PARTY BEN (10.7. and 10.18 07)
Oh, you didn’t know?
Your posterior might want to dial the phone and be connected with someone knowledgeable, my friends.
That’s right, just when you thought the Island was slipping we got a big-name major domo like the King of Bootie hisself in the chair to talk about everything and especially his career. In fact, the interview is going so well…we had to chop it up.
So, in an Island exclusive, you’ll get this part 1 that lets Party Ben talk about everything leading up to getting to being a name. Then, in a couple weeks, part 2 will go up with a discography review including 20+ Party Ben tracks and the stories behind them all–even the ones he didn’t write! (oops.)
Get your snack and beverage and choice.
The Party Ben show begins…right about now.
Even the great Party Ben must confirm he is, in fact, a down-ass G and not a wack-ass buster, or terms that have been used in the last 15 years. Just remember, to cheat at the Island’s Notorious Three-Pronged Old School Quiz is to have an asterisk placed next to your name in the history books forever.
Holy moley, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Wack-ass G? Is this some kind of future talk? Anyway I’ll do my best to answer your questions although they have lots of big words.
1) The short essay portion of the quiz: in 25 words or less–there’s no such thing as a musical guilty pleasure and you can be a straight adult male who sings them at the top of his lungs. In theory, o’course…
What? Um. First, being gay, I can’t speak for straights, but singing at the top of one’s lungs should be done alone in the car, either way.
2) Fat Boys : Eric B & Rakim :: Shop Boyz :: _______________
Lil’ Wayne
3) And let’s bring back Finish The Lyric sure chief why not– went to the disco, couldn’t believe my eyes/_________________
Looked on the dance floor / saw so many people wondering what the fuck I was playing
And thus, Party Ben becomes the first man at BTS to complete the Prong with a clean sweep. Of course. Let us find out more about this…Party Ben. If that is your real name.
What gets you awake in the morning? Domestic or imported? Planning or procrastinating? The way things were or the way they’re going to be? Jessica Biel or Jessica Alba? Goody-goody or naughtay-naughtay?
Having to pee…Either as long as it’s vodka…I’ll answer later…The way things are in my mind…Jessica Rabbit…Naughty, then guilty.
How’d you make the transition to toying around with instruments to full-on deejay?
Actually, I’ve always done both. My family is pretty musical, especially my mom, and I had some piano lessons early on, but mostly wanted to play TV theme songs on the piano instead, so I spent a lot of time figuring those out; but at the same time I was making my own, er, “remixes” of my favorite Pet Shop Boys hits on my Sears stereo. I realized I could make, well, mixes, by plugging a tape deck into the left channel and a record player into the right channel and then matching them up. I DJed junior high and high school parties and stuff, and got more into it at college where there was more of an audience for acid house.
Was your mom the one who taught you the piano? Do you still remember any pieces of music you learned in your youth?
Honestly, although my mom was the more musical one in the family I did kind of teach myself a lot, since I would just take a tape player down to the piano and plunk out whatever Howard Jones song I wanted to learn, or whatever. To this day reading notes is really tough for me, since just learning “by ear” was always easier, it was a bit of a crutch. I could probably still pick some of those songs out if I tried.
Do you have a problem explaining mashes to people who’ve never heard them before? What sort of reaction do you usually get from there?
Well, I’m kind of used to it at this point. My parents even have a vague comprehension of what I’m doing at this point, and that’s about as tough as it gets.
When and where did you hear your first mashup?
Well, again, it’s hard not to look at it as a kind of evolution, instead of just hearing one specific mashup. I was always more intrigued by the segues on DJ mixes than anything else, was an early fan of sampling and cross-referencing in house music and hip-hop, and all that. So I guess Fatboy Slim’s “Satisfaction Skank” was an early inspiration, actually I made my own version after reading about his. Of course, like everybody, Freelance Hellraiser’s “Stroke of Genius” really opened my eyes, er, ears, to that specific kind of cross-genre mashup.
Were mashups something you grew into or were you hooked instantly?
Like I said, it feels like I’ve been doing this my whole life, it’s just technology caught up with me, or I was able to afford the technology I wanted, at least.
What first made you think, “Hey, I can DO this!”?
Well, I still don’t really feel that way. I try a million things and only a few of them don’t sound like complete crap to me, and I still don’t feel like my production skills are that good.
What was the first one you personally ever cobbled together? Who showed you guidance (in person or just audially) in giving you a guiding light on how to do the work?
Nobody taught me nothin’. My first actual computer-assisted mashup, per se, was the Satisfaction Skank thing I made, in like 1999, using a crazy piece of software called “Session 8″ on an old 286 the radio station had sitting around that nobody else knew how to use. It was called “Session 8″ because it only had 8 tracks to work with.
If there is one piece of advice you can give aspiring mashuppers, what is it?
Jeez, just stop, or resign yourself to a life of being a complete musical outcast, a jester, a novelty, with no critical respect or financial gain whatsoever. Be a cool electro DJ with a hip hairdo, you’ll get a lot more attention.
What sort of reaction are you looking to get from your mashes?
A good chuckle would be nice.
What differentiates a good mashup from a great mashup?
If I knew that I’d be Go Home Productions, now, wouldn’t I?
What was more memorable for you: the worst insult or piece of hate mail you ever got or the best comment or most glowing praise? What was the nature of the comment?
Oh boy. Honestly I don’t mind “insults” or people saying they don’t like my tracks that much, but what’s bothered me has been press or interviewers getting quotes wrong or just making me look like a douche. A thing I did with MTV News still keeps me awake at night, they changed around everything I said to make it sound like I was bigging myself up in this ridiculous way and that I was serious about wanting Damon Albarn to call me up, when in fact I was making a joke about my career path following Danger Mouse’s… anyway, I was mortified. I guess they thought the whole mashup thing was funny and they could take the piss but I’m a human being dammit! Ah well, better being talked about and all that.
What is the most important piece of DJing technology of the past five years?
Derrr… I dunno. People like DJing off of laptops but I sure don’t. CDs are fine by me. I sure like those Pionneer CDJs, are those within the last 5 years?
How do you find out about new mashups? Is it through GYBO, or other DJs, podcasts like Ramdom Thoughts, or other friendly bootleg avenues?
Boy, I’m kind of a slacker on that score these days, since I don’t have a radio show any more and I like to make my own stuff to play. I find out about new stuff when A & D play it at Bootie and I go “What the hell is that? That’s awesome!”
Pressure produces diamonds.
I drove Party Ben crazy 547 times during the course of this interview over the course of the past few weeks. He brought up all his ugly self-doubt, I picked some songs I thought deserved pub over some more popular tunes, I yelled at him for making me like Rihanna, he yelled at me for putting my indie cred before all (maybe seriously–it does sound like something I’ve been accused of before) and in the end for a guy worrying that I was giving him back-handed compliments, he ended up giving me the best one I’ve ever gotten in 15 years of journalistic work.
I don’t need to say anything else other than here is Part 2 of the biggest Party Ben interview ever.
(And to the man himself–you’ve been the best. Now how about that We Will Jump You, hmm? 
)
One thing I’ve noticed about your discography is you take songs that aren’t usually used by the hoi polloi. Even using a Prodigy staple, it’s in league with the Hives. Did the Swedish band’s guitar riff sort of guide you towards using it in “Hate To Smack My Bitch Up” or were you inspired in another way?
Oh man. That mashup is total crap. I made that basically at the request of the Music Director at my radio station, Aaron, he was like “oh stick those two together that’d be awesome.” I did it but they aren’t even in key, now when I listen to it I’m just like “jeez, why did I do this?” But a bunch of people like it, Aaron would play it on his radio and at his club all the time. Goes to show, even if you suck, you might find an audience.
Were you looking for two parallel opposite songs in “Show Me How To Leave”? The Audioslave cut isn’t so clean as it usually is for a rock-cum-R&B mash.
Huh, these are all so old, I don’t even remember making them. I loved “Never Leave,” not so much Audioslave (although I was a big Soundgarden fan). I don’t really know if I had any agenda other than trying something with a big rock hit.
There are certain things that girls love. Diamonds. Conversations. And old school Madonna. I think among my estrogenically-advantaged friends if they were the ones doing a countdown of the favorite PB boots I’ve played for them that “Bizarre Light Triangle” or my personal favorite, “Get The Holiday Party Started” would be the #1 and #2 songs in no particular order. How’d you not take the easy way out with another boot of “Blue Monday”? And how did Madonna and Pink come together?
First, I didn’t make “Get the Holiday Party Started,” that was Ben Liebrand in the Netherlands. It’s a good one though. I did make “Bizarre Light Triangle,” and that, unlike so many of my rote creations, was actually something that hit me in a flash of inspiration, whilst riding the motorcycle, it just kind of came into my head fully formed. That’s awesome when that happens, then the work to put it together is just kind of a frenzied zombie state, because I can hear the whole thing in my head and know exactly where everything needs to go, and my mouse can’t move fast enough. So, I wasn’t weighing any options of other tracks or thinking about who it might please, I was just trying to get it out of my brain and onto the hard drive.
“Independent Room” is one of my favorite early boots in the catalogue. Given the long instrumentals on “Waiting Room” was your thought process “I can put anything in this spot and it should work” or was the Destinys’ Child track Choice #1?
Huh; again, I don’t really remember. I like that one a lot too, the Fugazi seems to bring out this kind of crazed energy in the Destiny’s Child. But you’re right, you can’t really go wrong with “Waiting Room,” for sure, so maybe I could have put anything with it. I didn’t try anything else.
“Boulevard Of Broken Songs”. That was awesome.(/Farley)
Is this still the biggest hit of your career? Having a mash on the conscious level that BOBS is, is it a blessing or a curse? Had you gotten to pick the mash you’ve done to be your biggest hit–would this have been it?
Yeah, “Boulevard.” Jeez. While Snow Police came close this year in terms of sheer #s of e-mails and weird spottings of it from around the world, the “Boulevard” phenomenon was insane, and I say that from the point of view of a bemused observer, not in a sense of pride or anything. I mean, it was a pretty obvious track to make, I just got to it first; although the Aerosmith part at the end was a good idea. From the moment I played it on the air (three years ago this week!) it had a life of its own, and the whole thing was just so nuts, eventually getting contacted from like American Samoa and Fiji and crap, the whole thing just seemed to snowball and didn’t stop until last year, really.
I never expected any of it, I didn’t sent it out or promote it in any way, so it was all just random. And of course I wasn’t really reaping any rewards other than the amusement (often I wouldn’t get any credit even when a station would play it), so it was just funny to me. American frickin’ Samoa, how can that not be funny? So, no, I would never think of it as a “curse,” to have something that funny happen. My sister will still call from her job in Omaha, and will be like “They’re playing your damn song again on the radio.” None of her coworkers believe it, or really understand her when she says I made it. They’re like, “Your brother’s in Green Day?” Speaking of that, it is a little weird to be associated so much with a band I don’t really care for, but I guess I brought that on myself ,didn’t I?
Again, my whole creative life has just been about doing random crap that pops into my head without much though to how it might affect my “career” or people’s perceptions. It would be awesome to have everyone think I was cool, and get good reviews at Pitchfork, and have cool hair, and stuff, but it turns out I’m not really that cool, I guess. I try not to be too sad about it. I mean, some people like what I do, even if it’s kind of crap, so, you know, it’s better than working at a meat packing plant.
While it seems everybody has to earn their stripes at some point with “Another One Bites The Dust” boots, you tweaked the usual theme and avoided both old school rap and rock in using Daft Punk for “Another One Bites Da Funk”. You were Kanye before Kanye was Kanye, man. Were you specifically looking to spice up the “same old boot” by using something more electronic than most of your fellow DJs?
Well, first, don’t take Kanye’s name in vain, I’m loving Graduation so much right now and I really think he’s a genius. Second, again, I think you’re ascribing some sort of knowing commentary on my part where there’s only cluelessness. Since “Da Funk” came out, I’d just always thought it had a weird sonic connection with “Another One Bites the Dust,” so I just forced them together. People have made a big deal about how sped up the Queen vocals are, like it’s a radical move or something, but again, the two songs just went together in my mind so I just had to make it work, as Tim Gunn says. And my philosophy is it’s always better to speed something up than slow the other thing down, something I only violated on “Boulevard.”
“(Triple) Freak Me Out”, during which the Franz Ferdinand first hit is suddenly co-opted with sweet disco rhythm and some Beastie rhymes. Were you looking at it more from the Chic angle or the Franz angle when you put this song together?
Again, no agenda. The story of this one is I put “Take Me Out” with “Triple Trouble” in a Sixx Mixx, then a while later McSleazy did his “Franzie Boys” mashup, which was a coincidence, but I was kicking myself for not fleshing mine out when I did it because his got a lot of attention. One of the many missed opportunities in the life and times of Party Ben. No offense at all to Grant who deserves all the acclaim that could ever go his way, of course, but you know, I was like “dammit, why didn’t I do that.” So Chic Franzie Boys was, in my mind, a cheeky nod to the whole situation. Also it was inspired by reading a couple reviews of the Beastie Boys album that incorrectly said “Triple Trouble” sampled “Good Times,” so I thought, “what if it had.” So it was kind of two different silly things coming together. Wish there had been a Franz acapella though.
“Drop It Like It’s A Whole Lotta Love”–are you surprised considering the success of “Drop” that there aren’t a lot more minimalist rap tracks? From my perspective part of what made it stood out originally was that it was so uncluttered v. most rap tracks and the mashup revival it has to the point where it’s like Starbucks and fits around any instrumental.
I’ve actually written about the “race to the bottom” in hip-hop production. I love it, I think it’s one of the great under-appreciated art phenomena of our time–that every hip-hop song seems to be trying to outdo the last in terms of how little they can actually make a song out of. It’s like the mimialist sculpture movement in the ’60s. “Drop It” is a true masterpiece of production, with its tuned bass drum and left/right channel swapping on the static noise that passes for a high hat; again, it’s almost Japanese in its attention to detail. There’s only four things in that song but they’re perfectly executed. Listen to it in headphones sometime. Lately with Kanye & Common and all, the trend seems to be moving away from the completely stripped-down sound, but who knows.
Anyway, my mashup with Led Zeppelin…I’ve never liked it. One of my top 5 least favorite things I’ve done. It was very cynically made; I felt likea lot of people were making hip-hop vs. classic rock tracks and I hadn’t done one. So I thought I’d put one together and I never found a good beat to lay under the Zeppelin and it just never gelled in my mind, but people like both songs so it…you know…it functions.
In “Never Feel Good”, my favorite part is early when you cut the Cake guitar riff into the bridge of the Gorillaz and suddenly two songs that seemingly should’ve been firing at each other just fit. Were you inspired by other “Feel Good Inc.” boots sufficiently enough to put one of your own out?
This is one of the few mashups in my, er, oeuvre, that was a suggestion from a listener. I honestly get about 10-20 suggestions for mashups every week, seriously, even now that I’m not on the radio; I don’t know if other people get this but it’s one of the banes of my existence. On the one hand I guess I’m glad people get excited and have their own creative ideas, but on the other hand it kind of denigrates the producer, like, I don’t write my favorite author and go “Hey, Raymond Carver, I love your stories, can you write one about a monkey and a cheesecake and have a lot of subjunctive clauses?” Besides, Carver’s dead.
And again, my own acknowledgment of my quite significant shortcomings as an artist do not get in the way of my general conviction of mashuppery as a legitimate, respectable art form; so I don’t mean to say “how dare people write me, the great Party Ben,” but just generally, art doesn’t work that way. I’m not the Raymond Carver of mashups, I’m more like a staff writer at the Weekly World News. So, anyway, I get all these suggestions, just tons of them, all the time, and people will be like “When you make it please give me credit thanks!” Like, they don’t even question that I’ll immediately sit down and get to work on putting, I dunno, Green Day with the theme to Green Acres. And most of the suggestions are like that, just terrible, silly jokes, or stuff that’s like “Can you put Eminem over Michael Jackson?” Yes, well I suppose I could, but I have enough total crap in my arsenal. But of course I feel like I have to be nice to everyone, so I politely tell them the truth: that I have a backlog of so much of my own work, my own ideas, that I don’t have time to get to, that I can’t even think about doing other people’s ideas. But, in this case, somebody got through my defenses; actually I think I might have already been thinking the Cake bassline was similar to Gorillaz, and then they just jogged my memory. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Either way, again, there weren’t a lot of Gorillaz boots at the time… and you seem to be saying “gee you use a lot of cliche songs,” Mr. Rosser, and remember, a) most of this work was specifically being produced for a mainstream alt. radio audience, the point was to use hits and b) I was trying to hit these tracks pretty early, a lot of the time, and the legions of Feel Good Inc mashups hadn’t been done yet. So saying “why did you pick such obvious songs,” seems a bit uncalled for–if I’d been making Animal Collective vs. Peaches mashups they wouldn’t have been on the radio now would they?
With one of my favorite bands being the Clash, you know I’m coming after you re: “Radio Hollaback” and “Somebody Rock Me”. On the Clash tip–what about the band’s versatility lends itself to being used so frequently in the bastard pop community? Was “Radio Hollaback” the easiest boot of your career to make? And finally, would you like to finally expunge or reignite your beef with the Killers in this space? Well, not finally, I suppose–is this more of the Killers fitting in where you wanted to use the Casbah or the other way around?
Gwen Stefani is pretty silly, but actually it was a medium level of difficulty to produce. Ahem. Anyway, I love the Clash, and I think their propensity to get used in mashups and remixes is a sign of what geniuses they were in general, they just made great songs, and also the fact that even though they’re considered part of the “punk/rock” pantheon, their music actually encompasses a wide range of styles that can fit with all sorts of music. So you get the cachet of using a cool punk rock band but really “Guns of Brixton” is just a reggae song. As far as the Killers are concerned, I dunno, honestly in the past year I’ve started hearing some redeeming factors in “When You Were Young,” even though I really disliked it when it came out. So they’re not, you know, pure evil or anything. Personally they were standoffish when I met them (and their arch-nemeses The Bravery were friendly and hilarious) but whatever, I just don’t have time to think about them really, I’m busy listening to Gui Boratto and crap.
Here’s something I’ve always wanted to ask the man behind “Computer Talk”–where are all the Kraftwerk boots?! Where?
Well, Kraftwerk, indeed, are awesome, for sure, but I think partially their sound has been so integrated into musical culture that using one of their tracks in a mashup doesn’t really fulfill the “two distinct sources” tenet. Their music has been used so much in hip-hop and remixes, just as samples, you know? So, I don’t think they’re necessarily underrepresented in general, it’s just that mixing something with Kraftwerk ends up sounding like a remix, I guess.
The first track of yours I ever heard was back when you were doing the Sixx Mixx and they broadcasted it Fridays down here in San Diego. Anyway, I hear the White Stripes delivering my Riff of the Year for ‘05, and all of a sudden there’s the breakbeat for the seven minute best remix ever to “Paid In Full”. And I stop in the middle of downtown and decide, “Wow. This may be the best song I’ve ever heard.” “Pump Up The Doorbell” is probably my #1 Party Ben song (actually made by Party Ben)–what do you remember about the making of that track?
Yeah, that’s one of my faves. I was actually a bit late to “Doorbell,” there had been a couple good boots already that used the 3-chord piano loop with a hip-hop vocal. Team9’s comes to mind. I made a Sixx Mixx and randomly decided to just throw “Paid in Full” in the mix, and realized that it was only about a half-step off from “Doorbell,” key-wise, so I decided to flesh it out. I’m pleased with the results since I think the presence of the Eric B & Rakim drum track really, er, pumps it up.
Can you talk a little bit about “Wipeout Taffy” or are the scars still too fresh?
Har, well, yes, the scars. We–meaning me and A&D–have kind of played up the supposed “disagreement” over “Wipeout Taffy” just for amusement’s sake, so really it’s just funny to all of us. Production wise I do consider it a failure since I wasn’t ever really happy with the drum loop I used to give it some extra oomph, so it wasn’t like I ever thought it was awesome, but the whole “battle” seems to make people happy, since lots of people will make a point of telling me how much they love it. I just did a new Laffy Taffy track over Le Tigre’s “Deceptacon” just as a bit of a piss-take on the whole scenario, since Decepta-Freak-On is one of A&D’s big hits, and we’re all very amused.
(Editorial note — here is PB’s Deceptataffy so you can compare and contrast it to “Wipeout Taffy”…)
At your website, you mention during the writeup of “Hung Up On Soul” that you got distracted by Madonna while you were just trying to make a DCFC remix. Was it due to the ubiquitousness of “Hung Up”? Were you hearing it a lot at clubs or at Bootie or was it just everywhere?
No, it wasn’t really anything against “Hung Up” at all. I wanted to do a “Soul Meets Body” remix since I noticed it was already kind of dance tempo, and since it was in the same key as “Hung Up” I initially just used the instrumental version of that as kind of pre-made beats. But then the Madge vocal just sounded so good with it, it turned back into a mashup.
“Get Laid With Khia” really took it back to the old school with two of the most sampled songs not just in hiphop but in the mashup world as well–”Whitehorse” from Laid Back and “Apache” from the Original Bongo Band. Which of the two did you have first, and what made you decide to use both with “My Neck, My Back” instead of just one or the other?
Okay, well, remember, the first version of that I made was Laid Back vs. Khia vs. !!!, and in fact the first part that came to me was the Laid Back and !!! similarities, so I’d been wanting to do something with those two songs. When I realized the Khia vocal was in the same key, then finally I had a vocal that could tie it all together. But my favorite part of that is still the !!! part. That I made before the Bootie 1-year anniversary, that’s how old that is. Then I was really into Switch’s “Apache” mix, “A Bit Patchy” it was called, since I’m a huge, huge fan of everything Switch does. So I kind of did a new version of the whole thing. The Bootie dance floor never really took to it though, so I rarely play it.
“Don’t Cha Fight The Seether” has more names than Jay-Hova. I really liked the Veruca Salt oringial source material so it’s great to see it used here. Did anything specifically inspire you to make another “throwaway dancefloor sellout mashup”?
Nah, again, this was just another track aimed for Bootie, and I just wanted something with “Seether” in it. I’m always looking for danceable rock tracks to use in mashups for Bootie since my default mode is just to use something electronic from the 80s, and I have about 8 million of those. So any time I get an idea for a rock song that will work on the dance floor I jump on it. I just went through my acapellas until something worked.
You mentioned (possibly mockingly) that you felt a bit of shame over “Hella Dare You To Smoke”. If this is true, how come? Was the Deep Purple riff too obvious or something?
No, entirely the opposite, the Deep Purple riff is the best part of that whole thing! What are you trying to say?! “Hella Good” had been used a quadrillion times and “D.A.R.E.” wasn’t exactly obscure. But I do like the way it turned out.
I’m a big fan of anything Michael did with his first 2 solo albums, so “Promiscuous With You” was right in my wheelhouse. What other songs had you tried to match with Nelly & Timbaland? Were you always going for the retro disco/roller skate rink theme to match it up with?
Oh boy, I tried a bunch of stuff with “Promiscuous,” like “Don’t You Want Me,” jeez I don’t even remember. Everything like half-worked. And I always default to retro roller rink, you should know that by now.
Fergie is the old Rihanna. I can’t stand her singles, and then I look up in my mashup file–LO AND BEHOLD! Shitloads of fucking Fergie singles which apparently some part of my loves, because they’re all over the place. “Genius Of London”, of course, is one of my favorites. Were you surprised at the reaction it got (it seems you were really driven to put it up by fan support) or is it just a testament to how strong “Genius Of Love” is instrumentally?
Yeah that’s really it, I think, although I was heard “Fergalicious” a bunch on the radio on a recent drive to LA and I was thinking it’s a somewhat underappreciated song, at least critically. Both that and “My Humps” make what I think are pretty wry references to early freestyle.
“Walking With A Ghost In Paris” is noteable because not only did it get a reaction from the artist, it got a split reaction from the artist. What was it like watching a mash go out and then seeing the people partially responsible for it react publicly?
The whole Tegan & Sara thing was great. They’re great, they’re hilarious, and were really open and nice with me, and everybody at the radio station the couple times they came in. This is back when LIVE 105 didn’t suck and we were really supporting that song, it’s hard to believe now but even my mix was in rotation. Watching the mix take off was exciting to me since it was so obscure, really; I made it just for us since I didn’t even know if “Walking with a Ghost” was getting airplay anywhere else, and it’s not like Mylo was really known at all in the US at that point. So I just kind of put it together for myself and a couple of our listeners, and then to have it turn into probably one of the top-5 most played/requested/famous/whatever mashups I’ve ever made, it was really kind of inspiring. It’s my only GYBO recommends ever other than Dean Gray (and we all know that was all Team9 anyway), by the way! Anyway, the support from C89.5 in Seattle was really astounding, it was like their #3 song of the whole year, I think. So, the fact that T&S knew about it at all, that they were aware of it and discussed it, and talked to me about it, just that in and of itself was really cool.
Of course I wish they’d agreed on it because even a B-side release would have been cool, and the label was behind it as well, so for once in my life the stars kind of aligned, but of course not quite, that’s the story of my life. After I read that interview where Sarah kind of dissed the mix (or was it Tegan?) they came into the station and I was trying to give them a good natured hard time about it, just because I thought the disagreement between them was amusing, and they took me really seriously and denied ever saying it, and I felt really bad, because I didn’t mean to make them uncomfortable, and understood what she was saying: they have had to fight to get acceptance as a “rock” band, as women, and a “poppy” remix wouldn’t help that agenda.
“Every Car You Chase”, you said earlier, was your biggest hit in a while. And it’s literally gone international. From your buddy at the Toronto Star John Sakamoto, to the notorious Stereogum, then Ireland and Australia and more. Were you looking for a “Every Breath You Take” collabo or was the Snow Patrol song so ubiquitous you decided Something Must Be Done With This?
Yeah, again, no agenda at all, and this time I didn’t have the kind of “holy shit this is already getting people’s attention” kind of experience that seemed to happen with “Boulevard,” the reaction crept up on me. I thought of the combo one day, again, whilst toodling about on the moto, and I didn’t even post it for a few months, I just handed it off to Adrian & D to post at the Bootie site. So, no, I had no agenda or desire to do anything with either of the songs, I just heard it in my head all of a sudden. The response has been hilarious — I can do a really good Irish accent now after all the calls at 3 in the morning from Dublin radio stations. One of them told me to keep a bottle of whiskey by the bed to wake myself up when they called, how awesome is that?
Anyway, while some people want revenge on you for “Wipeout Taffy”, I hate you for entirely different reasons. And not just being way more awesome than I am. You released “Tender Umbrella”. And I hate “Umbrella”. I had a jihad against Rihanna. And then I’m like, “…but I really like ‘Tenderness’” and the next thing I know my girlfriend’s playing it all the time and I’m playing it 5 times a day; it’s going through my head like “If it weren’t for my horse…”. I know YOU like Umbrella, so I will now give you 50 words to turn me around on Rihanna. And whatever more you need to talk about the making of the General Public vs. her mash.
For my 50 words I’ll just repeat the phrase “Pon de Replay” 16 times. And then say “Ella” twice cause I get two more words. As far as making that track, that was an experience similar to “Novocaine Rhapsody” — I was hearing something in my head with “Umbrella,” and I couldn’t place it for like 3 weeks. When I realized it was “Tenderness” I was happy as a little girl because a) I love General Public and b) it’s not an overused mashup song, unlike, as you’ve helpfully pointed out, every single other song I’ve ever used. Anyway, what’s not to like about “Umbrella” in general though? Ella! Ella! Ay! Ay! Ay! Song of the year!
What I find common with you is three things happen in bang-bang-bang order: the point in the mashup where the songs intersect, right click, save as. “Rehab (Can’t Help Myself)”, for a Bootie exclusive, was one of those songs and the first Winehouse boot I kept this summer. What prompted the Temps in lieu of the other 60s soul songs you could’ve picked from?
Honestly, time constraints. Wanted something with Rehab for Bootie, figured classic R&B was the way to go, and in absence of an acapella (at the time) I realized it would have to be just a back-and-forth kind of “medley” more than a true mashup per se, so I just had to find something in the same key and at that tempo and go “dink, donk, dink, donk, done.” Turns out, a whole shitload of those songs are in that key, so i just kind of used the first one.
What prompted you to put up another round of Bootie Traxxx? Your output was already starting to pick up over the past couple of months, and then five more tracks come out just as good as anything else you’ve released this year.
Aw shucks… although is that a backhanded compliment?! Anyway, I really have to force myself to put stuff out, since these days I’m happy just kind of making stuff for the dance floor. But as my career winds down I feel kind of like I should toss some more things out there, plus heading off to Europe I figure I should try and get a couple new things into people’s heads. Plus, hey, GHP put out like 4,000 tracks at once so I can put out five, I suppose, right? Also I just have a little more time since I left the radio station, and a little more desperate need for attention.
What’s been your best moment as a DJ?
That’s tough. I rarely ever sit back and enjoy myself when DJing to be honest — even if people are going nuts and having fun, I’m working to figure out how to keep things up, and I’m in general not the kind of person who’s able to appreciate things in the moment, I’m mostly beating myself up for random mistakes or whatever. But recent sets that felt really good were the first gig at Bootie NY, just because I had no idea what to play and a bunch of my old friends were there and I really wanted it to go well, and I kind of got lucky with no mixing screwups and stuff. The Bootie SF “headline” set back in January was a lot of fun too, although since everything was new it was a bit wonky. Jeez, but in my whole life? Playing a bunch of J Dilla and classic hip-hop in the back room at a night when Mixmaster Mike was hanging around and he was really into what I was playing, that was cool. A couple big LIVE 105 events were crazy. Oh and I just did a crazy private gig where the Sugarhill Gang were the headliners and after their show I DJed for a while, then they came out and started like freestyling over what I was playing, so I basically DJed for them for like 1/2 hour. How hilarious is that for a Nebraska boy who had his mind blown by the very same Sugarhill Gang back in like 1981?
Most importantly–will we ever see Party Ben Kenobi ever again after his vanquishing?
If Party Ben Kenobi is struck down, he will become more powerful than you can ever imagine.
Well, I think we’ve been able to do the definitive Party Ben interview. We now cede the floor to you in Mea Culpa, so anything you want to plug or big up, please do it with all our thanks. And continue to be awesome.
Big ups to A+D and the whole Bootie crew for putting up with me all this time, kooky fans who appear to like what I do despite its flaws, and anyone willing to give me some money. And yourself, Butch, for caring, a little… too much.
MATT HITE (8.29.07)
Let us open up the Book of Rakim, chapter 4, verses 12 through 16:
It’s been a long time
I shouldn’t’ve left you
Without a strong rhyme to step to
Think of all the weak shows you slept through
Time’s up–I’m sorry I kept you.
It’s been about a month since the last one, and while Party Ben is continuing at a low simmer, Mr. Matt Hite has freed himself from the hot seat. You can expect the usual fun and games that you’ve come to know and tolerate from a Behind the Scene.
More importantly, without this man, there is no Island of Misfit Songs.
So for everything he’s done, and will do, Matt Hite has my eternal thanks.
And just to clarify, I did not have sexual relations to “Lick It Wild”–I only was using my hand at the time.
And now, to confirm your worthiness, the usual three-pronged opening question gambit that has become a staple of the Island. Just remember: if you cheat or lie in any way, shape or form, you will be raped by a bear and a three-legged puppy will be shot in the face. K? K.
Option #1: you listen to the Pussycat Dolls album all the way through. Option #2: with a 10-step running start, a stranger takes a full-speed swing at your crotch with a baseball bat. Which do you choose?
Well, considering the pain of listening to a Pussycat Dolls album is a maximum of 74 minutes, and the pain of a bruised crotch is likely days — maybe even weeks — I think I will have to begrudgingly choose option #1.
Short essay: you have up to 25 words to elucidate one of the following positions:
a) Hall & Oates were fucking awesome, or
b) Hall & Oates were a plague brought to us by the beast known as the Desolate One
Definitely awesome. I can’t tell which is Hall and which is Oates, but together they’ve kept me company in many an elevator and dentist office.
Another Bad Creation : Kris Kross :: some random kid throwing something in the general direction of the stage : _______________
some random kid with his clothes on backwards throwing something (Are you trying to give me some sort of S.A.T. nightmare?)
Matt scored the usual requisite 2 out of 3.
To paraphrase David Byrne: well, Matt, how did you get here?
I got started as a DJ when I was 15. I used to go to a new wave teen club in the basement of a miniature golf course and it was there that I first witnessed a DJ mix records live. I was totally amazed and knew I wanted to learn how to do that. I was lucky to find several mentors who let me practice on their equipment until I could afford my own and were willing to teach me what they knew. I also was fortunate enough to connect with several promoters in the area that brought many great opportunities my way. And of course we can’t forget my mom who used to get out of bed at 2 or 3 am to help me carry my records back into the house. You might even call this whole thing a family affair! 
Fast-forward 18 years and I’m still DJ’ing and doing remix and production. I still dream of doing it full-time one day (and being able to support myself and my family) but as they say half the fun of a dream is the “getting there” part. Lucky for mom I no longer need her to get out of bed to help me with the records.
Maybe I’m dense, but how does one party in the basement of a miniature golf course?
So this particular miniature golf course had an arcade on the ground floor, a restaurant area on the top floor, and a dance club space in the basement. I know it sounds a bit strange! Picture 200+ new waver kids (a.k.a. “people in black”) roaming around a perfectly respectable family golf establishment and I think you’ll understand why they wanted to keep us in the basement.
Explain to us punk kids nowadays just how up on things (if at all) the interwebs were when it came to the mashup community back in 2003.
Well, different sites have come and gone, but GYBO of course still stands. It’s the grand daddy and rightly so — I’d be absolutely gutted if Grant ever pulled the plug on it. We’ve unfortunately had various shakedowns, takedowns, and cease & desists shape the way people are able to share tracks on forums like GYBO, and that’s a bit unfortunate. But I really have to hand it to Grant as he has kept the place on point (for the most part) and it’s still a thriving community that I enjoy visiting and participating in when possible.
As to the quality of tracks that get released these days — well, to be honest, it just gets better. There’s still a ton of shit mashups that people put out but the quality producers are just getting better. A lot of DJs have “cut their teeth” on mashup production and the ones with honest talent are putting out some seriously quality stuff today.
What was the primary motivation for launching Beatmixed (without which this site wouldn’t exist)? Was there any secondary motivation? And is it true web masters gets allllllllllllll the fine bitches?
Beatmixed really started as a way for me to document and share all the interesting mashup and remix production information I could find — whether it be tutorials, production techniques, software reviews, interviews, news or pressing clips, etc. The intended audience is definitely the producer/DJ/mashup enthusiast seeking knowledge.
As far as secondary motivation — no, not really. There have definitely been some secondary outcomes, though. I’ve certainly met a ton of other people who are also obsessed with mashups, remixing, and audio production. It’s also brought great opportunities my way like the editing gig for DJ Earworm’s mashup book on Wiley Press and the DJ sets at great nightclubs like Bootie. I guess in short more people know who I am and what I love. Beatmixed has been my outlet to share this with the world.
As far as getting all the fine bitches, I’m afraid all the women in my life know little of Beatmixed or the tangled web I’ve woven with it. To be perfectly honest, I’ve always had to depend on my chiseled body and supermodel looks to attract the opposite sex. It may seem hard to believe, but I am rarely appreciated for my intellect or web mastering skills.
Why do girls not love us for our brains and demand hours of sex when we’re trying to HTML? Scarlett especially drives me crazy with that shit!
She must have thought you said “hyperSEX markup language.” An honest mistake. Make the most of it.
If you’d be kind enough to share a few words about your friends and contemporaries, starting with, let’s say…Phuegoo?
I haven’t had a chance to get to know Phuegoo very well, but I’ve always been a fan. Sympathy for the Warhols is my current fave.
A + D
Presiding over a virtual empire of bootleg clubs, Adrian and Deidre have poured their heart, soul, and money into the mashup scene. It’s truly been a pleasure to work, play, and party with them over the past 4 years. Sometimes I wonder how they find time to do anything besides Bootie, but I’m sure they ask themselves the same question.
Tripp
Yuma has put out so many great mashups that it’s hard for me to pick my favorite. He’s an extremely talented producer and as a DJ he really knows how to rock a crowd. We’ve had a lot of fun DJing together… dare I say we make a great team…
Victor Menegaux
Haven’t had a chance to chat with Victor and I unfortunately missed his set @ Bootie, but I do hope to make it over to the Pacific Northwest someday soon to catch up with the Seattle bootleggers.
2 Many DJs
Classic. I can still pop in a 2 Many DJs CD today and it sounds fresh and fun.
Earworm
Jordan is definitely the “mathematician” of the mashup scene. Everything he does artistically is precise, well-executed and with intent. It was great working with him on his book and seeing such a major undertaking become a reality. If you don’t own his book (Audio Mash-Up Construction Kit) already, definitely get yourself a copy!
Party Ben
Ben definitely pioneered the mashup sound on U.S. radio airwaves. I really looked forward to hearing Sixx Mixx every Friday and I truly am sad that it is gone. I was gutted when I heard him announce that the show was over. But the truth is that Ben is more than “Mr. Sixx Mixx” and he continues to release amazing mashups and throw down inspired DJ sets. I expect even bigger and better things from him in the future. His recent Rihanna / General Public (”Tender Umbrella”) mashup is brilliant, BTW.
Scotty Johnson
Love his podcast. Scotty always features great dance cuts and mashup tracks — my two favorite genres! He’s also been a long-time supporter of my own mashup work and I truly think of him as a kindred spirit. Thanks for all your support, Scotty.
Go Home Productions
Really one of my biggest inspirations. Mark definitely knows how to craft a quality mashup out of seemingly disparate parts.
You mentioned “Sympathy For The Warhols”…what have been some of your other favorite mashups that’ve come out this year so far?
This is really hard to answer. I could go on for days and still leave something out.
I’d rather just point you in the general direction of great podcasts like Ramdom Thoughts and Radio Clash along with the web sites of Mashup Town (http://www.mashuptown.com/), GYBO (www.gybo.org), the Bootie Top 10 (http://www.bootiesf.com/), and Audioporn Central (http://www.audioporncentral.com/). Also, check out the Beatmixed links section (http://www.beatmixed.com/links) for an extensive list of mashup artists and web sites that I think are worth checking out.
What was the first mashup that you ever heard? Were you hooked instantly?
It was likely DNA’s The Source / Suzanne Vega mashup of “Tom’s Diner” and “You Got The Love” from back in the early 90s. As far as the “modern” mashup landscape is concerned, it would probably be one of the hundreds of forgettable Missy bootlegs. I don’t know if I was hooked instantly, but it certainly sounded like fun to cook some up myself.
Who were/are you using for guidance as sort of a hero-worship figure in the scene?
Technically speaking, Dunproofin’, Earworm, DJ John, Team9, and Eric Kleptone are producers whom I hold in high regard. Dunproofin’s “Spektrum John” is amazing. Earworm’s “No One Takes Your Freedom” is jaw-dropping. DJ John crafts some amazing masterpieces. Pretty much anything team9 touches is golden. And of course Eric’s “A Night at the Hip-Hopera” blew me away. There are others but these 5 have always provided inspiration.
You run a very popular site and would be revered if you only did that. What’s your motivation for continuing to do mashups?
I really just want to grow as a producer, take on new production challenges, and most importantly learn. I consider it to be both a form of entertainment and a great artistic outlet. It’s also exhilarating to hear one of my mashup creations on the radio or to see a massive crowd of people cheer when my track is dropped in a dance club!
What differentiates a good mashup from a great mashup?
Is it in key? Is the sum greater than the parts? And do I actually want to listen to it again? If I can answer yes to all three of these, then we’re at least on the right track.
Not just content to be a net maven, you also do mashups. So, how easy was it to get “We Will Rock & Roll You” together? Did the idea arrive fully-formed in your head?
This one was a major pain in the ass to edit. The Joan Jett song shifts tempo all over the place so making it all fit right was a bit of a challenge. Though I am pretty proud of the Joan Jett micro-edits used to make her hold the “singingggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg” part as it transitioned into the Queen chorus. However, that being said, someone on GYBO did tell me it sounded like it was edited with a chainsaw. Besides the chainsaw guy, everyone else seemed to like it. The idea was pretty much thought out before I began.
You also spin a lot of techno in some of your full-format sets: what made you choose the tracks that constitute “I Like The Way You Move It” as opposed to something more recognizable to the club-goer not so into techno (”Call On Me”, Chemical Brothers, Benny Benassi, etc.)?
“I Like The Way You Move It” was more a novelty concept type track — one song was called “I Like The Way You Move” and the other was called “I Like The Way You Move It.” So that pretty much explains why I chose those tracks. It’s always fun when you can come up with oh so clever combinations that happen to sound good together.
Besides myself, how many fans of yours have revealed they’ve gotten it on to “Lick It Wild”? Can you, as a parent, sleep at night knowing that you’ve put such libidinous tracks out into the world? WELL!?!
I think you are the first! And actually, I’m more worried about explaining “Fuck My Bitch Up” to my children. That one will have to stay locked in the vault.
Lots of Cassie boots in the past couple of years, but few people using “The Situation” by Yaz. What inspired “Close To Me & U & Yazoo”? Was it a spin-off of the Jay-R classic or did you come after it from a different angle?
The original Cassie “Me & U” track is totally boring in my opinion. No offense, Cassie. The remix idea started while playing around with the acapella in Ableton — I pitched it up ~ 20 BPM and decided it might actually make a half decent dance track. I had been cutting up samples from some of my old 80s records in the weeks prior, and that Yaz synth loop happened to be in the same key as Cassie’s vocals. And thus the track was born. I created an original drum track, bass line, and added some new keys to it and the end result turned out a lot better than I expected. The Art of Noise breakdown in that track is the real goose-bump moment, though. I’m actually really proud of that remix/mashup — it’s one of my better ones production-wise I.M.O.
The last track you came out with in Bottled Love–again you took a well-known instrumental but used a big change of pace in the a capella. How did you get to using “Runaway Love” as opposed to the numerous other, more popular Ludacris songs? Were you even thinking about using Ludacris primarily at all?
At that time I had been experimenting with various D.I.Y. acapella techniques. The Runaway Love vocals were the result of one such D.I.Y. acapella extraction experiment. The key and chord structure of both the X-Tina and Ludacris track are nearly identical — it was a natural fit. Most importantly, though, is that Mary J. Blige sounded great singing and harmonizing with the X-Tina track. No one had really heard the Ludacris track when I released the mashup, and it wasn’t until months later that I started getting emails from people telling me they heard the mashup on the radio.
You’ve recently remade your acquaintence with Bootie–did you fear any deck rust? Had anything noticeably changed from the last time you spun there?
No deck rust. The thing to understand about Bootie is that people will literally dance to ANYTHING there. People don’t go there expecting to hear anything they know, and as a DJ that’s like a blank check. Bootie continues to grow every month, packing more and more people in. I’m waiting for them to start doing big arena parties or something! But seriously, it’s always a lot of fun to DJ at Bootie, whether I’m doing the main floor or the lounge.
How long does it usually take you to form a set? Do you go in with a preconceived plan or do you play on the fly? What is more important, the opening song or the 2nd song?
I have a general idea of new tracks I might want to play, but I try not to plan too much. The opening song is definitely important, but I think having an idea of where you want to take people is more important.
I’ve asked prior guests to come up with dream sets they’d like to hear, but this is a little different with someone who rides both sides of the fence. So let me change up the usual pitch: would you rather be the one doing the dream set or hearing it as an audience member? If it is the latter, who’s DJing, and what do they spin during the King of All Hours?
Definitely performing! I’m not much for being out there in a crowd. I much prefer the sanctuary of a DJ booth.
What’s been your best moment as a DJ?
It would be too hard to pick a specific moment! In general, though, I think one of the most gratifying things is hearing someone ELSE drop your mashup track into their set. That’s a great feeling.
Usually, this is the part of the show where the interview ends with Mea Culpa and you plug whatever you want coming down the pipeline. If only we had that option with you…
…or do we?!
Well, it just so happens that I have a new mashup for your fine readers. That’s right — an exclusive Island premiere! It’s called “Everybody Is Right” and it consists of Timbaland’s Furtado beats, keys and chords pitted against Blackbox’s “Everybody Everybody” acapella. It also features a little bit of Harold Faltermeyer (Axel F), Stacey Q (Two of Hearts), and a special Nelly Furtado / Loleatta Holloway duet at the end. I hope you like it!
EVERYBODY IS RIGHT! ISLAND EXCLUSIVE! YOU WANT ALL THIS!
As far as the pipeline goes, I have another Depeche Mode remix that I should be releasing soon. Also expect the occasional mashup. It’s hard to tell when inspiration will hit, though!
And of course no plug would be complete without me encouraging people to visit my web site, beatmixed.com!
BOBBY MARTINI (7.30.07)
This one took a while to bring to fruition, but (no offense to Axel & Scotty) I think it’s the best Behind The Scene so far.
Bobby was kind enough to even temporarily disregard ill family in order to complete this interview. (Sorry, ladies–he’s taken.) And I believe when you read it, you’ll be able to know a little more about one of the rising stars of the mashup scene. Things get a little goofy sometimes, but it’s only because he’s the first interview to insist on snorting coke off a hooker while answering questions.
I’m just kidding. He found that disgusting and distasteful so we slit her throat.
He brings 4 artists together at once.
His wife is actually a Lady, and scandal keeps him from being a Lord.
He is the SMASH ROBOT known as Bobby Martini, and we were damn lucky to get him.
Thanks, Bobby!
First of all, we must confirm your downness with a three-pronged series of opening questions, Robert. And, per usual, if you cheat to find out the answers, we will feel it instinctually and will launch a smear campaign against you so vicious it will make Dick Cheney weep and ask for leiniency on your behalf.
1) True or false : you don’t see nuthin’ wrong with a little bump n’ grind.
Well, that all depends on who does the bumping and grinding, doesn’t it?? I know R. Kelly doesn’t mind but thats just his opinion.
2) And now, for the short essay portion of the quiz–in 15 words or less, describe the breaks.
Easter, Xmas, Thanksgiving - a blow for Kurtis as he never gets time off.
3) Lisa Lisa : Cult Jam :: JJ Fad :
Tricky this one. I think this is a firm of lawyers I used once. Got me off with a suspended sentence (which was nice). Could have had something to do with an Arabian Prince but I could be wrong (my memory isn’t what it was you know).
Two out of 3–Tricky was in Massive Attack and not JJ Fad. Please confirm or deny rumors your birth name is actually Robert Martinovich and you are a descendent of the Cosmpolitans.
I can’t really say anything without my solicitor but I can confirm that my full name is Roberto Horatio Martini III, former business and performing partner of Sammy Vodka (RIP) with whom I had a succesful cabaret show in both Blackpool, UK and Las Vegas. US 
How is/was the scene in the UK different from the scene here in the US?
Obviously the scene is bigger, and probably always will be in the US. I think we could benefit from more radio support in the UK. There are a few DJ’s playing mashups and remixes on stations like XFM but we need more. I know Sirius has played my work in the US and I wish more digital radio stations in the UK would play more bootlegs - I guess they’re a bit worried about the repurcussions, I don’t know. The mashup scene in the UK was quite a bit bigger 2-3 years ago but really died down after that. It’s a real shame that Mark Vidler’s ‘Mashed’ album didn’t do better. I know he put in a lot of work into it and it would have been great for the whole scene if it had really done well.
If there is one piece of advice you can give aspiring mashuppers, what is it?
Don’t spend a fortune on software unless you have tried mashing on something free like Audacity (other great software available I’m sure). Just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean you will be any good. If I bought a Bentley it wouldn’t improve my driving! Oh, and one other point - for christ sake don’t take any notice of key matching software/features - if you can’t tell if it’s in tune with your own ears, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
It’s obvious by your site you love Peter Gabriel; who’s your 2nd favorite artist?
That’s a great question, I don’t think I’ve read an interview where someone has asked who their 2nd fave artist is - superb !!!!! Well, I’m a bit of a closet ‘Bluegrass’ fan for years - no, really, I am. I think its the fact I watched ‘Deliverance’ about 50 times on video as a kid that started it. Plus the pure musicianship that some of these guys have is remarkable. In view of this I would have to say my second fave artist is ‘Alison Krauss and Union Station’. Strange choice you may think but I have a very eclectic taste. That woman can play a fiddle, let me tell you and some of the guys like Dan Tyminski, Ron Block and Jerry Douglass in Union Station are just amazing performers. Also, Alison Kruass’ voice is like that of an angel. I don’t think I have ever heard anyone sing so pitch perfect live ever. I wish I could get hold of some acappella’s of her but I suppose that’s going to be pretty unlikely. I think the scene could benefit from a few ‘bluegrass mashups’ !! I just want to mention one other person that could overtake Ms Krauss though and that’s Nerina Pallot - Britains best kept secret ‘talent wise’ for years. Love her work big time and again would like to mash some of her tracks. She’s nearly my second favourite, nearly….
And now, a few words about your friends and contemporaries–Cheekyboy.
One of my all time faves. Master ‘pella ripper. Outstanding bootlegger.
Go Home Productions
Who ? LOL. Created one of the best mashups ever “Paperback Believer” - simple, yet awesome on so many levels (the mashup, not Mark !)
Colatron
This guy is the one to watch - seriously.
Party Ben
Fantastic live sets. Hard to beat.
Scotty Johnson
Fuck me - he’s the guvnor isn’t he. The Godfather of mashup podcasts, if you will. Love this man ! I don’t know anyone else knocking out a show featuring so much top, varied work, from so many different artists, week after week. I think he has no life, in fact I KNOW it !!!! LOL
2 Many DJs
One of the first ‘albums’ to be put on the old mp3 player and still there to this day - awesome.
Copycat
He’s the daddy - he really is now. Top man. Great bootlegger and all round clever bastard.
Give the home reader of the Isle a little bite-sized biography of your life and times.
Born in the UK in 1970. Raised on big band music and learnt the drums from the age of 5. Became a huge fan of 30’s & 40’s Big bands like Ambrose & His Orchestra, Duke Ellington and Glen Miller. First record I bought was Tubular Bells, followed by Saturday Night Fever. Joined a number a of bands in the mid 80’s mainly playing keyboards but soon became front man/lead singer. Last band left bitter taste in mouth, mainly due to the different influences of the band members. For example : I was into a lot of 80’s soul Alexander O’neal, Joyce Sims, Earth Wind & Fire as well as Peter Gabriel, Genesis etc whilst our main songwriter was heavily still into the new romantic groups such as Japan & Bauhaus. Our lead guitarist was a big time Athraxx fan. You can imagine the sound we were churning out, can’t you?
After the band split in ‘93 I decided to go back to my ‘roots’ as it were and imerse myself into the cheesy world of lounge music. Re-stocked my collection of Burt Bacharach, Martin Denny, and Les Baxter (to name but a few) from vinyl to CD and became a loungecore DJ for a few years gigging under a false name.
Met a wonderful woman, bought a house, settled down, got married. Been happy ever since. Tried my hand at a bit of comedy writing, had an accident, laid up for a while, got bored, tried my hand at mashups. Here we are now!
What was the first mashup that you ever heard? Were you hooked instantly?
I’m ashamed to say that I was very late in the day catching on to the mashup scene. First one I saw/heard was on the UK satellite channel Q (jukebox channel) where they used to have a slot called ‘Q Mix’. ‘Eminem vs Britney’ and ‘Shakira vs Bee Gees vs Britney’ are two that spring to mind and I was completely blown away. I was always on the lookout for more after that but never even thought about doing it myself. In 2005 I came across a mash/mix by Diffusion called ‘Bargain Hunt Booty’ that really appealed to my sense of humour. I checked out his other work and loved it. Soon came to realise that he was also a bloody good remixer as well as a funny guy. Anyway, a friend of mine told me about Mashuptown and I checked it out.
What first made you think “Hey, I can do this!”?
Probably after I downloaded some software (I think it was Audacity?) and after playing about and doing some stupid mashups (that will probably never see the light of day) I realised I could create something pretty cool. The first one was ‘Kill Bill In The Air Tonight’ (recently tweaked by the way so pop along to the website everybody and check it out !!!) followed by Christina vs Michael Jackson [”Ain’t No Other Man Till You Get Enough”] and Pink vs Evelyn ‘Champagne’ King [”Pink Champagne”].
Who were/are you using for guidance as sort of a hero-worship figure in the scene?
Nobody - Hero worship is only worthy of someone who can make a serious difference to the world like curing cancer, ending world poverty or stopping cruelty to children and animals. As good as a lot of people are in the mashup scene, I don’t think any of us have managed that yet ! I’ve always done my own thing. I’ve never tried to copy anyone’s style - I think that would be a huge mistake.
What sort of reaction are you looking to get from your mashes?
Mmmmmmm………difficult to say really…….just a positive one I suppose. Sometimes when I’m doing a mash I’m very conscious of doing the original track justice. Case in point was my recent ‘Four by 4′ mashup which mashed Depeche Mode against Pussycat Dolls. My main concern when doing that mash was that Scotty Johnson would like it !!! He’s probably the biggest DM fan around and for a lot of fans a fusion between them and PCD is sacrilege. He loved it, thought it was my best work to date so that was cool - and a relief. I’ve always done my mashups initially for me and me alone. My wife suggested doing a website, so I did. My website work reflects my musical tastes, preferences and artists I admire. If people like my work - great, if not - fuck ‘em !
What differentiates a good mashup from a great mashup?
That’s such a hard question because it’s all down to personal taste. Some would say it’s when a mash combines songs/styles from completely different genres. If I were to mash Aphex Twin with Sarah Brightman then that might be someone’s cup of tea big time - others may hate it. A lot of people like the glitch pop style. I’m not a huge fan, I’m not knocking it at all, it’s bloody clever but it’s just not me, but a lot prefer this type of mashup and probably wouldn’t care for most of mine which, on the whole, usually feature only 2 different tracks. For me, a great mashup one that has a nice, clean sound and completely and utterly turns both tracks on their heads and the end result is a song that could easily stand on it’s own - even as a single release. I’m not going to give any examples but plenty of people have done this - in my opinion.
So when is the Sarah Brightman vs. Aphex Twin coming out?
I’m saving it for my Christmas Special album “Hymns & Hers”
Anyway, you said you started off with what are in my mind, two of the best mashes to date–Ain’t No Other Man ‘Til You Get Enough & Pink Champagne, so I want to start there and do a little discography. What made you pick the relatively unused tracks of “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and “Shame” to put against these contemporary mashup standards?
I can’t take credit for the “Don’t Stop” choice. That was my wife’s suggestion. I had the Christina pella and was struggling with a match. My wife said out of the blue, ‘you know what will go with that, Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’ - she was right ! I think it hasn’t been used much because it doesn’t have a lot of instrumentation available for the verse, which makes it hard to mash. Loads of Karaoke versions to pick from but they are all dire. An enjoyable mash to do and I still think it stands up well today.
With ‘Shame’, that was easy. It’s such a fantastic track and I had been wanting to mash it for while. Loads of instrumental bits to use and, as by complete luck, my mp3 player was on shuffle and played ‘Shame’ & then ‘Get the Party Started’ - lightbulb went on - voila !
“Since U Been Song 2″–another classic. I have a theory this is inspired by Kelly’s jumping up and down during the chrous bringing back memories of jumping up and down to the Blur track–false? True?
False(ish) - Again, that was easy. I don’t know why but when I first heard ‘Since U Been Gone’ it immediately reminded me of ‘Song 2′ and I was surprised no-one else had mashed them. For some strange, spooky, reason though, this was technically a very hard mashup to produce as the software I was using developed a very noticable clicking noise caused (with no explanation) by Kelly’s pella. The exact same thing happened recently with my Girls Aloud v Kelly Clarkson mash and , in both cases, I had to start from scratch again. Perhaps, Kelly’s trying to tell me something ????
ToToM put Nelly Furtado against herself to some decent effect in the past years–you used a more upbeat track in Shakira & Wyclef’s “Hips Don’t Lie”. Did you have the “Promiscuous” a capella and wondered what you could do uniquely with it apart from all the other booters out there?
If I am trying to do something with a particular pella or instrumental I make a real effort to NOT listen to anything new that somebody else has done with that piece if I can help it. I don’t want to be influenced in any way. I hadn’t heard anybody elses ‘Promiscuous’ mashups, but the Shakira track was not the first choice, it was an old Will Smith/Jazzy Jeff track (can’t remember which one). It just wasn’t gelling like I wanted it to but I came across the Shakira instrumental and just tried it quickly and it worked really well.
“Wicked Because Of You”–you take a depressing Kelly Clarkson song about her childhood and take what had been a beautiful song in “Wicked Game” and throw it together in a real tear-jerker. I think it’s one of your most slept-on tracks and yet every time I hear it I die a little inside. So: why do you hate laughter?
Haha - I’m quite a depressive person some times. Actually, that’s not quite true - I’m probably more melancholy than depressive but I like to break away from the dance mashes now and again and try and do something a little different. I did the same thing recently with ‘Easily Hurt’ - if you listen to Lionel’s lyrics, they are just to sad for that very cheery, feel-good tune. I wanted to depress it down a bit LOL - Anyway, you reckon I hate laughter - you haven’t checked out my ‘Eminem vs Theme from Pot Black’ yet, have you !!!!
And why is it every single Kelly Clarkson single just fits into just about every mash of her I’ve ever heard? It’s like bootleggers are Scouts and you all have to get Clarkson badges or you’re stuck in Weebalos.
Trust me, her pellas don’t fit just anything. I have about 10 aborted mashups that I started of hers because they go tits-up big time at the chorus. Shame really, because I had a really good mashup between her and Talk Talk that would have been a blinder……but it wasn’t !
To date I have my Clarkson badge…..I also have my Gabriel, Pussycat Dolls and Furtado badge but I still have to work for my Beastie Boys medal !
You mentioned your wife was a partial inspiration behind Ain’t No Other Man Till You Get Enough; is Lady Martini behind any of the other songs you’ve put out?
Yeah - ‘Professional Milkshake’ - I had the pella and was pulling my hair out trying to find a good match when the good Lady herself suggested ‘Professional Widdow’ and she was, as usual correct. I had an email from a girl in Holland the other week to tell me that the video (available on my website, thanks to Wadsworth) was played at a Beyonce concert she attended - which was cool.
Shout Beep–seriously, what the fuck, man?
Seemed like a natural choice to be honest. I had previously mashed PCD with The Human League and thought another 80’s mash was called for. ‘Shout’ is an anthem, all about expression, free speech. ‘Beep’, with the beeps all the way through it, is a metaphor for censorship, so the contrast of the two was perfect. Actually - thats all a load of bollocks, the pella fit the tune - end of.
Lately, with the past few mashups, you’ve gone from doing A + B to A + B + C + D. Is there any specific reason for this or are you just deciding there are elements that absolutely have to be in the song?
With ‘Four by 4′ the initial song featured just the Depeche Mode pella and the PCD instrumental and sounded good but needed filling. The Ultra Nate riff fitted really well and the mash was done but it still needed that ’something’ and that ’something’ was originally just going to be the rap part of ‘Feel Good Inc’ but the rest flowed well, so I added it and finished it. It was the biggest pain in the arse mash I have done because it took ages and I was sick of hearing it by the time it was done. Scott Johnson liked it, though, and I didn’t want to dissapoint the Worlds Biggest DM fan !!
With ‘Chemical Brothers Get Stoned With Spears’ the same thing applies. Joss Stone and CB were done and dusted but I wasn’t 100% happy. I added Britney at the last minute and I think it’s really improved the mash - big time. My next few mashes are pretty much A+B’s again but the odd one of two might feature more. For example I have just completed Timbaland v Kelis v Tears for Fears and it works a treat.
Imagine the scene: for the first time in his history, Bobby Martini rocks the scene at Bootie LA. Yours truly is there. You have the standard hour set–but you can only play ONE of your tracks! (dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn) Question: which track in your discography do you pick to play and sub-question: what does the setlist look like in total?
No! I know you are taking the piss!!!! OK, I’ll play along.
The track I would choose would be ‘Toxic Starlight’ for the following reasons : It’s one of my first and it still stands up really well today. I still get feedback from people about it and I was recently contacted by Guillame from The Supermen Lovers to say how much he liked it - which was extremely fucking cool !
With regard to the rest of the set……..mmmmmmmm……that’s really hard because I have som many on the old hard drive and it’s difficult to choose because my faves change from week to week but here is a rough list :
Creasos - Clocks Bitch 2006
Cheekyboy - Bodyrockers vs Oakenfold & Brittany Murphy
DJ Schmolli - Don’t Cha Want My Milkshake
Supakon - With Love Through The Grapevine
Ben Double M - It’s Not Right But It’s The Legacy
Mighty Mike - Sunshine Starlight
Voicedude - I Love California
Copycat - Fade To Pretty Vacant
Divide & Kreate - Not My Song
Simon Iddol - Sympathy for the Eastern Sugar (loving this one at the moment)
Ben Double M - Salvador Senorita
DJ Schmolli - She Works Hard for the Cash
As you can see, an eclectic mix. Not thought out very well and probably not in that order. I have, no doubt, pleased some people and really pissed off others - sorry about that. Those are the tracks I’m listening to a lot a at the moment and I really think they are good !!
What tracks do you have in the works? Can you divulge for the Island listener?
1 x EP featuring all new Peter Gabriel works (may turn into an album, just have to wait and see)2 x Albums (both a long way off but on the way) More mashes including the following artists : Nelly Furtado, Madonna, Alan Parsons Project, Marvin Gaye, Timbaland, Cameo, Jamelia, Hilary Duff, David Byrne, Chicane and others.
MEA CULPA! Bobby Martini, the rest of the interview is yours–plug whatever you’d like. Rant about whatever you like. And thank you.
I just want to say a few things……firstly, anyone out there stealing other people’s mashups and calling them your own - stop it you wankers! This includes radio stations - you know who you are !!!Secondly, if you like someone’s work, tell them. I really enjoy getting emails from people saying they dig what I do - it makes it worthwhile. Most of us bootleggers do it for nothing so pay us in comments pleaseeeeee !!!!
DJ AXEL (6.14.07)
Before we begin, I want to thank everyone for the overwhelmingly positive response to the Scotty Johnson interview.I was beyond thrilled to get to follow that interview of someone I admire with a second one. You might know his work if you’ve been to Bootie LA. You surely have seen his work mentioned here on the Island. And you definitely know him if you heard somebody groan at the movie theatre last year during the LINE OF THE YEAR. (Sorry, Peter.)
Possible superhero.
Definite Renaissance man.
Ladies and gentlemen–DJ Axel.
And now, to confirm your badassery–a three-level old school knowledge test! You must fill in the blanks to pass the bridge or the rabbit will get you. Or something like that.
And don’t cheat! I will feel the lie.
LEVEL ONE: Ain’t nuthin’ but a G thang –
Baby,__Death Row is the label that pays me, unfadeable so please don’t try to fade me….might be missing a line there (point. I guess. ”Two loc’ed out Gs so we craaaaaaaaaazaaaaaaay”, btw.)
LEVEL TWO: You see, the S is for super and the U is for unique –
The p is for perfection and you know that we are freaks, the e is for exotic and the r is for raps so tell those nosey people just to stay the hell back (point)
LEVEL THREE: I just thought having a friend couldn’t be no crime/’Cause I got friends, and that’s a fact/like ____________, ____________, _______________, and __________________
….that’s a tough one. I’m guessing Biz Markie…You, you got what I neeeed, but you say he’s just a friend….If that’s wrong .my second guess would be Whodini. (Agnes, Agatha, Jermaine, and Jack. Though he did know it’s Biz, so a half point.)
So, you work for New Line Records. NLR did the work on the Sounds’ awesome Dying to Say This To You and Albert Hammond Jr’s solo album. Just how much say do you get in what artists work for the label?
I do finance for NLR, so I crunch the numbers and recommend artists that I think will sell.
What’re some of the good and bad extremes in helping to get music out for movie soundtracks?
When the movie’s a hit the soundtrack benefits from the buzz. But if the movie’s a flop, the soundtrack suffers no matter how good it is.
You have two degrees, one from Michigan and one from USC. This is a must-know–who has better cheerleaders?
Definitely USC. It’s hard to be a hottie when it’s 10 degrees below freezing.
In all seriousness, what sort of culture shock did you experience going from Ann Arbor to London to Los Angeles?
You forgot Chicago and San Francisco. But London’s where I paid my dues as a starving drummer. I used to lug my drums onto the tube to get to gigs.
You do these mashups mostly at night, with a responsible job by day. I will only ask this once. Are you or are you not a superhero?
I’m a mild mannered finance guy by day and a crazy mashup DJ by night. I’ve been considering putting on tights and fighting crime, but I’d rather sit on the couch and smoke a jay.
What projects does NLR have coming out in the near future? Can you name drop some of the artists that’re going to be on the soundtracks?
Our biggest project this year is the soundtrack for Hairspray, the movie version of the broadway musical. It’s actually a really good movie…and I don’t usually say that about New Line films (did someone say Snakes on a Motherfuckin’ Plane?) It’s got John Travolta…in drag, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeifer and Zac Efron. We’re also putting out a new album in the fall from Chicago band Office. They’re one of my favorite bands on the label…watch out for ‘em.
Out of all the places you’ve lived, which one would you pick to stay in for the rest of your life?
That’s tough to say. I love Chicago but it’s too cold AND too hot. LA’s got great weather but the scene is kinda cheesy. I could live in San Francisco or London indefinitely, but I’d have to be rolling in money so I could live large.
When and where did you hear your first mashup? Were mashups something you grew into or were you hooked instantly? When did mashups go from being something you heard to something you wanted to do? What was the first one you personally ever cobbled together? Who was your Yoda figure for guidance (in person or just audially) in giving you a guiding light on how to do the work?
When I worked at OM Records in San Francisco we had Ming & FS on our roster. They put on one of the sickest two person turntablist shows I’ve ever seen. They did a lot of live mashups in their set, but it was their mix of Dre and Snoop’s Next Episode acapella over Roni Size’s drum&bass anthem Brown Paper Bag that really got me interested in mashups.
In London and San Francisco people go to see a DJ to hear new and different music. At the big clubs in LA most people just wanna hear the songs they heard on the radio on the drive to the club, which can be pretty frustrating. So I thought it would be cool to mashup the radio hits, that way the dancefloor would be happy and I’d have more creative input into my set.
So the first mashup I ever made was back in 2001, Without Billie Jean (Eminem vs Michael Jackson). I recorded it live on two Technics 1200’s and a CDJ. I looped the Billie Jean bassline on the CDJ and had Eminem’s acapella and MJ’s Billie Jean on the 2 Technics. I recorded Snoop & Dre vs Stevie Wonder (Snooperstition) the same way. Those were my first two mashups. They were both popular on the dancefloors but when I told my brother, who’s a film editor, that I recorded them live he just laughed at me. That started me down the Pro Tools path.
Do you have a problem explaining mashes to people who’ve never heard them before? What sort of reaction do you usually get from there?
It’s not too hard to explain. I just tell them it’s combining 2 or more songs into one. If they’re unfamiliar with the genre, that usually gets them interested.
In your eyes, what makes a good mashup?
I have really broad musical tastes so it’s hard to say what makes a good mashup. But I can tell you what makes a bad mashup…trainwrecks. The songs have to work and sound good together. Even the smallest trainwreck of beats or keys will ruin a mashup and make it sound forced.
Here we go–the DJ Axel top 5 mashups ever so far in the history of the universe. Imagine a world in which you are on the Rinse again, or you’re doing my birthday party, or you’re the first DJ to work at Lindsay’s Welcome Back From Rehab party.
The history of the universe!? I don’t know about that. But here’s five mashups I currently like to spin. These are guaranteed to add extra kick to the key bump Lindsay just took in the bathroom:
- Arty Fufkin – Janes Addiction vs Beastie Boys (”Been Caught Stealing Your Rump”)
- Oli Clifford – INXS vs Les Rhythm Digitales
- DJ John – It Takes Two to Kiss (Prince vs. Rob Base & DJ EZ-Rock, primarily)
- Lionel Vinyl – Yes vs Sir Mixalot (”Owner Of A Lonely Butt”)
- DJ Godzilla – Rick James vs LCD Soundsystem
We all know there are certain songs that just have it; for a lack of a better term, the “awwwwwwwwwwww SHIT!” factor. The thing kicks in, you’re reacting before you’re thinking, and then all of a sudden the nine shots of Goose in you have you thinking why of course you should breakdance, it’s been entirely too long!
…in theory.
What songs do that for you, where you hear them and the rest of the world is just fucking over?
Pretty much any track by James Brown gets me moving. When I play drums I always warm up with the Funky Drummer….the funkiest motherfuckin’ beat of all time!!
And now, the whole reason why I wanted this interview–let’s big you up a little bit. You put out “Breakin’ The Law”, which people can get through you. It’s a career retrospective. When did the idea of first putting together an album of your work start percolating?
I actually planned on putting out a ten track mashup album around 2005….it took 2 years for me to get my shit together. But I made 5 new tracks in the meantime.
Are there any mashes that you held in abeyance?
No. All my mashups are on the album, but I do have some half-baked ideas in the works.
You mentioned your diverse taste, and it shows on the album. You have Peggy Lee, Motley Crue, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Van Halen against some classic hip-hop tracks. Do you find yourself regularly listening to older songs and just singing tracks over the top of them and then the light bulb goes off?
I listen to music for rhythm first. I hear a familiar drum beat and work up from there.
I wanted to get more in depth about some of my favorite tracks, if you’ll indulge me. What was the story behind “Lil’ Brick House”?
I DJ’d a bunch of weddings and “Brick House” is almost mandatory…but it does fill the dancefloor. My goal was to tweak the song for clubs and make it more fun to spin at weddings.
You have the obligatory GnR track–3 Jay-Z samples over “Paradise City” in “Guns N’ Hovas”. Do you think “Paradise City” is just one of those Gots To Have instrumentals any mashup maker needs in their toolbox?
“Paradise City” is a legendary riff…it can’t be denied.
The track from your album that’s gotten the biggest reaction from when I’ve played it is “Push It Fergasonic”. I played it and one of my friends looked at me accusingly afterwards and went “Does this mean I like Fergie now?” So–two questions. One, why is Fergie so reviled but her singles seem to make such excellent mashup fodder? Two–what made you lay Fergalicious over both “Push It” and “Supersonic”, since both songs get used solo during the track and it seems like it would’ve worked as a straight A plus B track?
My friend Genevieve suggested Fergie vs JJ Fad while I was spinning at a party. The songs are so similar that Fergie even lifts some JJ Fad rhymes. It was too obvious, so I threw in Salt N’ Pepa to make it more fun.
Finally finally, “Could You Kick, Push & Be Loved?” is probably my favorite mashup this year so far. I just wanted to know if you had considered any other tracks before you decided on “Kick, Push” and if you did what the editing process was like.
Wow, thanks for the compliment. Lupe’s gotta cool, chill flow that vibes well with Bob Marley. He was my first choice. And James Brown makes the track funky.
And now, we close out the interview with a new part of Behind The Scene–Mea Culpa, in which we let you close out the interview by plugging everything and anything you want. So, DJ Axel, if this interview got people interested in your work, why, whatever should they doooo?
Book me to DJ your parties, festivals, clubs….and whatever else at axel@djaxel.com.
SCOTTY JOHNSON (5.29.07)
Here at the Island, the music is important. But of course, you couldn’t have music without people. So in addition to our usual coverage, we present this first installment of what we hope grows into a recurring element here–interviews with people in the scene. If you are involved with the mashup scene and interested in taking part in an interview, please contact me. Don’t make me hunt you down.
*shakes fist*
Why don’t you give a little mini biography of yourself for those who aren’t up on the glory of the Ramdom Thoughts podcast?
I’m based in Essex within the UK. I’m in full-time employment as a Civil Servant and work in Central London. I’m a massive podcast fan. At present, I am subscribed to over 70 podcasts in iTunes. It ranges from tech, Apple, mashups, remixes and entertainment shows (audio & video).
Do you have a musical background yourself?
I don’t have any sort of musical background really. I can play the keyboards though.
Why is your favorite artist Depeche Mode and not a good band like, you know, the Dave Clark Five or Rick Astley?
I’ve been into Depeche Mode since 1990, and I just love the way they evolve with each album they release, plus they are still on an independent label (Mute) and have been going for over 25 years. They also originate from Basildon, Essex, UK which is literally only about 10 miles from where I currently live. And of course - most importantly - I love their music.
When and where did you hear your first mashup? Were mashups something you grew into or were you hooked instantly?
I heard my first mashup on a commerically released album that was released here in the UK in 2004 (I forget now what it was called), and was pretty much hooked. I then started searching the internet for mashups, and then when podcasting came along - I was totally hooked.
How is/was the scene in the UK different from the scene here in the US?
I have no idea what the scene is like in the US, so I can’t compare it to the UK. I get the impression that the mashup scene is stronger in the US, but it is picking up in the UK, and we do have the odd clubs where they have a mashup event.
Do you have a problem explaining mashes to people who’ve never heard them before? What sort of reaction do you usually get from there?
I don’t have a problem explaining what a mashup is to people, but they sometimes have trouble understanding. Normally, once you play a mashup for someone, and then explain the tracks used - they are pretty blown away that someone would do that with say 2,3, 4 tracks to make one mashup track.
In your eyes, what makes a good mashup?