Remix Update 2: J Scott G’s Live The Life ft. Adam Lambert

Dec 172011
 

UPDATE 3/27/12:  I will remixing my remix in Pro Tools 10 to fix some quality issues.  Stay tuned!

My final remix can be heard below, and is live on the Fixt Remix website under my artist page or on the contest page.  I was able to finish just ahead of schedule thanks to some new techniques and tools.  I will be creating a few videos on my process which involved editing and initial mixing in Ableton Live on my Apple Macbook Pro laptop and Shure studio headphones before switching to my 27″ Apple iMac and Yamaha HS50M studio monitors for final mixing and mastering.

Unlike my other trashed remixes, I exclusively used Native Instruments Maschine to create my beat and undelying melody.  The beauty of Maschine is you can create all your beat variations (four-on-the-floor, prechorus, chorus, verses, etc.), apply effects and such (eq, compression, etc.) and export each loop easily by simply holding down the mouse and dragging/dropping each loop into Ableton Live.  Easy as pie.  The only kicker (no pun intended) is I will need to create one “sidechain” audio channel containing a clean four-on-the-floor kick that matches the kick timing in my cluttered Maschine channel.  This way, I can use a clean, uncluttered kick for all my sidechaining and ducking needs.  More on all this later.

With my mastered wave file in hand, I drop the wave file in Apple iTunes, convert the wave file to a 320 kbps mp3 file, and I drop the mp3 file it into Mixed in Key to confirm my remix as a whole is still in the original key of A Minor (code 8A, more on this later.)  I then open the mp3 file in Traktor Scratch Pro 2, lock the bpm at 128 which Traktor detected properly, set a few cue points and loops, and I then attempt to create a quick mashup with another genre related tune in key A Minor (8A) to ensure everything sounds good and is “DJ ready,” so to speak.  This time around I got lucky and everything fell into place nicely.  Of course, this was only possible due to trial-and-error experience,  some preparation, and creating my edits while keeping the DJ in mind throughout the entire process.  More on all this later as well.

So if you get a chance, go check out my remix, along with the 53 or so remixes and feel free to vote.  I actually have a few favorites that I will be voting on soon.  Although I will give my own remix a 5/5 star rating (duh), I am certainly man enough to rate other remixes  5/5 stars as well and comment appropriately.  Although I have no desire to win the fabulous cash and prizes, I do enjoy the whole process of setting a goal and eventually whipping out a piece of crap music by a set deadline.

Download NOW: Live the Life (DJ Luke Stevens Remix)

UPDATE 3/27/12:  I will remixing my remix in Pro Tools 10 to fix some quality issues.  Stay tuned!

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Remix Update: J Scott G’s Live The Life ft. Adam Lambert

Dec 132011
 

Currently I am  finishing up edits on my quick (I mean really quick) remix of J Scott G’s “Live The Life ft. Adam Lambert”. In this remix, I opted to keep the stay in the dance genre to please a wider audience (in theory :) )  No bells and whistles, just a clean remix of the original track.  I will start mixing tomorrow 12/14/11, mastering on Thursday 12/15/11, and I will definitely be posting the remix on my Fixt artist page by Friday 12/16/11, if not sooner.

I am currently using Ableton Live 8 exclusively for the whole project.  Although I normally would bounce my mixdown for mastering in Pro Tools, my current version of Pro Tools M-Powered 8 in not compatible with the latest version of Mac OSX Lion.  Therefore, I will create a separate Ableton Live set for mastering.  Oh, well.

Later this week I will begin work on a new remixing video tutorial series entitiled Smart Remixing.  My first few videos will be a breakdown of the aforementioned Live the Life remix.  In general, I will spend a good amount of time poking fun at myself, mainly because I truly deserve it.  Of course, my true goal is to become a better remixer, and in the process help others out as well.  So stay tuned for more information on that.

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Welcome to the Official Site of DJ Luke Stevens

Nov 302011
 

Hello and welcome, my name is DJ Luke Stevens.  I am a DJ, Turntablist, Producer, and Remixer from Detroit, MI, USA.  I specialize in all flavors of House music, although I still have a place in my heart for Hip Hop music.  Welcome to my new blog dedicated to remixing.  More importantly, my blog is dedicated to the process of remixing music by analyzing the detailed steps and tools used by some of today’s hottest remixers.

I began Djing in the mid-80′s when Hip Hop (the rated PG version) was on the rise.  In order to be taken seriously as a DJ during this time, you needed to be proficient in spinning the wheels of steel, a.k.a.turntablism.  To this day, I still utilize the same basic DJ setup (two turntables and a mixer) but I have kept up with technology and have added a Traktor Scratch Pro setup (laptop, Traktor software, Traktor X1 controller, etc.) to my arsenal.

Initially I will examine my recent attempt at remixing J Scott G’s “Live The Life ft. Adam Lambert.”  Anyone interested in remixing this song can head on over to the Fixt Remix website hosted by my friend Klayton (a.k.a. Celldweller.)  Just sign up as a listener (free), upgrade your account to artist (free again), download the assets (my favorite word in this paragraph), remix to taste, and submit your remix by the deadline to be eligible for fabulous cash and prizes!  As the famous (or infamous depending on your view) radio host Don Geronimo likes to say, “Yeah, baby!

I have spent countless hours remixing various electronic songs without too much success, if success is measured in satisfied listeners.  Like many remixers before me, I tend to lack in the creativity department.  When I initially envisioned starting a remixing blog, I was interested in creating a venue where I would start a remixing project and record my progress in video segments where you, the interested reader/blogger, could post your creative ideas for me to implement into the remix.  Eventually, we would have a finished product that people may actually want to play every now and again.  In general, I wanted to create a “community remix” so to speak.  Although I haven’t ruled this idea out, I did decide I needed to start my blog now while I was still working on the aforementioned J Scott G remix which is due a few weeks away on Dec. 16, 2011.

Once again, hello, welcome to my blog, and thanks for taking a moment out of your day to be here.

DJ Luke Stevens :}

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