Remixing old classics....

[Briggsy]

So, what are your views on remixing of classic tunes? It seem that the Cosmic Gate remix of Carte Blanche hasn't gone down too well, and Ayla - Ayla had mixed feedback too.

So, should classics be left well alone, or do you like to hear old tunes making a comeback?

Personally, I don't mind classics being remixed if they're good. They very rarely beat the originals - but that's a good thing in my opinion because it means the originals still retain their 'classic' status and still sound good 3 years after the new remix has been forgotten about again.

I quite like the Cosmic Gate remix of Carte Blanche, and I thought their remix of Fly Away was superb too. I thought that Richard Durand's remix of Lethal Industry was better than the original, plus it gave us a Tech-Trance remix, which we previously never had, so it gave us fans of the harder side something to play. Greg Downey's remix of Heaven Scent was also another nice alternative. However, i've hated every remix of Ayla, and i've never rated any of the 1001 remixes of Cafe Del Mar and Higher State Of Consciousness.

So, your thoughts on remixed classics?

[Moonman]

It seems to be a thing that goes around every generation if you like. 10 years ago, there were house/trance records sampling/remixing early 90's rave tunes etc. Now it seem to be the trance golden era that's getting remixed/sampled.

On one hand, it's nice to play a classic, and a well remixed classic is well worth it. It can interest you in a record you never previously likes. I've posted here earlier about James Talk's excellent remix of X-Press 2's "Smoke Machine", a track i dont like in its original format, but this mix is ace.

I actually preferred the Cosmic Gate mix of "Fly Away" over the original - a rarity in that a remix betters the original. I like the Cosmic Gate mix of "Carte Blanche", i really do, but it simply cannot compete with the original. Richard Durand has made some great remixes too. His Audio Bullys bootleg is fantastic, as was his Fragma remix. I guess it may have something to do with who and how the remix is done. I'm not keen on the Ayla "Ayla" remixes at first either. I quite liked Danny Nightingales version at first. Then i went back and listened to the Taucher mix and realised how poor it was in comparison. Paul Webster missed a blinding opportunity to make that track his own.

Solar Stone's "7 Cities" is another one that seems to get continually remixed. The Original "Atlantis" mix was by far and away the best, although the Armin Van Buuren 2002 update was actually quite good.

However, on the other hand we see the effortless "Electro House" sandwiches. Tunes with generic electro house beats and bass filled with classic breakdown - see "Jump", "Sugar Daddy", "Push The Feeling On" etc. There was loads of them. It tends to run dry and get very boring and very predictable. And it's the lack of creativity of rehashing classics that vexes me. Also, how many more remixes of Energy 52 do we REALLY need? Everytime i hear a new remix i dont even bother with it. The Three'N One mix and Solar Stone mixes are the only ones that do it for me.

To conclude, i'd rather people make more tracks rather than rehash classics. If the classic is handled right then i have no problem, it's when there no thought or creativity gone into the remix thats the problem.

PS. Does anyone remember what happened to Jason Cortez' mix of Nalin & Kane "Beachball"? I really really want this. I messaged him on myspace and he said it was going to be released...still not. Anyone heard owt on this?

[JasonB]

It's fine for new remixes to be done of classics but why not pick stuff other than the usual ones which already have 10 billion remixes already.

I'm all for cosmic gate remixing carte blanche weather I like their remix or not, its all good.

But leave Cafe Del Mar alone now is what I'm saying.

[Quadrant]

It seems to be a thing that goes around every generation if you like. 10 years ago, there were house/trance records sampling/remixing early 90's rave tunes etc. Now it seem to be the trance golden era that's getting remixed/sampled.

I think this is very true sir. I got into dance in late 80s, although I didn't fully experience the outdoor raves and stuff in 1989 like my (dance-orientated) friends, I have followed the electronic and House scene for a very long time, dabbled in a bit of everything, Techno, House obviously, even Synth-Pop with the Pet Shop Boys in the early 90s, and first got interested in Trance around 1995 up until when it's bubble exploded at the end of 1999. By that time I had moved away from my friends' interests because for them, the scene and music in 1999 was "not the same as it used be" - referring back to 1989 and the rest which they experienced.

Exactly the same thing is happening ten years later; you have the new breed of Techy and Electroey stuff, which I can only handle a small amount of before I get bored. Give it another 8-10 years and you guys will be saying the same thing, that the music in 2018 is "not the same as it used to be" - referring back to now and all the great music that you're experiencing now.

As for classics, I do feel they are currently being musically raped by artists in order to cash in on the popularity they had in 1998-9. They are two different eras and two different types of music desperately trying to be fused together. But, forever it seems we have been rehashing 80s classics too: look at Rob Searle's Blue Monday, Dee Magic's Koochee Blue, Jark Prongo also went through some bizarre 80s phase and of course Ferry Corsten has shifted dramatically this decade, which reminds me so much of that delicious edgey sound in the 1980s.

Quite simply, I'm too old and too attached to the past now to forget all the tunes I experienced when I was younger and embrace the stuff today like I could do in the past. I'm not sure why. Too many memories. Every one of us at some point will say: "It's just not the same as it used to be", it's just I'm saying it now, whereas some other younger folk on here will say it years down the road. I'm now exploring other House-related routes such as Latin and Samba at the moment but I think Jason's poll (here) with regard to Cafe Del Mar shows that really it's going to be impossible to shift the view of those who remember and loved the past.

For the record, if I could I would take copies of the Cosmic Gate remixes of VDM - Fly Away and Veracocha - Carte Blanche, on two CDs, place them atop a rock in some scrubland in Wales, and dash them to a thousand pieces with a mace. Don't be alarmed though - I assure you my friends of the second Summer of Love would have liked to have done the same with my Trance vinyls 10 years ago. :mrgreen:

This 20" mace was designed by Paul Chen and is for sale at $109.95, if anyone is interested