This past weekend, I properly switched from iTunes to Spotify, and I still won’t shut up about it. If you know me or follow me on Twitter (@AlanWilkis), you’d know that I’m constantly hunting for and devouring new music. And something about the ease, convenience, and available selection within Spotify has drummed up an excitement in me that I haven’t felt in years. Specifically, as I loaded up all this new stuff to listen to in Spotify, it was the closest I’d felt to when I used to go to the record store and blow all my money on a stack of CDs… and this got me excited… so much so that I felt compelled to write about it.
I also thought it would be a great opportunity to share my listening process with you. For the past several years, I have stuck to a few very strict and somewhat OCD rules for listening:
When I come across a new album or EP, I load it into a queue. I listen to each album 3 times, usually over the course of 1 to 2 weeks, and then I pretty much never listen to it again. I have found that 3 listens is just enough for me to take it all in. As I listen, I try to rate each song. By the iTunes 5-star rating system, I would give my favorite songs 5 stars, the decent songs 4 stars, and everything else, 3 stars or less… Though I so rarely come back to music once I’ve listened to it 3 times, I will ONLY come back to 5-star songs.
It ain’t perfect, but it works for me, and it has enabled me to digest a massive amount of new music, beyond a surface-level understanding and at a relatively fast rate.
Spotify doesn’t have quite as robust of a rating system – you can either favorite a song with a single star or not… But what it DOES have is wonderful social integration, and that’s got me super excited because I can finally share all this crazy awesome music that I’m always finding in such an easy way.
I’m going to continue starring things as I go, and then I’m going to share those findings in real-time in my public Spotify profile: AlanWilkis. And it may be a bit ambitious, but I’m going to try to publish my weekly or perhaps monthly favorites. You’ll be able to hear what I’ve been listening to and inspires me most, and maybe, just MAYBE, you’ll find some stuff you like, too…
Apologies for the recent radio silence… Been psychotically busy finishing up my new record! I won’t have anything to share with you quite yet, but I’m proud as hell of these new jamzzz.
Also been remixing up a storm, writing music for some films, and producing! The Project Jenny, Project Jenny album I co-produced is dropping momentarily – here’s the first single, “Nadine.” And another record I co-produced for The KickDrums should be out in late Spring/Summer via Last Gang Records (home to Chromeo, Tiga, Mother Mother, and many others).
Moving right along, I’m psyched to share my latest remix for the wonderful UK-based Fenech-Soler. I’ve been a fan of these guys for quite some time, ever since I heard them featured on Groove Armada’s “Paper Romance”. So you can probably imagine how thrilled I was to find one of my remixes on Fenech-Soler’s mixtape a while back!
A few months later, their label (B-Unique/Warner Music) came knocking on my door to remix their newest single, “Demons.” They then liked my remix so much that they pressed it on vinyl, along with another remix from Jokers of the Scene, which you can and should buy HERE. Also, Mark Ronson premiered it on his East Village Radio show! Not too shabby…
In a nutshell, here’s why I like Fenech-Soler: their production is subtle but extremely detailed, great arrangements and sound choices, amazing songwriters, and their singer’s (Ben Duffy) voice is ultra-powerful. As a remixer, it’s always a challenge to take a song that you already admire and respect, and turn it upside down, but I suppose that’s never stopped me in the past…
The only piece that I kept from the original recording was Ben’s vocal. I wrote and played all new synth, guitar, drum and bass parts. The original song is really uptempo and intense… so I cut the tempo in half and went after a much more laid back 90s R&B feel. Was channeling my inner-Timbaland, and was also pretty inspired by some of Raphael Saadiq’s guitar arrangements from “100-Yard-Dash” (he pretty much always inspires me). Also, check out my tom tom drum fills – they make me think of Phil Collins every time…
Ok enough talky talky, stream it here:
And I STRONGLY urge you to listen to the original afterwards, to see how far away I took it:
Hope you guys like this one… it’s one of my favorites that I’ve made, honestly.
In one week, The Temper Trap’s highly-anticipated “Conditions Remixed” album is coming out! You can stream the whole thing via their Soundcloud Page. I’m so proud to be involved with this project alongside so many talented folks – Peter Bjorn & John, Hervé, RUSKO, etc…
Which one’s your favorite? You don’t have to say mine, but you SHOULD!
Lots of exciting news over here in AW-land, by the way. Pluggin away on new recordings, two new remixes in the can, and just getting started on a third. Should have some goodies to share with you soon!
Pleased to present the second “Pink and Purple” remix – this one’s from Father Abraham, a top-notch Boston hip-hop emcee & producer extraordinaire. Abe is an old friend and a force to be reckoned with. He’s self-released several albums, and his current project, “52 Pickup,” is both impressive and borderline insane… The long-and-short of it is that he has set out to write, record, and produce a song a week for a year, which he then puts up for free download at his website www.52pickup.us. I believe he just released his 31st track…
Now, let me say that again… A SONG A WEEK FOR A YEAR, people… The scariest part is it’s all totally legit… SO MUCH hard work, creative juice, and determination needed to attack something like that. It actually reminds me in a way of Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois and Michigan albums from his 50 States Project – they both require a certain breed of meticulous/obsessive/ambitious human… Please visit 52 Pickup and download some tracks, see what Abe’s been cookin’ up!
And that brings me to today’s remix, “Pink and Purple (Father Abraham Black and Blue RMX),” (also the 28th installment at 52 Pickup). On it, Abe basically reworks the beat into an agressive hip-hop party jam, while slicing and dicing my vocals + synths, and then KILLS it on the mic… So cool.
Download it for FREE right here, and share it with your friends, tweet it, facebook it… Show some love & spread the word if you’re feeling it!!!
Any Phoenix lovers in the mix? I for one am a HUGE fan… have been for many years…
So you can imagine how thrilled I was when they posted the stems for remixers to their single, “1901,” from their upcoming release “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.” Naturally, I couldn’t resist slicing and dicing away at it…
You can download my remix for free by clicking this link:
Welcome to Wilcassettes, the home of everything Alan Wilkis. Alan is a Brooklyn-based music producer and remixer. His latest project is called "PRINTS" and can be found here: http://www.prints.fm
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