RemixGalaxy Blog

It seems as if everyone’s favorite Canadian identical twin lesbian power pop duo and the world’s most famous Dutch mega-trance DJ titan are at it again. Following their team-up on the pulsating “Back In Your Head” remix, Tegan and Sara have once again joined forces with Tiësto to rock dance floors around the globe. Tegan and Sara first popped up with their 2004 debut So Jealous, but really hit it big with 2007’s Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie)-produced The Con. Featuring adept keyboard lines and impressive lyrics about the tense yearning surrounding love and loss, the so-cute-it-hurts duo are a forehead-slapping choice for some Tiësto reworking. Combining propelling ethereal beats with the Canucks’ intertwining double-decker vocals proves to be catchier than ringworm in a wrestling team’s locker room. Hear for yourself:

Tegan and Sara - “Feel it in My Bones (Tiësto remix)”

Tegan and Sara - “Back in Your Head (Tiësto remix)”

PreSonus - makers of the ubiquitous FireBox and FireStudio line of products - is generally known as a hardware manufacturer. That didn’t stop them from trying to reinvent the DAW. There upcoming release - called StudioOne- is billed as a professional quality application that is easier to use than competing packages. Judging by the feature list, it certainly has the specs to stand next to its better known brethren such as CakeWalk’s Sonar and Apple’s Logic.

“We’re just plain tired of having to fight our way through complex user interfaces and esoteric menus in order to create pro-level tracks”, said Stephen Oppenheimer of Presonus. “It doesn’t have to be that way. And with Studio One, it isn’t. You can find your way around most features very easily.”

StudioOne is not yet available for purchase and no date has been announced, but users can download a free demo version of the software at the PreSonus StudioOne demo page. It looks like the street price will be around US$400, and there will be versions for Mac OS X and Windows PC. There is also a “Lite” version that will ship free with the company’s audio interface products.

Raw. Egotistic. Audacious. Biggie Smalls turned the hip-hop world upside down in the early nineties with the exponentially eloquent Ready To Die and strutted around like he deserved every single nanosecond spent on top of the world. When I conjure up memories of B.I.G., I imagine him slowly stepping out of a ridiculous stretch limo sporting a white fur coat with a scowl eternally chiseled into his plump face, and a fine Castro Cuban parked in his grill to boot. His rhymes were so buttery, so smokey, they billowed out of his lungs thicker than jungle canopy and morphed into an infectious miasma of colloquial candor that distinctly reminded people why Christopher Wallace’s head-spinning swagger was so suitable. As the 2000s come to a close, it’s nice to see that cutting-edge bands, like the infectiously melodic shredder troupe Ratatat, have the chops to remix a Biggie classic instead of whatever overproduced pizza puff Common just stuck in the oven. So, throw on this jam and turn up the volume. Most of all, remember that the next time you see some hipsters rhyming to club rap and carousing along to their (falsely) perceived apostasy, this number tackled the doomed shallowness of rampant consumerism with much more verve then they’ll ever realize.

Notorious B.I.G. - “Party and Bullshit (Ratatat remix)”

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RemixGalaxy.com is teaming up with Rockstar Energy Drink to bring the 2009 Battle of the DJs to Chicago. At least 24 of Chicago’s hottest DJs from a wide variety of genres will compete over 4 nights from August through October until we can crown the winner as Chicago’s best DJ! The title is more than just honorary. It comes with a grand prize of $2500. If you’re in the Windy City, you can catch the events live at Ohm Nightlife, located at 1958 W. North Ave. We’ll be giving away free USB jump drives and loads of Rockstar Energy Drinks. Even if you’re not in Chicago, you can still help choose the winner. After each of the first three rounds, audio and video of the performances will be posted in the online battle arena, where you’ll be able to watch, listen and cast your vote to help determine who advances to the Final Round. The preliminary rounds are scheduled for August 27, September 10 and September 24, 2009. The winners of those events will advance to the Finals, which is going to be a blowout party to be held on a soon-to-be-announced date in October. Join us if you can, and if you can’t be there, be sure to watch the online battle arena to cast your vote after each round.

Former beatboxer and current electropop artist Frankmusik is known across the pond for his deft fingers on the keyboard and the full-on 80s revival tones in his music. While many of his numbers can be appropriately classified as effusively cheesy, there’s also something genuinely affecting that can be gleaned from his voice. On more than one occasion, I found it reminding me of the endearing Bronski Beat. Australia’s Russ Chimes obviously noticed, because his gleaming, enthralling remix of Frankmusik’s Confusion Girl is downright killer. I’m not sure how these Australians are managing to nail every remix, but it seems as if the continent is producing a lot of talent right now. Even Frankmusik admitted that “This is the best remix I have ever had done by anyone.”

Frankmusik – Confusion Girl (Russ Chimes Remix)

Don Diablo is definitely a name you should keep an eye out for. The Dutch DJ and producer extraordinaire has signed a massive global deal with Sony/BMG and is planning on releasing his upcoming album “Life Is a Festival” in the fall. Besides DJing and producing Diablo also sings and writes all of his own music. Of course, he also seems to be knee-deep in remixes all the time. This time around, UK’s Louis La Roche was the one doing the remixing. Diablo’s “I Am Not From France” features a barrage of funky beats and squirrely boinks backed by a sizzling synthesizer, but the remix really seems to iron out all the whizzbangery into a much tidier package.

Don Diablo – “I Am Not From France (Louis La Roche remix)”

Native Instruments - makers of tremendously popular and powerful products like Massive, Battery and Kore - have released a free instrument based on their Kontakt 3.5 sampler. The Kontakt Sample Player can load and play all of the libraries made for its bigger brother and comes with a starter kit of 50 instruments. It’s available for PC and Mac (VST, AU, RTAS formats). I can’t imagine you’re going to do better than this offering without shelling out some cash. You can download the player here.

Electroclash agitators and prolific remix duo Crystal Castles have hit the big time. Sure, they’ve been popular since their self-titled debut album dropped last year, but high-profile festival gigs at Bonnaroo and Lollapalloza have pretty much cemented their status as one of the premier electro groups ripping it up today. With not much more than a microphone and a keyboard, Crystal Castles is able to produce a jarring, icy-hot wall of sound propelled by the distorted robotron vocals of Alice Glass and techie whizzbangery of Ethan Kath. Another duo performing at Lolla this weekend is the Los Angeles-based DJ duo LA Riots, who recently remixed CC’s Atari-tinged “Crimewave” to make it a bit more club-friendly. The results are pretty much awesome, so check out the jam.

Crystal Castles - “Crimewave (LA Riots remix)”

Remember how huge Fatboy Slim was? Besides getting Christopher Walken to cut up a rug in his “Weapon of Choice” video, Quentin Leo Cook (Fatboy Slim is one of his monikers) ruled the late 90’s with his knack for big beat birr and contagiously catchy cadence. Sure, American audiences eventually found UK-exported electronica like Fatboy Slim, Basement Jaxx, and Chemical Brothers cloying, but the big beat genre had a great run for a while. Still having a difficult time remembering? Check out Aussie duo Trumpdisco’s eruptive remix of the classic “Right Here Right Now.” I bet you’ll remember after that.

Fatboy Slim - “Right Here Right Now (Trumpdisco remix)”

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It’s here. Our first remix contest. We’re giving you a chance to put President Barack Obama’s words into your tracks. Create an original track - any genre. The only requirement is that your song must contain at least 2 recognizable snippets of Barack Obama. A few words or a whole speech. It’s up to you.

The contest begins August 5, 2009 and entries are due by September 6, 2009.

We’ll pick two winners. An Over Best Remix and the Best MixStudio Remix. Each winner will receive an Apple iPod Touch and have their song featured on the RemixGalaxy MySpace page for a whole month.

So fire up MixStudio or any other production software and show us how you roll.