Quick Mix Theory 101

From The Pirate's Dilemma

Ingredients:

• A big idea (this doesn't have to be your own; a borrowed one will do);
  
• An idea of who is on your dance floor (Audience)
• A handful of other people's ideas (chopped up)
• A pinch of originality

Directions:
1. Take your big idea. This can be something you've worked on, thinking about, have, or want. If you are on a train it could be the seat under you, or the girl opposite's earrings. It really doesn't matter; literally anything will do. This is your base, the subject you're going to remix.
2. Break the idea down into its component parts. In a song that would mean the drums, base line, strings, vocals, etc. Separate out the things that work and don't work. If this was a dub version of a record, we'd lose the vocals and turn up the drums and bass. If it's the seat on the train is it comfy? Aesthetically pleasing? What is it made of? How are the parts joined together? Pare it down -- look at what's good and what's deadwood.
3. Next, think about the end users, your dance floor, the people consuming your remix. Who are they? What do they want? How can you reedit the base, the way Tom Moulton did,to better suit their needs? IF the seat on the train, what would you need to do to it to put it in a trendy bar? How could you repurpose it so it was right for an old folks home? Who are the people on your dance floor? What keeps them moving? What causes them to walk away? How are you going to make them go crazy?
4. Now look at your base again. Maybe there was an element you missed that would work really well or something that, on second thought you overestimated. If it's a record,a producer might think he needs louder bass, less treble, or more cowbell. DJ Kool Herc focused soley on using the break beats in disco and funk records, because this was the only part of the record his audience of break dancers was interested in. If it's the train seat for the old folks' home, maybe you need to think about that lower back support. The remix is about taking an idea and making it suitable for a whole new audience.
5. The idea should already look very different, but we're just getting started. What you've done so far is a simple reedit. Now it's time to apply some quick mix theory. Go back to your dance floor, look at the other ideas out there that get it moving and sample them. Line up your idea your idea next to other things your audience seems to be into. When Afrika Bambaataaa and Arthur Baker made "Planet Rock," their base was two records by the German group Kraftwerk, which where popular in New York at the time. But they also knew the punks and disco kids downtown liked hip-hop and the uptown hip-hop heads were feeling disco breaks, so they sampled elements from records that alread had these ingredients, and reused them to hook in these two different crowds.
Look at your new samples the same way you look at your base, chery-pick the best elements, and discard the rest. Once you have them distilled, work out how you an apply these new ingredients. Our old folks' train seat hybrid might benefit from a set of wheels, so why not mix it up with a golf cart? Or mash it up with a La-Z-Boy to make it more comfy, or even add some hopped-up hydraulics from a muscle car to help people get in and out of it more easily, controlled with technology our audience is already used to, swiped straight from a Craftmatic adjustable bed. Where will these new samples all sit in the mix? Once they're in and it's working, stand back and take another look.
6. The idea you are now looking at can be considered a remix, a new original arrangement that contains elements from previous original works or works. Through good reediting of samples, great new original material can be produced from unoriginal parts. But just like Bam and Arthur added rapping and a drum machine to their samples, throwing in something completely original isn't a bad idea. A good remix is defined by its signature original isn't a bad idea. A good remix is defined by its signature original elements. It might be composing a new base line, playing some in some new keys, or adding a new kick drum. You may decide the originality is already there; an original process or take on sampled materials counts. Or you may end up with one tiny piece of the original mixed with an entirely new score of your own. Either way, your originality should outshine the borrowed elements, or at the very least, present them ina new light. A good remix adds value to something. If everything has gone right, you should now have a new idea that contains elements from, but is independent of, the original. The new idea is a remix. Garnish and serve.