Journal Entry: Planning My Remix

What is the song you are remixing and who is the recording artist?

I am currently mixing a track for my friend Goyell Saab aka Shubham Goyal. The song is called Fade Away. It is due to be released in the month of July itself this year (2020). I'm remixing the same track as it is getting ready for the release. Its a beautiful progressive rock track with a melodious hook. I'm super excited for this remix project. I wish I do justice to the track.

What style of remix are you going to be creating? Will it be turned into a particular electronic music genre? Are there particular artists you will be looking at for inspiration or stylistic guidance?

I am pretty new to the realm of electronic music. I've definitely grown up listening to the mainstream pop tracks on the radio, but my record collection was all metal and rock music. I've grown up being a fan of bands like Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd and Tool to name a few.

I started researching on different styles and genres of electronic music and I listened to a lot of music trying to discover the style that fascinates me the most. I came across a UK Garage playlist on a music streaming platform and a song called Rewind by an artist called Artful Dodger featuring Craig David. I loved the track and that got me into listening to the whole playlist and I got convinced that my remix is going to be in the same style.

There are a number of artists who have inspired me for this remix but the main ones are MJ Cole, Artful Dodger, Sweet Female Attitude, etc.

How will you structure your remix? What stems from the original are you going to use? How will you process or change them?

My remix is going to have an intro which would pretty much inspire my hook and my chorus for the track. This section repeats itself over the track with variations adding to the hook. I'm using two stems out of all the stems. The first being the vocals and second the Overheads. I'll be reversing the cymbals from the track to create a riser for transition between the sections throughout the track. With the vocals I'll double the tempo to make them suit the pace of the style. Also, I'll quantize them to swing to give them a more of a a UK Garage feel. Other than that I'll be using reversed vocal sections to create the hook. I'm still experimenting with the track. Lets see where I finally end up.

What kind of communication are you having with the original artist or producer to get feedback and ideas about the direction you will be pursuing?

Shubham is really excited about the track and he is kind of looking forward to listening to my take of the song. I've discussed with him my approach and he feels positive. He is open to my experimentation and totally supports my ideas. I'll be communicating further as the project goes ahead.

Identify some online resources that will help you to learn the techniques you need to produce in your chosen genre

I've discovered a lot of content on Youtube that has really helped learn a lot. To name a few of the Youtubers who helped me are Point Blank Music School, Slynk and Andrew Huang.