Round Table Knights Beatport Remix

[reactorstudios]

Hello all,
I had so much fun working on the Bird 1 remix contest I decided to have a go at another one. This time around, Beatport and Round Table Knights' have offered up Say What?! for remixing.
I contribute to these contests for the feedback more than any other reason. My wife will attest: I certainly don't need any more gear. Though, the prize pack is pretty cool.

At any rate, who better to review my mixes than the dirts?
Give it a listen when you are at your most critical and let me know what you think:
Say What?! (reactor mix)

Thanks.

[Andrea]

I don´t know if this is the most critical moment of my life or not (my father died this morning) but….
What a mix of some experimental sound and cheap synth from the eighties you made!
Wow! The intro is really good even though I think the lyrics came in too soon
…and then that synth chock!
I was waiting for those elements from the intro to return in full but no, instead came a torment with those banal and boring lyrics and synth.
But I must say I have never heard the original track so maybe there is nothing to be done about it.

[reactorstudios]

Andrea, first, sorry to read of your father's passing.
Thanks for taking a little time for my mix on a difficult day.

I am glad you like the intro, as it was truly the focus of my work.
I thought I'd stretch outside my comfort zone a bit, though, so I attempted to work those boisterous 80s synths into my usually subtle fare. It was a fun exercise, but a difficult blend.
A copy of Z3ta+ has been on my machine for a while now - unused. When I fired it up for the mix, it screamed cheesy 80s trance at me and I obliged.
I also have a Casio CZ5000 going on 10 years now that I still have not recorded. I might just need to spend a little time getting the 80s out of me so I can get back to some serious work.

I agree entirely about the lyrics, but they are (unfortunately) the heart of the original track and I felt it too much of a stretch to drop them entirely. Maybe another go in another time....

Thanks, again.

[Andrea]

Thank you!
He wasn´t the kind of father as might have been expected and I have lived in Sweden for nearly 30 years now so my feelings could be described more like sentimental and nostalgic than sorrowful to be honest. But he was my father after all and somewhere deep down he was a kind man so
thank you for your kind words.

Nice to hear that the intro was you main focus. I think I started to write my post when the synth and lyrics "destroyed" it Although I have nothing against the 80s trance or music in general. Many great things were created at that period especially for us who liked to dance.

Some new things you mentioned… what is a Z3ta+ and a Casio CZ5000??
I guess its a kid of electronic equipment, right? I know nothing about music gears you see.

[reactorstudios]

I spend so much time on music production forums these days I take for granted that people know the gear to which I am referring. Sorry.

The Z3TA+ is a software synthesizer made by Cakewalk, the same company that makes the Sonar digital audio workstation (DAW), which is my main tracking/mixing platform.
The synthesizer comes packaged with Sonar. I have always overlooked the prepackaged software in Sonar because I have other synthesizers, both software and hardware that I enjoy so much.
My favorite synthesizer is the Nord Lead. I have one that finds it's way on to everything I produce. I;ve coaxed great bass, lead and drum sounds out of it. I am fairly well convinced that you could reproduce the entirety of the Fever Ray album (best of 2009, IMHO) using only the nord. It's versatile.
Incidentally, two of them sit on a table directly behind Darren and Rick at every live show. They are bright red, so you can't miss them.
The Casio CZ series of synths were hot new items in the 80s: early digital synths that were affordable, midi equipped, and relatively easy (though time-consuming) to program given the wealth of sounds that could be drawn out of them. I picked up the 5000 model (two CZ-101s in one unit) in 2001 for under $100, but never really put it to great use. It is sturdy as hell, though, and looks cool on my rack. I'll find a place for it in a piece, eventually. It is probably most suitable to synth-pop. Perhaps I'll try my hand at the genre while I'm on an 80s kick!

When you get some time, give the original Round Table Knights track a listen. I am not enamored of it, but I am curious to know how it suits other fans of UW.

I hope day two finds you feeling better.

[Andrea]

The Nord Lead 2x looks awesome.
I guess you need some software as well to mix the layers, right?
If I had the money I would buy it at once and test my aptitude for music. Unfortunately I have to pack my suitcase now for another Hungarian trip instead

[reactorstudios]

Yes, the DAW typically does all the tracking and mixing of layers, if your intent is to record whatever sounds you come up with. I noted that I use Cakewalk's Sonar X1, and I love it. I believe UW use a combination of Apple Logic and Ableton Live, based on what appears to be running on the computers that sit behind the Nords on stage.

The Nord allows you to store up to four parts in memory, which mean you can have four separate sounds playing at once, or stack the four parts for one really thick sound. There is no built in sequencer, though, so you can't record what you play directly to the Nord itself. Even without a dedicated DAW or sequencer, the Nord connected to a decent amplifier (it doesn't have speakers) will provide countless hours of fun. I spend a lot of time on it just messing around with arpeggios while a drum machine (usually a Boss Dr-770) keeps time in the background. When you tempo sync the Nord to your drum beat, kick-ass things can happen.
I picked mine up off of Ebay for $650 (US). A small price to pay for such a beast. If I had more money to drop I'd add the newer Nord Wave to my rack. BUT, I am mostly using software synths these days. The next time I buy a piece of hardware I'll be going for one of my dream synths, the Waldorf Q or a Moog Voyager.

[Andrea]

Wow! This Ableton Live kit on the demo video looks nice. http://www.ableton.com/live
Recording sounds and tones in different mode and changing and rearranging it until it sounds good would suit me since I don´t play piano or guitar but I know what I want when I hear it.
I can imagine it´s even better if the final mix, layer by layer, can be played on real instruments of course. Ting-a-linnng!

However, I have a feeling I would have to find controllers and gears with more and more buttons to get THAT particular sound. I guess if I had time and money enough I would end up as JMJarre. I´m talking about the amount of gear of course

[reactorstudios]

Collecting gear can become an addiction, indeed.
AKAI makes a nice, affordable controller specifically for Live that has all the buttons you would ever need. Pair that with a decent keyboard controller (AKAI and Korg both make laptop bag size controllers, M-audio makes the full-size one I use) and you have a pretty capable music studio.
It doesn't take a massive investment to get going, these days. Well, financial investment. The time required to really develop the skill and produce something worthwhile....

[Andrea]

hmmm…sounds like a lot of engagement, I live an ordinary 9-5 after all
but it´s definitely on my "to do" list
thank you for giving me some tips, otherwise it´s very difficult to find out where to start