Challenge Remix: Ostbanhoff (Thielplatz Imbisstube Remix) and Breaching The Heliopause (Rutherform Appleton Remix)

1.44MB sent me his remixes yesterday to get them in on time, but unfortunately, I got too busy with family stuff to get them posted along with the rest of the remixes I received. As is usually the case, my inability to get them posted should in no way reflect on these remixes. They're awesome:

Ostbanhoff - colorcombination - 124bpm 1.44mbs Thielplatz Imbissstube Remix by 1.44mb

Breaching the Heliopause - 1.44mbs Rutherford Appleton Remix by 1.44mb

Challenge Remix: Drones2 (80's Stallone Remix), by Hydlide

Not content with just providing two remixes to the second phase of the PAD Challenge, Chris Stallone also sent a remix of Hydlide's Drones2 track. This one is a lot of fun.

Drones2 (80's Stallone Remix), by Hydlide by Reason Patch A Day

Challenge Remix: 15728 Remixes, By Chris Stallone

I got these remix files from Chris Stallone last night. What Chris may be lacking in verbosity about his remixes, he's certainly not lacking in ambition. Here are two remixes of the track 15728 by Lewis.72:

15728 (Chris Stallone Remix), By Lewis.72 by Reason Patch A Day

15728 (Chris Stallone Stuttered Mix), By Lewis.72 by Reason Patch A Day

Thanks for participating, Chris!

Challenge Remix: BurnArea (Nociceptor Mix)

So, here's my remix of 1.44MB's track, BurnArea:

BurnArea (Nociceptor Mix) by Reason Patch A Day

I added quite a bit to 1.44MB's original track, hence my previous statement about making the song more mine than his, but if we set aside the issue of "ownership," I have to say I really enjoyed working on this song. It feels more like a collaboration at this point than a remix, but it was a lot of fun, either way.

In adding to BurnArea, I used the following patches from Reason Patch A Day:

Instrument Patches: Darker Dream 2, Dreams of Being A Harpsichord, Snapdragon, The Snickers of Shadows, Tachyon Eddies, Thaw

Effect Patches: A Little Darker, Airport Music, Borealis, Drone Chorus, Elusive, Latent Period, Simple Mastering

Challenge Remix: Heliopause (Mit Vergnügen Mix), by DJ Mad Wax

Here's the first completed remix, DJ Mad Wax's mix of my own song, Breaching The Heliopause. I admitted to Wax in email that I had a hard time recognizing my song in the drum and bass track he built around it, but its definitely in there, under a few additional layers of awesome. Wax had this to say about it:

I took all your remix parts as wavs and made REX files. Rebuilt your original song with the rex files, then began constructing a drum n bass version using breakbeat loops and my own breaks. As I built it, I added some new keyboards for the jazzy feel to complement the sounds I had from the remix, and added the deep bass line.

Heliopause (Mit Vergnügen Mix) by ostbahnoff

Nice work, Wax! Thanks! I really dig this!

.476 Yamaha Digital Drums DD-5

I haven't been very shy about my love for 1980s era Yamaha drum machines. They're not the greatest machines available from the era, but they have an uncommon sound to them, different from the Roland sounds that have become the de facto electronic music standard, and fortunately for me, they're available for next to nothing on eBay. I've been able to pick up several of them, all for under $50, and have found quite a bit of inspiration in them despite their programming quirks.

I've been on the hunt for a Yamaha RX21 to compliment my RX11, RX15 and RX17 machines, so I occasionally check out eBay auctions to see if I can find one for a reasonable price. While looking, I'll sometimes stumble across other machines that pique my interest, which is how I ended up with the exceedingly strange RX120. Recently, while once again looking for a cheap RX21 or RX21L, I found an inexpensive Yamaha Digital Drums DD-5, in its original box no less, and decided to make it mine.

The reviews I've found usually describe the DD-5 as little more than a toy, so while its actually a pretty common drum machine on eBay, I've been hesitant to invest much money in one. I'm glad I finally gave in.

The sounds? Well, like the RX machines I already own, the DD-5 has a pleasant lo-fi quality, but lacking in any low-end punch. Even the Bass Drum sample sounds a bit bright, but the Snare Drum and Hand Claps sounds are kind of fun. The RX machines seemed like they were designed to try to emulate a real drum kit, often being their most charming when they failed that goal, but the DD-5 is so prone to distortion and uses samples with such a short length that it lacks any of the analog warmth the RX machines seemed focused on achieving. Even its output jack is loud and filled with noise. Pile on even more distortion and you might have a halfway decent industrial kit.

What makes the DD-5 truly interesting, however, is not its sounds, but its capabilities. Unlike the RX120 which only had a puzzling MIDI-In, and the RX11, RX15 and RX17 machines that had both MIDI-In and MIDI-Out jacks, the DD-5 has a single MIDI-Out jack controlled by its four, velocity sensitive drum pads. You can probably see where I'm going with this. The velocity sensitivity is fairly weak, only 15 levels according to its users manual, but there is something surprisingly addictive about playing it within Reason and Record, bashing on its rubber pads with sticks and triggering whatever sounds you load into Redrum. I'll admit, I bought the DD-5 because it was a toy, something I planned to give to my son after I sampled its meager 12 sounds, but the more I played with it, the more its charms have started winning me over. With a little patience, you should be able to pick up a DD-5 for less than even a Korg NanoPad, half as much if you're careful, so if you're looking for an unconventional way to build rhythms in Reason, this Yamaha is an interesting option (assuming you already have a way to accept MIDI data into your computer setup).

Like all of the other Yamaha machines I own, thought I would share samples from it with all of you.

• Yamaha DD-5 Sample Pack ( Zip File )
  

In the past, I've provided Combinator backdrops for my Yamaha machines, little jpegs built from photos I've taken, but I haven't had time to build a Yamaha DD-5 Combinator yet. When I get a little free time, I'm sure I'll whip something up, maybe with an instrument combinator to go with it.

The PAD Challenge: Remix Reminder!

How are your PAD Challenge remixes coming? I just wanted to remind everyone that your Pad Challenge remixes are due to me by Saturday, May 8th, at noon.

I spent a huge chunk of today working on my remix of 1.44MB's song BurnArea and I should be done on time, but I'll admit, the task hasn't been an easy one. There are as many theories out there about remixes as there are remixers, but I've always felt that the best remixes highlight the artistic qualities of the original song, while providing just a different enough twist on it that the remix becomes its own, unique thing. I'm not sure if I've achieved that with what I've done to 1.44MB's song. At this point, it sounds more like something I might have done on my own, than what 1.44MB gave me to start with, but I have a few more days to tweak and fine tune.

A couple of points:

• If everyone could send me their RNS file of their remix, once they're done, that would be great. This could be a very powerful learning experience for all of us, but we'll need to see how others have tweaked or manipulated our songs, if we can truly learn anything.
  
• My basic Soundcloud account might be maxed out with the second part of the PAD Challenge, so if you have your own Soundcloud account, and don't mind hosting your remix, that would be a big help to me. Obviously, I'll host what I can, but I was hoping I wouldn't have to start removing songs so soon.