What makes a perfect remix?
This is the question we asked Austrian bass monkeys Camo & Krooked. They should know…. They’ve done buckets of them, and their current album Between The Lines sees them go under the careful knives of BeCee, Metrik, Sub Zero, Mind Vortex and Funtcase to name but a few.
“The perfect remix takes the best parts of the original tune and forms something completely new and special with it in a creative way without losing the essence of the original,” they chirp collectively over email.
Well that nails remixes, then. But how does it feel to be on the flipside? Not to put too finer point on it, surely it’s weird having so many talented artists having a fiddle with your parts?
“We’ve been really impressed by some of the ideas they came up with,” explain the duo. “It felt good to hear our own ideas with a complete different twist which made some of the tunes even better than the originals in some ways!”
Props: being able to say someone’s reversion is better than your original isn’t easy. But it’s possibly easier than the tricky scenario many producers find themselves in when they’re remixing a non-D&B artist… They want your name on the release because of your profile, but that doesn’t mean they comprehend your compositions.
“It can be quite depressing sometimes,” they admit. “When they don’t understand your intentions or don’t know much about the D&B scene. We always try to get as much direction as possible before to avoid any misunderstanding as our range of styles is very wide.”
Naturally there were no such problems with Between The Lines. The whole project was their idea with them picking the artists themselves and only getting involved in the final mixdowns to ensure the chop-smacking levels Camo & Krooked have become known for are kept consistent. The end result is a fine complement to the original with an impressive range of styles and flavours. They couldn’t possibly tell us their favourites – “we think a lot of the artists wrote their best tune ever for this LP!” – but we did get three of their all-time favourite re-rubs…. Covering D&B, dubstep and an emotional slice of lop-sided techno, they’ve unearthed some real treats.
So what does make a perfect remix? Check out Between The Lines. Then have a buzz on these….
Best D&B remix: Pendulum – Voodoo People [Pendulum Remix]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0odBpvBAYM
Best dubstep remix: SebastiAn – Love In Motion [Skrillex Remix]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ew–0EKSd8
Best minimal remix: Nathan Fake – The Sky Was Pink [James Holden Remix]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jmZTtFxcUg
