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- Kanye West - Love Lockdown
- Radiohead - Reckoner
Both Kanye West and Radiohead are participating in a long overdue trend that seems to now be emerging where musical artists are beginning to release “stems” from their tracks. Until recently, a mashup or remix artist would feel lucky just to find an instrumental version or acapella (vocals only) of a favorite track. But these musical stems allow us much more control.
Most modern recordings have many tracks, usually more than ten, and sometimes more than a hundred. Each track typically represents a single recording or electronic sound. Traditionally, before all these tracks are mixed down into a final stereo mix, it is first mixed down into about four to eight separate audio files (stems). All the foreground vocals might be on one stem, all the drums on another, while the guitars and keyboards might be on yet another. When all the stems are added together, you hear the song as it was originally meant to be heard. The traditional purpose of these stems was to enable the mastering engineer to give the final mixdown just the right sound for various formats (radio or club, CD or vinyl).
Now, with DIY remix culture exploding, we sonic manipulators are growing hungry for disassembled pop music, and the music industry is beginning to see the benefit of increased exposure through releasing stems directly to the public, allowing us much greater freedom than if they had simply released the instrumentals and acapellas. Now we can choose which instruments are playing.
This new trend augers well for us in the mashup community, and I look forward to the practice expanding. Thank you Kanye, thank you Radiohead, and thanks to all the other musicians (and music execs) that are starting to see the light!
October 25th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
HEY!
This made the Toronto Star newspapers Anti-Hit-List!
Congrats!
Quote from newspaper:”A brilliant recasting of the former’s ambivalently received new single, “Love Lockdown,” with elements of the latter’s In Rainbows favourite, “Reckoner.” If nothing else, it’ll make you rethink West’s lyrics (”You can’t wait for life/We’re just racing time”) as not just the thing that accompanies the music, but the thing that determines it.”
October 25th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
wow, this is not just refreshing, this is necessary -this is art. i came across DSICOs mash ups years ago and now I’m sad to say they are hard to find on the ‘net. Please please archive these somewhere where they’ll be around forever, because a piece of art that like this deserves to be cherished, in the true sense of the word. if you have a mailing list, put me down for news and updates on what you are doing next!
October 25th, 2008 at 3:37 am
Wow! amazing mix! I’m taking music tech at school, and you are like, my idol! Awesome stuff =] xx
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:23 am
wow man this is really sick imma have to check up on u alot but can anyone tell me how to download lol.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:16 am
this is so SICK
October 20th, 2008 at 8:00 am
he put it on his own blog. cool.
October 20th, 2008 at 2:30 am
[…] get at it here […]
October 20th, 2008 at 2:12 am
[…] DOWNLOAD: KANYE WEST x RADIOHEAD “LOCKDOWN RECKONER” Categories: ENTERTAINMENTTags: ENTERTAINMENT, kayne west, radio head About the Authormike w3st […]
October 19th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
pretty good
download my mashup of
Drop It Like Its Hot
Still Ballin
The Next Episode
Grindin
for free @ www.reverbnation.com/djremike
October 19th, 2008 at 11:15 am
[…] WOW! Amazing Mash-up. Stream/Download it here. […]