the insights.

[daXX]

Because i sell my own stuff... And remixing old tunes is a hobby for me where i can dream and fly back to the good old days and pay my respect & attention to the original composers.

[Zzr]

as a tribute to the music i love so much for such a long time already. and after i started releasing them on the internet, for all the people who share my love to this time and music. and to give this old tunes a more "year 2000+ sound"
not at last to have my own versions of that songs from the past, most times i feel very satisfied after finishing a new remix / remake. excluding the guitar slinger
and yes, when i was new to music-making at all, i started with remixing also for learning reasons. ended up keeping the remixing for the above reasons then

[Vosla]

IF i had any talent for music, remixing would be for feeling the thrill of that almost magical time i had back in the days.
This is one main aspect why i enjoy c64 remixes so much but the real kick would be selfmade remixes... well, that last bit is like being blind and wishing for colours.