This is the last Mashstix Alternative Show. I like to personally thank G3RST for the amazing job he's done with the show (don't worry he's not leaving the team)
There is some good news with the bad however, as The Radio Stix Show will be back in full swing with a whole new crew... keep your eyes peeled! - Paul Stix
Sorry for the delay with the review...
I'm not aware of any of the sources so this is a step into the unknown for me...
Ah, Enigma have reformed?
I go to a Celtic music festival each year and this really reminds me of the kind of stuff i'd hear there, and the electro-Celtic thing is something that pushes my buttons. Could defo get drunk on Fraoch to this!
If i wasn't told this was a mashup i'd think it was an original. Very nice. Lyrics and backing sound perfect for each other, and there's nice variance throughout the track.
Cons:
The instrumental loop that starts at 1:22 sounds like it's slightly late coming back in each time to me, that's probably done intentionally by you or Patric, so not really a Con.
The chorus at 3:51 sounds out of time to me - the beats are coming in too early? Again, i don't know if intentional but it ruined my head nodding a wee bit.
The first point above i can easily overlook, the second one has jarred with me each time i've listened.
Tips:
Just more of this. Totally different to what everyone else is doing and that's always a plus for me. Someone mentioned in the forum that this had a big beat. To me it doesn't, but i'd love to hear this style of mashup with a proper BIG beat on it. It might not work, but then again it just might...
Anyway, the best tune of yours that i've heard Dave. Very nice and mellow.
This is quite a bold mash for a newbie to the scene. It's a funky mix with scratching to boot (if you pardon the pun). The funk backing works well with what I think is something you could be happy to play the Beastie Boys themselves.
I think this is only your second attempt, and the tempo is pretty much spot on, and because you've used rap it has no key issues at all.
The scratching in it gives it another dimension and will act as a magnet to anyone listening to focus on what you've done.
Cons:
the acapella gets 'cut off' during certain bits. Combat this by adding reverb so it trails off rather than just stopping.
Just after 2:30 the vocals (because of the scratching) are left to play on the half beat, so are slightly odd sounding.
Tips:
I would have liked to have heard the scratch acapella mixed in with the normal one. As it is it has no real structure. It's more of an appreciation track, than something you would hear out.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you come up with next.
To do the unthinkable and make an extraordinary mashup using the music of Where Is The Love by the Black Eyed Peas, R.A.T. started with the sacriligious genre clash of Avenged Sevenfold, added a bit of serious rap from Fort Minor and some DJ Felli Fel doing his best Ludacris impression. Straight away there was enough fun to ignore the instrumental, except to note that the harmonics are a perfect match with all of the singing parts, i.e. both A7X and Felli Fel's chorus. I enjoyed this mashup a lot.
Cons:
None. Keener ears than mine have detected an errant "warping" effect in the 'mental, but it sounded okay to me.
Tips:
For this mash - none. In general though, create your mp3 files at 192kbps or higher. (This one was 160kbps.)
I’ve noticed a lot of very chilled mashups released recently, must be something to do with the weather or something? and this one is up there with the best of them.
There is not much I can say about this cos its just very very good, as mARKYbOY says in the forum post “nice and chilled” – if your looking for something to dance to this isn’t for you unless its one of those late night slow holding your partner kind of dances and for that this is perfect!
Its nice to hear Terence Trent Darby getting some mash time, a very overlooked artist in my opinion, well done mARKYbOY I say.
Cons:
No cons, its all as smooth as silk
Tips:
Did you know that WD40 is made from Meerkats. This is done by boiling them in giant vats. It takes approximately 15 Meerkats to make one can.
When I first saw Miley Cyrus on this track, well, lets just say I was a little worried. Luckily, the Jason Nevins remix is the instrumental so it can't be too bad right? Turns out none of that matters, because this track rocks from the first beat! I freakin' love this tune...it makes me wish I was still DJing just so I could play this song to a crowd! Sting's vocal over the Cyrus 'mental, with a dash of distinctive Soft Cell, this killer mash will have appeal from the airwaves to the dancefloor and everywhere in between!
It's very refreshing not to hear a Blink 182 intrumental here, but rather the backing track of a retro pop sounding Kylie Minogue song! Combine this with Mark Hoppus's serious vocals on this song by the otherwise upbeat Blink 182 makes for a very interesting and melancholic sounding mashup.
It almost sounds like a song released 25 years ago - this tune is just oozing with that 'ole Pet Shop Boys feel if I dare say so.
Anyways, excellent job on finding this match and making it work!
Cons:
If synth laden 80s pop isn't your thing, it's best to skip this one. ;)
Tips:
The best place to store your cheese is in a cool, damp place such as a wine cellar, larder or wine cabinet, otherwise in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator.
Try to consume your cheeses within days of receiving them so that you can enjoy them at peak flavor, particularly the softer types. If properly stored, most cheeses will last several weeks. As a general rule, aged hard cheeses last longer than softer, fresher types.
This track caused a stir on the forum. Have mashups moved away from the easy to apply combinations?
This track sounds more simple than making it actually was. I would'nt have known, but by G's own admission the backing is made up from cleverly spliced loops, and arranged perfectly to fit and flatter The Rolling Stones classic.
So I ask, is a track's greatness defined by when we actually notice what the producer has done?
Cons:
As some people have pointed out, some would consider it too simple. I think most have not realised what you have had to do.
Classic mashups, are almost always simple sounding tracks.
Tips:
Personally, I think the finished product speaks for itself. Be it by G3rst or be it by anyone else. Mashup's can really only be judged that way. If it was all about how much time you had spent on it, I'm sure nobody would ever get a track out.
Do what you do G! I couldnt if I tried, come up with combinations, or produce as well as you do mate.
In all honesty, I don't think I've heard a combo where both tracks fitted together as well as DJ Not-I's latest offering.
The Vocals of Steve Miller's 1976 #1 hit "Rock'n Me" work incredibly well with the chord progressions of Arcade Fire's Rebellion.
If you like this as much as I'm sure you will then make sure you click on the Forum Link and check out the equally well made B side Wings vs Adam Freeland: Freeland Band (On The Run)
Cons:
I personally would have preferred this not to have had Arcade Fire vocals included, i don't think they were needed - but as I say that's a personally preference, don't let it spoil your enjoyment of what is a really well conceived (and executed) track.
Great dreamy mashup from MichMash using the Dire Straits instrumental from Sultans of Swing and Sting / Blonde's vocals. Very well produced mash, with just the right amount of reverb to make the pellas sit nicely in the mix. Being old enough to remember when all these tracks were originally released (yikes!), it's nice to see (or should that be hear?) some classics get a new leash of life.
Cons:
For me, Sting's vocals work far better with the Straits mental than Blonde's, but that's not taking anything away from the mash - both work very well. And Blonde's vocals take the mash away from being a straight A + B, adding a pleasant extra dimension.
Tips:
Not sure whether a little more vocal interplay would be possible or have worked - just a thought / suggestion. Certainly no tips for Mich from me! - great mash and very nicely produced - keep 'em coming!! ;o)
It's rare that we get a new comer to Mashstix that instantly gets frontpaged. I like both the sources so was excited to hear how this one would turn out.
The glitch work on the instrumental is well timed, and really helps the listener get that its a mashup. Dizzee's vocals really help pick the mix up and revamp the older Brimful of Asher track.
I can see this going down a storm at clubs.
Cons:
The overall audio quality isn't the tracks best feature. It could do with some volume boosting for a start, and some EQ work to further help Dizzee sit in the mix slightly better.
Phil Retro Spector is well known for his signature style of bitter-sweet harmonic combinations and often epic melancholic mash-ups. This track is a fitting addition to his oeuvre and in a blindfold test I would have easily guessed Phil produced it. The Motown melody of Ruffin's hit sits perfectly with the alternative indie-pop of Snow Patrol and results in a pensive, yet engaging, listening experience of love's labors lost.
Cons:
I'm not a big Snow Patrol fan, and find the repetitive chord progression to be a bit on the boring side, but Ruffin's soulful vocals more than make up for it.
Tips:
"But I have that within which passes show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe." (Hamlet) Keep on bringing the beautiful melancholy, but beware its deadly seduction. ;-)
I was beginning to wonder whether DJ Maggie had hung up her Headphones for good..but then she does that, not a murmur out of her for months then she'll release Two or Three tracks on the bounce; and what great tracks they are too, if you look below you will see her "Perry/Beddingfield" combo and if you press play on this one you will be treated to the the vocal talents of Kiss over the distinctive club beats of RedOne (a guy famous for producing most of Lady GaGa hits) here he's injected his Moroccan flava into the Iglesias track "I Like It".
What I like about this track and this goes for all of Maggie's tracks is the fun she brings, most if not all of her releases are simple a+b's but she manages each time to choose just the right combo, whether she's turning a 70's classic into a dance floor smash or giving a contemporary vocal an 80's twist, you just can't help but smile and start to boogie..
Cons:
There are no real cons with this track, it's been commented that maybe a little reverb on the vocal might help it bed down a little more and this is probably true but for me the vocals are still perfectly acceptable.
Tips:
Tips... hmmm Well for Maggie, keep doing what you do and for the rest of you, check out Maggie's competition entry and give it your support before it's too late!! in fact if you haven't cast your vote yet, what's wrong with you?? get over there now and support these guys!!
