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Depeche Mode - "Mercy In You" (The BRAT Mix)
:: iTunes (digital)
:: HMV UK online (UK XLCD single)
Depeche Mode - "Dream On" (The BRAT Mix)
:: iTunes (part of The Complete Depeche Mode "Rare, Deleted & Promo Only Remixes")
Mixes sub-navigation: DJ Sets :: Mashups :: Holiday Mixes :: Released Mixes
Mash ups. Take the instrumental track of one artist, and add the acapella track of another artist, and make a new song. Well...that is the simple explanation...
"Mash ups" are not new. I have been doing them since the early 80's. Hip Hop DJ's have done this ("blends") for decades as well. It's only lately that this genre has exploded (with the help, of course, of the internet).
OBLIGATORY LEGAL DISCLAIMER: None of the following mixes were commissioned by the artists listed below. They were created without permission from the artists below. These mixes are free promotional samples of my work, and are supplied free to the visitors of this site. If any legal copyright holder has a problem with the inclusion of any of the following tracks, please do not hesitate to contact me.
TRACKS:
Christina Aguilera - Ain't No Other Man (Acapella)
Robert Palmer - Simply Irresistible (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
It's been a while, hasn't it? Between work and (what barely qualifies as a) life, I've been too preoccupied to be creative. Well...no more! While taking a four hour break from my real job, I came up with this.
When I do these mashes, I usually just have the acapella cued up in Pro Tools, and I will pull all my instrumentals (vinyl, CD, et cetera), and just keep playing the instrumentals until I find one that matches (within acceptable range). This one almost scared me. These tracks should not work this well!
It's rather straight-forward. A plus B (acapella, plus instrumental), but I did have some fun in the break. On the Palmer instrumental mix, there is actually a drum breakdown, so I took that for this mashup breakdown, and had some fun going "glitch pop" with it (as well as throwing some of the original horn stabs from the Aguilera track).
You are going to find yourself playing this more than you will care to admit. Sorry, in advance. :)
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TRACKS:
Billy Joel - Big Shot (Acapella)
Jay-Z - Big Pimpin (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
After a nice romantic weekend with the woman in San Diego, we were heading back to L.A. when I took a sidetrip to a fun little shop in Encinitas called "Lou's Records". They had something I've been searching for. Billy Joel SACD's!
This was a hard one to find a compatible song for. I finally pulled my Jay-Z 12", and found the keys and tempo were too similar to pass up. Plus, it gave me an excuse to make Billy Joel cuss in a rap style (see the second chorus). :)
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TRACKS:
Maroon 5 - This Love (Acapella)
A Tribe Called Quest - Award Tour (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
Maroon 5 have a perfect example of a pop song. It's catchy, it sticks in your head, and it drives you insane. I decided that since I couldn't get the words out of my head, I had to change the music a bit. I hope you enjoy the result.
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TRACKS:
Beastie Boys - Hold It Now, Hit It (Acapella)
Jay-Z - 99 Problems (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
Before I went to the September 11th Beastie Boys show in San Diego, I decided to make a quick car CD. I needed something fresh to start off the CD, so I whipped this up.
Searching the message board at the Beastie Boys web site I found that a DJ named Green Lantern already did a mix of these two songs (albeit not the full song). "Cheap Cologne", another board member, also mentioned that he had done a mashup as well. I thought I had an original idea (especially with the Rick Rubin connection between the two tracks). Oh well - I'm still putting it on the site. Enjoy! :)
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TRACKS:
Depeche Mode - Dream On (Acapella)
The Romantics - Talking In Your Sleep (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
You ever get to a point in the day where you say "screw it - I need a break"? (Un)fortunately for you, I had one of those moments a few days back. :)
The day before my "break moment", I went to Amoeba Music here in L.A. with my friend Chris. While there, I found the 12" of The Romantics' "Talking In Your Sleep", which (to my surprise) had an instrumental version on it. Even though Chris was mocking me for buying it (and Hall & Oates' "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" 12"), I knew it would pay off for mashup fun.
I usually shy away from using any Depeche Mode elements in my mashups, simply because - well - I work for the band. I even did an official, released remix of "Dream On" (the other song in this mashup), so I would definitely (normally) shy away from using "Dream On" in a mashup. I figured there would be a conflict of interest. But - there was a workaround for this. "Dream On" was used in a remix contest on AcidPlanet. There are hundreds of fan mixes of this song floating around the net, and some sites are even illegally hosting all the remix elements (AcidPlanet took the parts off of their web site years ago). So, all I did was download the AcidPlanet acapella loops, and use those (instead of the proper parts the label supplied me when I did the remix). There ya go. Dilemma solved!
I consider this, by far, the funniest mashup I've done. Check the middle break. You have to love how Dave Gahan's vocals compliment the vocal line from The Romantics. ;)
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TRACKS:
The Beatles - Baby, You're A Rich Man (Acapella)
All Saints - Pure Shores (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
This mix:
(a) is evil - kill it! kill it! send it back to hell.
(b) should not be this good.
(c) was made by a mentally ill person.
I mean, seriously. Who thinks of The Beatles, and within the same day (let alone the same breath) thinks of All Saints?
I have a cool William Orbit promotional publishing compilation (I am a huge William Orbit fan - the man is a musical genius). On the compilation was the instrumental version of the All Saints song "Pure Shores" (you know - that track from the movie "The Beach"). Combine that with the acapella of the Beatles classic "Baby, You're A Rich Man" (acquired from the center channel of the "Anthology" DVD - thanks Abbey Road mastering department), and you get this mix. Enjoy!
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TRACKS:
Missy Elliot - Lick Shots (Acapella)
Charlatans U.K. - Nice Acre Dust (Chemical Brothers Mix) (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
When I first saw the video for "Get Your Freak On", I noticed the extra song at the end of the video ("Lick Shots"). Immediately, I was wishing I had an acapella. A few months later, $3.00, and some promo CD bin digging got me that acapella.
As is usually the case when I mess with a track like this, I usually grab whatever is around the stereo, and try that first. More often than not, it is usually the best track. This time, it was a Chemical Brothers remix of a Charlatans U.K. track. I also did some serious digital manipulation to Missy's vocal line. Fun times!
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TRACKS:
The Beatles - Lady Madonna (Acapella)
Paul McCartney - Say Say Say (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
Chris Carter (host of "Breakfast With The Beatles") asked if I wanted to do a mash-up for his show. I decided to make both songs Beatles related (thought it might fit better on the show). Digging through my collection, I found my "Say Say Say" 12" single (with Instrumental), and ripped my Anthology DVD for the acapella of "Lady Madonna". Some pitching, some time-expanding, and some editing, and you get this mash up, which works on an almost scary level.
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TRACKS:
David Bowie - New Killer Star (Acapella)
David Bowie - Let's Dance (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
David Bowie has a Mash Up contest. Mash one of his old songs up with one of his new tracks from his album "Reality", and get a chance to win an Audi TT. The catch? You have to work from the released materials. There are no separate parts given out (acapella, et cetera).
I managed to get an acapella of the entire album (legally - bought it on Amazon!). Hint: think "special format" disc. I mashed up "New Killer Star" and "Let's Dance". I time expanded David. I re-tuned him (word by word) to have "New Killer Star" match "Let's Dance". I re-edited his vocals to match the flow of "Let's Dance". Simply stated, I put time into this. This (RealAudio link) is what the judges picked.
Granted, I might have a biased opinion on this, but I thought I had this thing in the bag. Oh well.
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TRACKS:
Christina Aguilera - Genie In A Bottle (Acapella)
The Prodigy - Smack My Bitch Up (DJ Hype Remix) (Instrumental)
DESCRIPTION:
Back when I worked at Groove Radio (dot com), I did a lot of the production work at the station (ID's, jingles, mixes, edits, et cetera), while also hosting my own show. I tagged along one day (back in February 2000) with Swedish Egil as he went shopping for the station at Virgin Sunset.
Since I am always on the hunt for new acapella tracks, I was damn happy to find the acapella of "Genie In A Bottle" on the Christina Aguilera CD single. I had Egil buy it, ran home, and searched for the perfect beats to throw under Christina. Enter The Prodigy.
Not only did this little mashup get a lot of requests during my show, but it was actually added to the playlist! Pretty good for a little hack / mashup. :)
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