"The Infectious Spread of Mashup Music and Video"
Posting by Staff
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 August 10, 2007
In it's typical form, mashups are generally the combining of the acapella vocals from one song with the music of another. The most popular mashup in the US was 2004's "The Grey Album", created by DJ Danger Mouse, using the vocals from Jay Z's "The Black Album" with the music from The Beatles' "White Album". Mashups have become a widespread phenomenon as audio/video editing and P2P software have made music and video downloading, mixing and manipulation much easier.
For 5 years Eric Kleptone from the United Kingdom has produced several internet-only mashup albums, meshing hip-hop vocals, rock music and movie sound-bites. He has received critical acclaim for several of his releases, including his 2004, A Night at the Hip Hopera which combined the music of Queen with artists like Missy Elliot, KRS-One, Eminem, and Justin Timberlake. Mashups might also be seen as a measure of music consumer dissatisfaction. "Bedroom DJs" are utilizing software programs to combine less favored pop songs with alternate rhythm tracks, making them much more appealing to many listeners.
However, the art of mashing music has gone beyond simply combining two different songs. Artists such as 2 Many DJs have released albums incorporating traditional mashup tracks as well as remixes of popular songs. The Cleveland, Ohio USA performance duo, Ken Rei, prefers to call their style of music "found sound". Whereas, sound samples such as birds chirping, ratchet wrenches, and manipulated broken electronic music devices are sometimes blended with clips from movies, hip hop, funk or video game music.
The corporate music business arena has found it difficult to accept the creative and marketing potential of traditional mashup artists. Laura Tayoro of Universal France's marketing department , says "They're good for clubs - maybe the summer." She admits that many mashups are put together well but maintains that "everybody can do it, so it's not one of a kind." Nevertheless, the mashup trend, also known as bootlegs and bastard pop, has created a notable buzz. Events such as Bootie, San Francisco's monthly mashup parties have received substantial praise from many music publications. Check out Bootie's Aug. 11th, 4th anniversary party in San Francisco at bootiesf.com
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The newly released web application by MXPLAY allows users to easily mashup music and video found on the web. |
Osymyso, a notable mashup DJ whips up a blended song in under 5 hours with software from Steinberg. Computers have become an essential and inexpensive part of the music production process, and mashup artists are harnessing the potential of the computerized music revolution. Many audio software companies, such as Digidesign, Image-Line Software, and Twelve Tone Productions, that does business as Cakewalk, have been producing music production and recording tools since the mid 90's. Cakewalk's current Sonar product line offers music sequencing, recording, pre-made loops, effects, and virtual instruments as tools for the mashup hobbyist.
New technology has propagated the mashup genre, as it has become increasingly easier to take bits and pieces of songs and sounds to create a new composition. "Mashups are basically taking two songs and beat-matching them, or take bits and pieces of songs and mashing them together. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't", says DJ Randy Lee, an electronic and metal music blender in New York City.
Technology has now moved even further, allowing an increasing number of audio vs. video mashup compositions to flourish. A new web-based player from mxplay allows users to combine music from one site with video the from another site. One user mashed D.A.N.C.E. by the French electronic duo Justice, with the video of a small Indian boy enthusiastically exhibiting some stellar dance moves. Check it out at:
www.mxplay.com
The mashup possibilities are endless. The mxplay external player alerts users when music or video is available to be played from a website. As a special added bonus, the MXPLAY player adds a 3-dimensional signal processing interface, allowing users to move a human head and speakers around to simulate various listener environments. Get MXPLAY for free, and your mashup might become the next internet attraction.
Main story photo is taken from Bootie's monthly Los Angeles mashup party flyer. |
