The Remix Manual

Abstract

Can you turn a soulful ballad into a hit dance track, or make any Billboard hit your own? With this all-in-one guide to remixing, you can! Whether you're a professional DJ or producer, or are just beginning to mix tracks, this step-by-step guide will bring you through the entire process of making your own professional-quality remixes. Author Simon Langford, a renowned producer/remixer with over 300 remixes and chart-toppers under his belt, shares his years of experience and expertise in the most in-depth guide on the market. The Remix Manual covers creative processes, technical, legal, and contractual issues, and includes a unique remix "walk-through," and useful contacts and links. The companion website provides source files that illustrate all stages of the remix, as well as additional interviews, additional "walk-throughs," a "Buyer's Guide," and video tutorials and demo versions of the hottest mixing software. A working musician and remixer, Simon Langford provides up-to-the-minute information on all aspects of the remix process, from the latest software tips and tricks to timeless artistic advice. While technical aspects are explained in detail, you also get a pro's advice on how to produce outstanding tracks by being aware of the original's message, style, and emotion. The creative side of remixing is explored from all angles, as a wide variety of industry insiders weigh in on key issues in exclusive interviews and quotes. A one-stop guide to remixing from making creative choices to understanding contracts Author has chart-topping remix experience and over 300 remixes to his name, get a pro's advice on how to produce outstanding tracks Website includes samples and example tracks, illustrating the various stages of the remix. Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Simon Langford on The Remix Manual Dear Reader, It sometimes saddens me to hear remixing referred to in a way that presents it as some kind of “poor cousin” to writing and producing your own material. Of course there are financial benefits to working on your own material but the implication that remixing is somehow inferior simply isn’t true. In almost all ways the technical process involved in a remix is equally as complex and requires virtually all of the same skills. In fact, in some ways, a remix presents additional technical challenges that original material doesn’t. And to say that a remix isn’t as creatively challenging as original material is equally unjust. Over the course of my career I have spent far more time working on remixes than I have on original material yet I don’t feel that I have missed out. On the contrary, working on all of the remixes that I have done has given me perhaps a greater and wider understanding of music than I would have had if I had worked purely on my own songs. Anything that you learn while remixing is instantly usable in your own productions. This isn’t speculation, it is simple fact. Over the last 12 years I have worked with a number of amazing people who have shared their “insider knowledge” with me and shown me great kindness. I have also been very fortunate to have had the success that I have had but, when all is said and done, I am no different from any of you that are reading this. We all have our own unique skills and that is what gives such amazing and inspiring diversity in music. We all need a little inspiration from time to time though and, with that in mind, I would be truly honored if you would allow me to share with you what I have learned along the way in the hope that it can perhaps light a few dark corners in your knowledge. To all of you about to embark on your musical journey I wish you success, fulfilment and, above all else, the happiness that comes from creating something that moves others. Dimidium facti qui coepit habet "He who has begun has the work half done." --Horace --Simon Langford Simon Langford's Top Ten Tips from The Remix Manual Always known when to let it go. As hard as it may be, as much as you feel that just a couple more hours would make things better, there will always come a time when you just have to say "enough is enough." It gets to a point where you aren’t making things better, just different. And besides, Leonardo da Vinci said it best: "No work of art is ever finished." You could work on things forever but one of the biggest skills I have picked up over the years is knowing the balance between letting it go too soon and obsessing about things. You shouldn’t adopt an attitude of “ah well . . . it’s good enough," that’s not what I am saying at all. But I just mean that you really do have to know when you aren’t actually making things better any more. Every single piece of music that I have ever worked on I can listen back to and feel that I would change things. But you can’t and you have to learn to live with that. Learn from it, but live with it. Listen to the song you are remixing and try to understand what it is about. Remixing is, perhaps, unique in the sense that you are working with somebody else’s “baby." If you were a decorator you wouldn’t decorate somebody else’s house the way you wanted to. You take cues from what they say and perhaps make suggestions. But it is their house after all! I have gotten a lot of respect from my clients in the past because I have always tried to make a remix that is “sympathetic” at least in some way to what the song is about. Depending on your style of production this may be more or less of a factor but there should always be at least one part of the “message” of the original song which you base the feeling of your remix on. Check your work on as many different systems as possible. There is no one single perfect monitoring system so be sure to check your mixes on as many different systems as possible to ensure that you are getting the best possible compromise. And it is a compromise. You can’t make a mix that will sound perfect on all possible playback systems so you should aim for one that sounds the best in can on the most likely playback system (radio, MP3 player, club system etc) and then make sure it still sounds good on the others. Whatever monitoring system you have you will, over time, get used to its idiosyncrasies and begin to automatically compensate for its shortcomings. Never make important mix decisions at the end of a day spent working. Our ears can become fatigued quite quickly and it’s easy to keep adjust EQ and levels in order to try to rebalance things, but the truth is that our hearing perception changes over time. The louder you are working, the worse this is. So I always leave any important level or EQ decisions until first thing in the morning to make sure that I am listening with “fresh ears” to get the most accurate perspective of how things sound. Sometimes I come into the studio in the morning and play back what I was working on the night before and am shocked by how different it sounds to how I remember. Always make sure to listen to other tracks while you are mixing as a “reference.” We all have tracks that we listen to and think “Wow . . . that sounds amazing!”. Use these tracks as a benchmark for your own mixes. Try to figure out what it is that makes the tracks sound as good as they do. Perhaps even use a “matching EQ” type plugin to get an idea of how the overall spectral balance compares to your track but don’t hope to simply put a “matching EQ” over your whole mix to make it sound like another track. Use the resulting EQ curve suggestion to figure out what you need to change in your mix and then adjust the individual sounds and parts to achieve the same result. Try to create your own “sound” and not slavishly follow whatever is big at the moment. Music trends change so quickly these days that if you try to follow what is going on you will always be at least one (and possibly more!) step behind what is going on. It would take time for you to master the production techniques of any particular sound and by the time you have done that and worked on a few tracks or remixes of your own there is a good chance that things will have started to move on. Of course you should listen to the general trends to make sure you are still contemporary but always try to put your own spin on things and you will, ultimately, have a much longer shelf life. Remember that great tracks can be produced even on relatively simple equipment these days. There is often a misconception that you need the biggest and best equipment to produce professional sounding tracks. Now while this may have been true 20 years ago (or perhaps even 10 years ago) it certainly isn’t true now. A simple laptop and a few basic plugins along with a good soundcard and speakers/headphones should enable you to produce tracks and remixes of equal quality to those you regularly hear in clubs and on the radio. Of course better equipment will improve what you do, but it really is about knowing how to use whatever you do have to the best of your ability. I have worked on remixes using just my Mac, the plugins included in Logic, an Apogee soundcard, and my headphones and they have ended up being played on National UK Radio. I really can’t explain it any better than that! Try to learn at least a little music theory as it will help you enormously. When you are working on your own tracks you have a lot more freedom (musically speaking) so you can, if you don’t really know any music theory, simply work on feel and how things sound to get it right. When you are remixing that approach is much more difficult because you are working within a melodic framework already provided by the original song. I’m not saying you need to take a music degree in order to be able to remix well, but some basic knowledge of chords, scales, and harmony will mean that you can get things done a lot quicker and, unfortunately, it is very rare to be given a long time to do a remix. Most often you will get less than a week so anything you can do to save time will help. Acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses and consider working with somebody who has complementary skills.We all want to be totally autonomous, to be able to do everything from sound design to mixing, arranging to mastering, but the truth is that there are very few (if any) people out there that can truly claim to be “top level” in all of those. By being honest with yourself about what you can do well and can’t do quite so well you will not only give yourself a clearer picture of where, perhaps, you should be looking to improve, but you will also have a better chance of getting the best out of your tracks and remixes. If mixing really isn’t your strong point then consider collaborating with somebody who is great at mixing. Okay, you will have to split the money that you earn, but your work will be better and you will probably earn as much if not more in the long run. Always try to enjoy what you are doing. We all start out with the absolute joy and thrill of making music foremost in our minds but then, over time, and if your career goes well, there will always come a point when it becomes more of a “job” than a passion. It’s normal and you shouldn’t feel bad. The key point is to remember that some people do actually enjoy their jobs! Just because you do the same thing every day, just because you don’t necessarily feel that thrill and spark on every track you work on, doesn’t mean that you should feel like you are somehow “selling out." I hear that so much and it saddens me, because you are getting paid (hopefully!) to do what you love doing. There will always be good and bad days and there will undoubtedly be times when you don’t feel that you have done your best work. But not every track can be your “best work." Always strive to make each track the best that you can and I am sure that you will continue to enjoy making music for a long time.