Film School Remix Review Roundup

My Film School remix has made its way around the interwebz, and the feedback has been delightful! Thanks to everyone who checked it out and was kind enough to write something nice about it. And if you still haven’t heard it yourself, stream it above and/or download to the right…

Here’s the recap:
Consequence of Sound
Afternoon Jams
The Audioperv “AW has done it again… We’ve featured Alan’s work before and it only seems to be getting better.”
Some Kind of Awesome
Cause=Time
Daily Beatz “As he so often does, he starts out by completely changing the beat of the song… A little harder with a little more grit and 8-bit, but the fantastic original still shines through loud and clear.”
A Heart is a Spade
Pasta Primavera “Old faithful aka Alan Wilkis aka “The” Man decides to end my week on a high note with his new remix of Film School which I was pumped about ever since he tweeted about working on it. Wilkis never fails to disappoint and keeps it up on this.”
Indie Music Filter “Continuing to be a ‘go-to’ remixer…”
Music Like Dirt
Free Indie
Above The Fold “One of our favorite remixers… Up to his old tricks.”
Kata Rokkar
Les Enfants Terribles “The uber-talented Alan Wilkis, shot us a copy of his latest work… I’m digging the percussion on this one.”
Nerdy Frames
Skeet Beatz “I’m really feeling this jam. Alan Wilkis kills it on this track.”
Parasites and Sycophants
Indie Here
Music for Perfect People “Brooklyn’s remix master”
The Pop Stereo
Site of Sound “Alan Wilkis kills it as always, I appreciate everything he does.”
JayeLAudio “AW takes great tracks and puts his own unique spin on them and tests your allegiance to the original… AW’s interpretation gets rid of everything except lead singer Greg Berten’s pained vocals and adds slowed synth and almost a slow clap to paint the angst of the lyrics.”
MAAMF “One of the great things about Alan Wilkis is that he doesn’t change tracks drastically. Instead, he adds to them, embellishes them. You can tell that it’s still that track by your fave band, but you can also tell that there’s someone else that has put their own distinct take on it.”
Heave Media
Dumb Bass
Gonzo’s Music-o-rama
Lyfstyl
Revenge of Rob Gordon

That’s it – BAM!

Love love love,
A

Add comment November 23rd, 2010

New AW Remix: Film School’s “Heart Full of Pentagons” and MTV

DOWNLOAD: “Heart Full of Pentagons (Alan Wilkis Remix)” – Film School

Howdy Friends!

It gives me great pleasure to unveil my latest official remix of Film School’s “Heart Full of Pentagons.” I’m a big fan of the band, and I was flattered when asked to work on this. In case you’re unfamiliar with them, Film School is a five-piece from California, and their latest release, “Fission,” is their fourth studio album. You can order a copy here on iTunes, and you can stream the original version of “Heart Full…” here.

As you know, whenever I remix a song, I like to lose everything from the original version except for the singer’s voice. I always like to start fresh and build a new recording around the voice from scratch… And without fail, my favorite part is always finding that initial point of entry. I strip out each piece of the original song one at a time, until something hooks me in and inspires me.

In the case of “Heart Full…,” what grabbed me instantly was the sense of urgency in the singer’s (Greg Bertens) voice, and his repeating of the lyric, “I won’t fall down…” It gave me this feeling of “me-against-the-world” and of standing up to something, so I ran with that. I juxtaposed walls of harsh noise against softer/sweeter synth and orchestral sounds later in the song to create a sense of tension and resolution through perseverance, as if Greg is fighting through and conquering something each time the song plays. Does that sorta make sense?

I hope you enjoy what I’ve done with it, and by all means please feel free to download, share, and distribute the MP3 freely if you like it! Thanks as always for listening, and stay tuned for more new music from me.

Much love,
A

Also, P.S. my Temper Trap remix got a great shout-out on MTV this week! The band’s drummer aptly referred to me as a “New York dude.”

Add comment November 6th, 2010