Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to remix some serious indie-electro pop! For those of you that read Evolving Music, you’re probably quite familiar with Throw Me the Statue and their debut release Moonbeams. Read our review of it here, or read an interview with TMTS frontman Scott Reitherman here.

Well now, the TMTS boys want you to remix “Yucatan Gold”! Moonbeams is a rich indie blend of textures that range from indie pop, to psych-folk and art rock. Yucatan Gold takes the album into an electronic direction, and proves to be the album’s edgiest track. Full of drum machines, synths, and industrial lap-top layers, parts of the song are reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails, while others are what Weezer would song like if they went electro (do it!). What will your remix sound like?

TMTS recently dropped a video for Yucatan Gold (see below), and they are currently on tour. Be sure to check them out in your town so that you can pick up their new Purpleface EP, which you can only get on tour.

Go here to download the stems to Yucatan Gold, or to make remixes in the online MixMaker. When you’re done, be sure to upload your remix for others to check out! Or, just go listen to, vote on, and share the remixes.

Each song is in it's nature dynamic, switching quite fluidly on the fly from a punishing blast-beat passage into a bombastic, anthemic chorus, all brought to life by Alexis' outstanding vocals. She's capable of shredding her throat into twisted screams, dropping it down to a gutteral, death metal pitch, and then one moment later cleanly melodic and soulful singing. Her dynamic is the most enjoyable part of SLS, but do not discount the rest of the band's ability to write intensely catchy material. Just listen to the hooks on"Promise Me" and it's wicked melo-death bridges, "Eucharist" and it's Coheed-esque feel (Alexis sounds alot like Claudio, and I'm not sure whether this is an insult to him or big props to her...)

While I'm not ready to give this a 100% positive review (some of the songs pass by without much fanfare, and the music itself beyond Alexis' wonderful vocals is somewhat generic in ways), this is definitely a record any fan of catchy, melodic metal should check out. A more logical recommendation goes out to all the fans of female-fronted metal acts. When Skies Wash Ashore also marks the debut release under Koch Records' newest imprint, Raging Nation, run by acclaimed video director Dave "Rage" Resteghini, and was produced by Anthrax axeman Rob Caggiano. So they're gaining the right sort of attention, for all the right reasons; quality music and a bottomless work ethic. More power to you, SLS. 

DIY music mashups are becoming increasingly prevalent as more and more musicians see the value of interacting with their fans. Luckily, as DJ Earworm points out, “the music industry is beginning to see the benefit of increased exposure through releasing stems directly to the public”.

Remixing used to be largely the territory of DJs, producers and other “sonic manipulators”, who would typically overlay the a cappella from one song on top of another or sometimes add their own sounds. But now fans are embracing the concept. We owe a big thank you to Radiohead for popularizing the fan remix concept (again) and to all the other musicians who have begun to release stems through various mediums. More and more artists, both underground and mainstream, are warming up to the idea.

Increasingly, average people don’t just want to passively be entertained by media anymore. They want to experience it. Whether it’s pictures, audio, or video, people are manipulating and mashing up media to their hearts’ content. YouTube is a great example. People want to be seen and heard and be free to exercise their creativity in new ways. (Sometimes leaving the rest of us scratching our heads and wondering why they would possibly post a video of themselves doing that… but hey, they should still have that freedom and ideally the tools to do so.)

One has to give some credit to Girl Talk as well. Through his enthusiastic use of unauthorized samples, Girl Talk has been a pioneer in the mashup revolution. While legal remixing is certainly different than the bootleg subculture that grew around unauthorized sampling, these two sides of remix culture seem to be slowly converging. As artists and the powers that be in the music industry begin to embrace the perspective that when someone samples your music it’s not stealing, but rather free promotion, the boundaries begin to melt away. And thus, music evolves.

In an article delving into some mashup history and the growing mashup revolution, Roberta Cruger says:

“In DIY culture, consumers are the producers, owning the tools of production — a laptop instead of guitar, bass and drums. The bedroom is the studio and factory machinery moves out of the nightclub onto the Internet for millions to access. The media monopolies are fighting back, but with the airwaves gobbled up by conglomerates, homespun mash-ups may be the people’s digital antidote.”

When a need becomes apparent (in this case, the desire of fans to remix), naturally the solutions begin to surface as well. Like the MixMatchMusic Remix Wizard, which allows artists (e.g. The Bayliens) to host their own remix promotions easily. As remix culture continues to grow, it’ll be fascinating to see what kinds of creative fusions and deconstructions happen. New genres will evolve, the industry will continue to take unpredictable twists and turns, and who knows what other clever things will surface as the tools and the freedom to explore and create are placed in the hands of music consumers.

For example, someone took the Remix Wizard (created to facilitate music remixes) and set up a page called “Help Sarah Make Sense” where you can rearrange Sarah’s words (for better or for worse). Pretty funny actually. Go make a remix!

Don Hellions set:

Magic Johnson set:

Band roll call:

Links:
Don HellionsSpace
Don Hellions official site
Magic JohnsonSpace

Photos by Nilina Mason-Campbell

Sasha - Coma (Ki Theory Mix)
Ultra Records -Progressive House
Download Sasha Coma (Ki Theory Mix)

One of the best DJs in the world returns with a killer track: “Coma.” Its mood is just slightly haunting, and different from the average progressive song. If you’re not careful, it could fly under the radar. This should not happen though, because the vocals and dark synths make this one of the more unique prog house offerings we’ve seen recently.

Download Sasha on Beatport!

Sasha Biography:
The best DJs know that Djing is first about being able to read people and then about being able to tap into that human experience and take it on a journey. Sasha has always been noted for being a master at this, and although his style is described as “Progressive Trance” with a good presence of House and break beat elements; his music has always reached beyond those record store titles, thus separating him from his contemporaries. Sasha creates and plays music that gives emotion a chance to speak. It is this universal appeal that he has tapped into that has established his strong fanbase around the globe.

This ability to capture sounds on a universal level was most recently called upon when he was asked to write all the music for Sony Playstation¹s biggest game release of 1999, “Wipeout 3″. Sasha wrote 5 original tracks to soundscape the game. “Wipeout 3″ won not only the best racing game award, but best game of the whole show.

His special touch has also recently been called upon by The Chemical Brothers, who singled him out as the only artist asked to remix a track (”Out Of Control”) from their new album. “I just dubbed it out to a style like I would play, the elements and sounds that the Chems used were so good that I didn’t want to change them at all”, Sasha reports on making the mix. Sasha’s resume of chart topping remixes also earned him a request from Madonna in 1998 when he was asked to remix “Ray Of Light” and “Substitute For Love/ Drowned World”.

Do not be mistaken, this kind of recognition does not happen overnight. Born and raised in a small town in Wales, Sasha was exposed to Motown records when he was just a baby and it was in the home that his talent for playing the piano was developed. His first exposure to house music was at Manchester’s Hacienda; just as dance music exploded into the summer of love. This impact encouraged his move from Wales to Manchester. His first exploration into Djing was when a DJ in a local pub announced he was looking for people to play club dates. Sasha volunteered and now says that he “had about 30 records and basically just blagged it”.

After honing his deck technique, Sasha’s first big break came when he was offered a residency at Stokes legendary club Shelly¹s. When all the other DJ’s were playing US House, Sasha’s style was much more uplifting, and he encapsulated clubbers with his mixture of piano led Italian House whilst playing acapella tracks over the top. This combination alongside a wide variety of anthems kept dancefloors full and elevated Sasha to hero status.

Shelly¹s was the launch pad for the residency at Renaissance, where Sasha created his niche and helped forge a new style in UK house music. At Renaissance two major things happened; Sasha mixed the first ever UK DJ mix album and he met John Digweed which cemented the partnership known as “Northern Exposure”. Over the past couple of years, Sasha and John have played together on five continents, have mixed 3 “Northern Exposure” albums which have sold to over 1 million people worldwide.

This special brother like relationship that Sasha and Digweed have on the decks, is what landed them the monthly residency at New York¹s “Twilo”, following in the footsteps of Vasquez and Tenaglia. This residency reached cult status in New York, until the closing of Twilo in 2001.

Although Sasha has clearly reached a celebrity status, it¹s his generous personality, his love for his peers and of course his completely candid humour that has enabled him to maintain such a likeable high profile in the often-fickle world of club culture. Always one to share what comes his way, Sasha invited long time friend and collaborator BT to take part in what he called “one of the most amazing musical experiences in my life”. He is referring to his experience out at Peter Gabrielle¹s Real World studio in 1998 where Sasha explains in a mixer article, “we were in there for a week and were just going to do one track (during Real World¹s annual recording week where artists from all over the world are invited to Bath to record at the famous studios). “There were so many talented musicians around and the vibe down there was incredible. People were walking in, hitting things, strumming things, and slapping their goats! There were mad African people everywhere. We ended up recording five tracks and finishing four”.

Since then of course, Sasha has gone from DJ to superstar status in America, where “Sarsha” is a household name for many teenagers and his and John’s residency has continued to provide the launchpad for British dance music into New York and beyond. The sound of Twilo: deep, pumping late night .h.o.u.s.e. is encapsulated on ‘Communicate’, Sasha and John’s joint mix album for INCredible. Modern club anthems like Trancesetters ‘Roaches’ and Trisco’s Muzak all blended in the late night, early morning way that New York’s clubbers have come know and love.

For Sasha, music is his first love, and what gives him a buzz is being able to share his music with others. From his presence at those all too talked about after hour parties where his special impromptu sets are heard, to his signature always present child like antics that leave people wondering if he has modelled his life after Peter Pan, to his DJ sets at clubs around the world, all lined with the backdrop of his own productions, Sasha leaves trails of memories, melodies and stories wherever he goes. These are the things that have been, and will continue to be remembered and passed on for years. And that is what legends are made of.

Links:
www.djsasha.com/

The Verve have released a box set of their latest LP, Forth, and RollingStone.com is giving away copies to five lucky winners. Each box set comes with a large 4 color poster, a CD of the LP, a bonus DVD documentary, the double LP in a gatefold, a 16-page booklet and two bonus tracks on the LP. If you live in the continental U.S. and are over 18, send an e-mail to contests@rollingstone.com with with the subject line VERVE BOX SET GIVEAWAY and your full name, age, address and phone number to enter. All entries without the correct subject line will be disqualified. All entries must be received by 11:59p.m. next Thursday, October 9th, and only one entry is allowed per person. Keep reading for the complete rules.

Official Rules for RollingStone.com’s Verve Box Set Giveaway

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Five (5) Grand Prize winners will be selected from a random drawing held on or about 10/25/08 by Rollingstone.com staff (the “Judges”). Winners will be notified by e-mail or telephone. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received.

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Five (5) Grand Prize winners will each receive one Verve Forth Box Set containing:
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Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of each prize: $40.00. Total ARV: $200.00. Actual retail value of the prize may vary. Certain restrictions may apply. Sponsor reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value.

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A rather dark pop track with a muted bassline that haunts.  Kinda reminds me of a cross between The Postal Service and Camouflage.  This track is taken from their 2006 release “Three”

From last.fm:

The project Phantom/Ghost was formed in a hotel bar by producer and musician Thies Mynther (Stella, Superpunk) and Tocotronic’s singer, songwriter and guitarist, Dirk von Lowtzow - both heroes of the music scene in Hamburg, Germany. The band’s first and self-titled album was released in 2001. The second one was called “To Damascus” and released in 2003. In 2006, Phantom/Ghost released their most recent album, “Three”.

Phantom/Ghost - Relax It’s Only A Ghost