RemixGalaxy Blog

Music Radar asked their readers to vote on the best soft-synths on the market today. The results were surprising to me. The number 1 spot went to LennarDigital’s Sylenth1, a great instrument to be sure. Still, I would have predicted a victory for one of Native Instruments many fine offerings, such as Massive, Reaktor or Absynth-5 (Nos. 2, 11 and 13, respectively in the poll). Rounding out the top 5 were ReFX Nexus2, Camel Audio Alchemy and Spectrasonics Omnisphere (which is not really a synth but more like a highly editable sample player).

Here’s your chance to remix “Sweet Disposition” from Australia’s The Temper Trap. This song was featured in the film and on the soundtrack of 500 Days of Summer and has been all over the radio.

The band and their label, Columbia/Glassnote (a Sony Music Entertainment label) want to hear your remix of the song. If yours is their favorite, you’ll win a trip for 2 to Austin, Texas for the sold-out Austin City Limits Music Festival to see the band perform (as well as Slightly Stoopid, Phish, LCD SoundSystem, Deadmau5 and The Eagles). We’ll hook you up with airfare, hotel, festival tickets, a personal meet and greet with the band and $500 in spending cash. You’ll also get a signed poster and CD from the band, and we’ll send you home with a copy of Vegas Pro 9 Digital Audio and Video Production Suite from Sony Creative Software. Loopmasters is also throwing in 5 DVD sample packs from their renowned Artist Series. There are also great prizes for second and third places.

Just click HERE to visit the contest page and get all the details.

Here’s your chance to remix “Heartbreak on Vinyl” by Blake Lewis - American Idol star and TommyBoy Entertainment recording artist. And if you can impress Blake with your skills, you’ve got a great shot at winning some cool prizes, including a congratulatory phone call from Blake himself!

Just click the banner to go to the contest page.

As trite as it sounds, The Ramones changed my life. When I heard them for the first time in 7th grade I knew I had to get a guitar and learn how to play C-E-G as soon as possible. As a dedicated fan, I figured that I knew all that about the band, until I found a clever mashup. Being four guys from 1980s Queens, I should have realized that The Ramones possessed some street cred, as displayed in “Dirt Off Your Blitzkrieg.”

I had to listen to the mash up of “Blitzkrieg Bop” with Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder,” multiple times before I knew what was going on. Punk rock and hip-hop, two genres generally regarded as over simplistic, synergize on this track, forcing the listener to reevaluate the musicality of each genre and see the power each one possesses.

While I was feeling a bit nostalgic today, I stumbled upon this recording by the late-80s Austin-trio 2 Nice Girls, a mashup of “Sweet Jane” by the Velvet Underground and Joan Armatrading’s “Love and Affection.” Recorded back in 1989, the track is sparse, containing only a simple guitar/keyboard arrangement and three voices creating intertwining harmonies.

Recorded at a time when mashup technology was not as readily available and far from the mainstream, these three ladies simply use creative composition to produce a track that both defies the prevailing connotation of a mashup and has been called the realest version of “Sweet Jane” by Lou Reed himself .

Summer has so many things going for it–numerous bank holidays that are celebrated with beer and BBQs, lazy afternoons at the beach, a street festival on almost every block- BUT there is always that one summer anthem that ruins everything. This summer, Katy Perry’s “Summer Gurls” has been on repeat by any DJ trying to capture the essence of the season, but after the third time in a night a song about “fun, fresh girls” just sounds stale. Thankfully you can add some life to your summer playlist with the remix below.

Now go out and enjoy the final weeks of the season, before this song becomes nothing more than a teasing reminder of the thrill of summer.

This posting might seem a few weeks dated, but I have been noticing a changing scene in indie rock, most recently at Pitchfork Music Festival, a weekend jammed pack with up and coming musicians as well as a few established acts. This year Pitchfork seems to have expanded beyond their usual indie rock fair, including high profile DJs and hip-hop artists such as Major Laser, Raekwon, and Big Boi. All three of these artists have made use of sampling, most notably Major Laser (with DJ Diplo).

While at the festival, everyone was dancing and rocking out, not thinking of the social commentary that was being made–music that fifteen years ago was considered to be unoriginal and cashing in on the work of others can now play the same festival as LCD Soundsystem and Pavement so an equal receptive crowd.

While this year’s Pitchfork is best described as “chill,” the remixers, DJs, and MCs definitely brought the mission to party, complemented with the musicianship to get people the audience moving. Hopefully more indie rock festivals will become open to the idea of continuing to mix genres and include more remixers next year.

Muzik Box has handed their latest track, “That Thang (Drivin’ My Mercedes),” over to all the remixers through RemixGalaxy. If you rise to the challenge and Muzik Box picks your remix as the best, you’ll win some cash ($250), some software, merch, and of course props from Muzik Box.

Muzik Box’s music is firmly centered around house music, but add a unique spin with influences as varied as the spices in a complex and exotic recipe. Muzik Box delivers infectious hooks and energetic club grooves served with a fierce stlye. More than just a band- through their image, fashion, music, and attitude, Muzik Box is a lifestyle. Imagine The Black Eyes Peas meets Dee-Lite doing full on house music. Check them out at http://www.myspace.com/muzikboxmusic

Grand Prize will:
-Have remix will be released on Control Voltage Records
-Featured on a Promo Only Subscription CD for distribution to thousands of DJs and other music professionals
-Sony Sound Forge Pro 10 Digital Audio Production Suite
-Sample Packs from Loopmasters
-Merchandise from Control Voltage Records
-$250 cash

Second Place will win:
-ToonTrack Superior Drummer 2.0 Software with several expansion packs
-Merchandise from Control Voltage Records
-$100 cash

5 Honorable Mentions (determined by voting) will receive a package of RemixGalaxy merchandise and will be featured on the RemixGalaxy website.

Here’s your chance to put your own spin on a feel-good party dance track from Muzik Box. The winning remix will be released on Control Voltage Records and will be featured on one of Promo Only’s monthly subscription CDs that are sent to thousands of DJs and other music professionals. Other prizes are provided by Sony Creative Software, Loopmasters, ToonTrack and Remix Galaxy.

Just click the banner to go to the contest page, download the stems and start remixing!

Remixing and mashups have officially hit the mainstream. No longer do you have to scour the internet for the latest homemade track, you can just turn on primetime television.

Rupert Murdoch owned FOX is home to “Glee”, the hit show about a high school glee club. The students are given weekly assignments that regularly result in mashups and remixes, never with the mention of copyright laws. With current copyright laws as they are, the Glee kids’ production budget would also have to include a lawyer on retainer.

Without a compulsory license (aka the license needed to record and distribute a cover of a previous work), the almost exact copy of Madonna’s “Vogue” performed by Sue Sylvester would have cost the kids up to $150,000. A few of the kids posting Sue dancing to Olivia Newton John’s “Physical” would cost them up to $300,000. And let’s not forget about the mashups, for which there are no compulsory licenses available, well each one would cost $150,000 for each song used.

The show, while turning people onto the direction music is taking, neglects to even mention copyright laws. While the show may take place in LaLa Land, it would make for interesting commentary to mention the fact that any normal glee club doing what Glee does would risk lengthy court battles and high fines. Or even better, attempt to the current laws in an episode.