Listen to Interviews with Alex Gloworld, Sumkid, Suzen Juel and others at Podcast alley.
Music from music fans for music fans...
On the road with d: Russ Chimes
Chromeo - Fancy Footwork (Russ Chimes remix)
Russ Chimes is all about that 80s electro house sound. He started his involvement with music as a guitarist while in school, but eventually he moved to London to play before he got interested in synth and producing. The song on site of his is actually a remix the Cryptonites did of his song She's Got the Heat. You can compare it to the original below.
Russ Chimes - She's Got the Heat
Below is another of his songs that I like.
Russ Chimes - Mulsanne
Chimes has been working on a number of remixes lately. His most recent are the aforementioned remix of Fancy Footwork and a good one of Sam Sparro's Black & Gold.
Sam Sparro - Black and Gold (Russ Chimes remix)
Chimes recently returned from a tour in Australia and he's working on new original material for his first official release.
Russ Chimes' MySpace
Bagel Bites
Keep On Keepin' On
As I enter my eighth month here at the sixty one I am noticing quite a few things. It was apparent a few months ago that a camaraderie was being formed when many of the users that are involved with the site changed their avatars to little gerbils (or was it hamster?) during a period of user confusion. I admit to feeling as if I was being experimented on and even jokingly brought this up here. Now I am seeing this camaraderie blossom into something more meaningful. I know that this has been brought up elsewhere and that all of the pictures are shown on the Max Bumps site but I would like to say that I am truly proud of the way the community has embraced supergrover and his battle with cancer. In the midst of all the changes the site has gone through and the few who make it difficult to want to stay at the site I find that this involvement and support of supergrover is an amazing reason to stay. Why wouldn't you want to be around such good people? Supergrover, I can admit that I do not know you well and that my contributions and efforts pale in comparison to others but I would like to say that each time I log on to the site I think of you and wish you and your family the best. Your humor has always made me laugh and I know it will be the thing that gets you through this trying time. Keep on laughing and keep on keepin' on.
I find it very hard to believe that this song hasn't gotten more attention. It has all the elements that should make for a home page song. A lesser known band with a great hook and good vocals.
The Buddyrevelles
Here is a band that has had some good success on the 61 with a track that got left behind. I don't know who the hell Rodney is and I don't dream of men much but I think I get this song.
Bidding on Revives
This is a relatively new (last hour or so as I am writing this) feature on the site. Already there are a few tracks that have bids over 7000 points. I am curious to see how this plays out as it was very difficult to get a revive before though the purchase price may make it down right impossible for some people. All that being said I would like to dare someone to bid all of their points on a revive. Race to Zero not so difficult style.
Bon Sportage
That's all that I have for now. I am hoping to post more often now that I am out of class and find myself with a little more free time. If you have any thoughts on new features (bites) let me know and I would be happy to give em a go.
Later
As I enter my eighth month here at the sixty one I am noticing quite a few things. It was apparent a few months ago that a camaraderie was being formed when many of the users that are involved with the site changed their avatars to little gerbils (or was it hamster?) during a period of user confusion. I admit to feeling as if I was being experimented on and even jokingly brought this up here. Now I am seeing this camaraderie blossom into something more meaningful. I know that this has been brought up elsewhere and that all of the pictures are shown on the Max Bumps site but I would like to say that I am truly proud of the way the community has embraced supergrover and his battle with cancer. In the midst of all the changes the site has gone through and the few who make it difficult to want to stay at the site I find that this involvement and support of supergrover is an amazing reason to stay. Why wouldn't you want to be around such good people? Supergrover, I can admit that I do not know you well and that my contributions and efforts pale in comparison to others but I would like to say that each time I log on to the site I think of you and wish you and your family the best. Your humor has always made me laugh and I know it will be the thing that gets you through this trying time. Keep on laughing and keep on keepin' on.
More From the Underrated Vault
Hammer No More The Fingers
I find it very hard to believe that this song hasn't gotten more attention. It has all the elements that should make for a home page song. A lesser known band with a great hook and good vocals.
The Buddyrevelles
Here is a band that has had some good success on the 61 with a track that got left behind. I don't know who the hell Rodney is and I don't dream of men much but I think I get this song.
Bidding on Revives
This is a relatively new (last hour or so as I am writing this) feature on the site. Already there are a few tracks that have bids over 7000 points. I am curious to see how this plays out as it was very difficult to get a revive before though the purchase price may make it down right impossible for some people. All that being said I would like to dare someone to bid all of their points on a revive. Race to Zero not so difficult style.
Bon Sportage
That's all that I have for now. I am hoping to post more often now that I am out of class and find myself with a little more free time. If you have any thoughts on new features (bites) let me know and I would be happy to give em a go.
Later
A Conversation with RAC
From the artist leader board, there is no doubt that RAC is a t61 favorite with their remixes of some great indie tracks. With the release of RAC Vol. 1 through stereogum, André from RAC was kind enough to answer some questions for our very own Max Bumps!
AnnieB: Obviously you're known for your remixes, so how did you get started with that, and what encouraged you to establish RAC?
André: One of the main reasons I started RAC was because I was extremely frustrated with the remixing scene of the time. Things are definitely better now, but I really wanted to go out and try and do something different than everybody else. I saw remixers like Cornelius taking chances and trying new and innovative things, so that kind of made me decide to create RAC.
AnnieB: And we’re absolutely glad you did. So while you currently do the majority of the remixes, RAC also consists of a few other members: Crookram (Chris Angelovski), Aaron Jasinski, and the latest addition, Andrew Maury. Since you guys reside in different places all over the world, how did these connections come about and what is the common thread that unites you guys under the RAC name?
André: Oddly enough, we haven't met in real life yet. Crookram pretty much taught me everything I know about recording. I "met" Aaron after I saw that he was winning a lot of remix contests around the web. Most recently Andrew Maury did a Ra Ra Riot remix that caught my attention which got us talking. I think the thing that binds us is really the objective of creating something fresh and unique. I'm not sure that always happens, but that's the objective at least. Pure intention hah.
AnnieB: This is sort of random, but you're originally from Portugal. What brought you to the States?
André: Just the lack of a music scene to be completely honest. Portugal has a great potential and lots of great artists, but little to no infrastructure to nurture the talent. It's kind of one of those things that everybody complains about, but nobody knows how to fix. Maybe it is because the country is relatively small. I chose to come to the US after things kind of stalled there, so the next step after high school was naturally to go to college. It was probably more to put my parents at ease then for myself, but I'm glad I'm finally finishing it up.
AnnieB: Alright, speaking of Andrew Maury earlier, were you the one who introduced him to thesixtyone? If so, you definitely deserve some referral points. He's a wonderful addition to the site! What else can we be expecting from him?
André: Yeah, this was before Andrew was part of RAC. I showed him the site and he really liked it and he started uploading his stuff. Unfortunately artist accounts can't bump anything, so I couldn't really help him in that sense. Oh he's always busy working on stuff for us. He's got Jukebox the Ghost, Tiger City, Snowden, Weapons, Tokyo Police Club, and Ra Ra Riot remixes coming up.
AnnieB: Also, will we be hearing any new mixes from the other two members in the near future?
André: Totally, I can't really say anything now because it's too early, but you'll definitely hear more stuff from them in the near future. Crookram recently did a mixtape on the site, check it out.
AnnieB: RAC remixes have a distinctive sound, often with an upbeat fun factor. Unlike other mixes that tend to zone into a particular part of a song, you seem to reinterpret and reconstruct an entire song while still upholding its integrity. What do you aim for when it comes to a mix, and what characteristic do you feel signifies a RAC mix?
André: What's the fun in taking a section and beating it to death? It's great for dancing, but to a fan of the band or casual listening, it's kinda lame. I know this is obvious, but I construct a remix to how I would like it to listen to it. The same thing applies to the structure, which generally is intact. I try to take the song in a different direction. The first time I tried this was with Bloc Party's single "Helicopter”. I did an upbeat version and it was okay, but then I did a very mellow slow version which kind of worked with his vocal lines. I really really like using acoustic instruments which still, not many people use in remixes. I also use mostly analog gear which gives it a certain vintage vibe. About them being upbeat, it's probably because I tend to focus a lot on melody and hardly use dissonance.
AnnieB: A bunch of us are curious to know, on average, how long does it take for you to plan a remix? And what's your approach when you first receive a file? Do you immediately start thinking of how you would alter the song, or is it a much more complex thought out process?
André: As soon as I get word that I’ll be remixing a song, I tend to listen to the original obsessively. I try to analyze every detail and think of how I'll do it. As far as time goes, it really depends case to case. As soon as I receive files, it generally takes me from a day to a week to finish a remix. The Radiohead remix was done in about 6 hours. I've been working on a new Ra Ra Riot remix for 3 weeks and I'm still not entirely satisfied with it, so it really depends. When I start a remix, very rarely do I know how it will come out. I will have basic ideas and melodies, but the rest is just pushing through it. I'm sure everybody has their own method, but this is kind of what works for me.
AnnieB: You've primarily mixed tracks by notable indie artists. During the early stages of RAC, I'm assuming you had to take the initiative of requesting songs to mix. Is it different now with RAC's growing reputation? Are more artists seeking you out?
André: Our first client was The Shins, which still blows my mind how lucky we were. After you remix The Shins, a lot of doors open up and people actually listen. So after a lot of hassling artists, we built up a decent sized portfolio and now we kind of lay back a bit and see what comes in. Most of the stuff we get now is from word of mouth within the industry.
AnnieB: And having done numerous remixes already, are there still any particular artists you haven't worked with yet whose songs you'd love to mix?
André: Well, just recently some opportunities came up to remix two of my favorite artists, unfortunately I can't really talk about it because it's not confirmed, and if it fell through I'd look like an idiot. But… I've always wanted to remix M83! I actually even talked a bit with their management and I thought it might happen, but they already had enough people doing remixes, so the thing kinda fell through. N.E.R.D. would be pretty cool too. Cornelius would be a dream come true.
AnnieB: Aww, that's too bad. Would’ve been interesting to hear what you would’ve done with a track by M83, and I'm sure you can pull some strings with the others. Anyway, I know I'm not the only one when I say this, but I'm constantly on the search for something new to hear. Considering you worked with such clients as Ra Ra Riot and Tokyo Police Club before they gained wider recognition, are there any rising breakthrough artists who you recommend we should be keeping tabs on?
André: Well, The Virgins, which I just got the files today for. Their song "Rich Girls" is a killer pop song. This French kid called Surkin, he has an album out on Institubes. Tiger City, Sam Sparro…This shouldn't count because they have been around for a bit, but I’ve just gotten really into The Cribs.
AnnieB: Ah, I like “Rich Kids”. I’ll be looking forward to your mix of it. Apparently the internet has become a vital tool to the success of RAC, particularly through music blogs. Financially, how is it working out for you?
André: I can finally afford to pay for legal software. hah. I get paid by record labels. Very rarely do I see income from sales. Our objectives are a little bit different in that sense because our target audience are record label suits, and since the smart ones check music blogs for upcoming acts, I need to make sure our stuff pops up every once in a while.
AnnieB: Alright, so since thesixtyone brought us together, in a previous conversation of ours, you mentioned that you thought it was just another music site. In your opinion, what sets thesixtyone apart from the others?
André: Yeah, well there can only be one myspace, (even though they suck lately). There are plenty of knockoff sites, but they all pretty much do the same. At first I thought t61 was just another place to upload some music and hope people actually care. After uploading I figured out the point system and I was really drawn to it. With a built-in user base hungry for music, it was perfect for our remixes. I liked how responsive the community was.
AnnieB: I agree. The community over there is quite something. Your recent Super Mario and Zelda remixes spurred fond childhood memories of the Nintendo vs. Sega rivalry. Were you surprised by the reception of these tracks, and what prompted you to create these?
André:: Me and Andrew were chatting and he sent me this sonic song that he had started. Immediately I had the idea of a battle album in between Nintendo and Sega. Andrew finished the sonic tracks and I did the Mario and Zelda ones in a couple days. Kotaku.com, which is a part of gawker media, had expressed interest in posting about it, so that drove a ridiculous amount of traffic to our site. Over a month after we first put that up, people around the world still blog about it almost everyday. I was definitely surprised at how popular it got, which was great because it exceeded our expectations by very far. We were honestly just having fun.
AnnieB: Fun is good. Straying from RAC for a moment, you have another musical endeavor. Just last week, thesixtyone had the chance to preview a couple tracks from a band you and Karl F. Kling started up called The Pragmatic. Can you tell us more about it?
André: Yeah, I play synthesizers in The Pragmatic. I recorded Karl's old band a couple years ago and I noticed that we were on the same page a lot on what we did. Meanwhile that band broke up and we decided to try and start something electronic with analog synthesizers. Our first recording session was over spring break and in 4 days we wrote and recorded 4 songs which are still some of my personal favorites. We actually just recruited a bunch of friends and we've started to play live a lot more often. We hope to go on tour full time in December while trying to release some 7'' singles. Things are definitely looking good. I've always played guitar with bands and playing something different has been a ton of fun. Check it out at myspace.com/thepragmatic
AnnieB: And do you find it any more rewarding being able to write your own songs as opposed to remixing other artists' songs? Does this also provide you more of an outlet to perform live?
André: Most of the time it's equally rewarding because in a sense I'm doing the same thing in both situations, because I can't sing to save my life. I think sometimes I'm maybe a bit more attached to my own compositions, because if a remix sucks, I can blame it on the original. I take comments a bit more to heart when it's my own material. But other than that, I take great pride in both kinds of work. I get to DJ with the RAC stuff, but it's so much more fun to play live with a band.
AnnieB: So this week, RAC released its first compilation of remixes through stereogum. How stoked are you? Does this mean we can expect more subsequent volumes to come?
André: I am beyond stoked for this. It's taken nearly a year to get this project together and I'm really happy with how it turned out. You can most definitely expect more, I've already started working on 2 and maybe even 3. Things will be a bit different, and maybe we'll do a physical release.
AnnieB: Lastly, what is your hope for the future of RAC? Where do you want it go?
André: Well, for starters, I want it to be a recognized brand name, no matter what product/service we provide. Most importantly, I want to further advance the art of remixing into something a lot more respectable. People have all kinds of different expectations when it comes to remixes, and I really hope to break those. I'm also starting several different sides of RAC, such as RAC Records and RAC Fashion. We're preparing an album of world music and we're going to release it for charity later this year or next. Basically all the money will go to buy gear for underprivileged musicians in developing nations. So far we have people from Guatemala, Belize, Uganda, Australia, Netherlands, and plenty of others. It's gonna be a massive collaboration that can truly be called world music. We've already gotten into writing scores and music for television. RAC Fashion is basically a merch store. I currently write for HBO's Entourage show and we also hope to further that. One of the main things that made me start RAC was producing, and in the next couple of years I really hope to get into that as well.
AnnieB: Looks like there’s still lots more in store from RAC and we wish you all the best! Once again, thank you for taking the time to do an interview for our little t61 fansite. I'm sure you've got bigger names to work with. Much appreciated, André.
RAC's website
RAC's myspace
On the road with d: The Black Ghosts
The Black Ghosts first came to my attention thanks to their cover of Olivia Newton John's Let's Get Physical. However, they really captured my attention with what I consider their strongest song, Any Way You Choose to Give It, with its catchy synth-bass line. Keating has admitted that when they were getting started that they got a bit over-excited in getting people to remix their music so there are a lot of remixes of this song floating around. The remix by Fake Blood is on the site, though I do prefer the original (Boy 8-Bit's is my favorite of the remixes, but there are a number of other good ones).
The Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose to Give It
The Black Ghosts - Any Way You Choose to Give It (Boy 8-bit version)
The Black Ghosts - Let's Get Physical
Their lyrics are often a bit darker than the sound of their songs and that's intentional. On the choice of lyrics to put over the music, Lord's said, "Part of it is a reaction to the inane lyrics usually used in dance music, ‘oooh baby, make me dance, 1234, yeah yeah yeah, sweat, love, shake it oooh’ etc. I just see it as lazy and unadventurous, there’s no reason that lyrics in dance music can’t be more interesting and tell proper stories."
Two remixes of their song I Want Nothing and a mixtape of theirs are also on the site and worth a listen.
If you're interested in music videos, they have an interesting one in their video for their modern take on a torch song Some Way Through This that is worth checking out (the video is done all in LEGOs, which offsets the sort of dark material that the video covers).
The Black Ghosts - Some Way Through This
The Black Ghosts are releasing their self-titled album on July 8, their first full-length.
The Black Ghosts' website
The Black Ghosts' MySpace
Get to Know a Fellow 61'er: Supergrover
We've redesigned the 'Get to Know a Fellow 61'er' to probe deeper into the psyche of your comrade in bumps. Fun, eh. If you've already filled one out and would like to do it again, please do! Just email your results to Batface89.
- Your User Name:
supergrover - When did you join T61?
Sometime around Thanksgiving of 2007. - What is your current avatar and why did you choose it?
Why it's Super Grover! It's a stylized version created by my canukkistan compadre, myktoronto. - What part of the world are you in?
Ohio. South of Columbus, north of Cincinnati. - What type of work do you do that allows you so much time on a computer? Do you bump at work? Have you ever been reprimanded for excessive bandwidth usage? :-)
I create databases and software for contractors, various needs. Time in the home area, time in DC, San Antonio, Phoenix, Albuquerque. I do bump at work. The group I sit in is, logically, outside the firewall so the streaming isn't as stringent as
it might be otherwise. - How would you describe your bumping personality? Are you a player? In it for the music? Has your style changed since the site changes?
Definitely a mixed style. I'll bump any song I like. Period. First bumps are (almost only) songs that I like, not normally a consideration of whether it'll do big or not. (You can tell if you look at my stats) I tried guessing which might do what early after I noticed an influx of Second Life folk and thought I'd try to profit from their tendencies. It didn't do well.
My style has certainly changed since the changes. I used to max bump songs that I really thought would do well (band of horses, for example), but now I'll do two or three to start and then a couple later to keep it on the activity page. This new 'groupie' thing may influence that activity a bit. We will see.
Definitely in it for the music. If the music were all geetar and a microphone with no production, I'd not stick around. (Apologies to some artists who are that style who I happen to think are pretty good) - Got any good strategy you would like to share with newbies or do you think new users should have to figure it out for themselves?
I did do a write up on someone's wall once. Look for it. It's good! (here it is, mathmanmrt, page 8). I think the strategy has been slightly evolving away from that. Plus I've been busy with work and appointments that my points aren't reflecting like they used. - The 61 hitting Diggs Home page... good or bad? Discuss.
It was a bit buggy that day, but Sam and James got things back in tune. Good thing. Good thing. Gives me more walls to snark on.
Here are some great questions stolen from Pandora (hey, they had great questions... thanks for finding them d!) and a few originals.
- What is the first album you ever bought?
Wow. I actually remember buying it.
It was TOTO : TOTO. I think it was around 1979 or 1980. Man, that is still a good album. I actually "listened" to it by digging through YouTube a few weeks ago and found most of the songs on video from some live show in Germany whaaaay back then.
My first real album that I owned was Jefferson Airplane 'Ride the Tiger'. My mother bought it for me on christmas.
My first EVER album was Tommy the Tuba... a kids album of some sort. - How has your music taste matured since you were a teenager?
Shiiit. When I was a kid, I knew how to ROCK baby! Player. Badfinger. Styx. Yes. Then I grew to understand what corporate rock was. Grew disenchanted with the whole thing. Didn't know about college rock, so it was top 40 or WTUE. Sucked.
Then I found The Clash on a faint radio station from a kinda local college. Started listening to that station and found the Ramones and NY Dolls and other interesting stuff. Still never invested myself enough to do concerts or anything until the late 80's when great music came out... you know... RATT, Riot, YNT. god it sucked. Hell, I started listening to talk radio.
REM and the like came out and drew me back in a bit.
Grunge reinvigorated it for me for a while... but nothing got me back to enjoying sitting at a radio all day. Then I found thesixtyone.com on a throwaway thread on bannination. Been mclovin it ever since. (I really went years without being concerned about what was on the radio) - Do you think that the way a song changes with repeated listening is in any way related to where that piece of music might fit into the spectrum that goes from entertainment to art?
Yes. There are some songs that I can listen to over and over and the influence varies depending upon the mood I'm in.
REM, 10kManiacs, STP. Sometimes you wanna dance. Sometimes you wanna sit back and stare at the ceiling. Sometimes you want to kick a chair over. I think many good artists have songs that can do all of that. - Have you ever heard something that completely failed to interest you on the first listen, which later ended up being a very important piece of music to you?
Yes. There is one on thesixtyone. September 29th's 'But'. The first time I heard it, I almost turned my nose at it. (I've told her this, so I hope it's not a secret) I couldn't get past her voice at first. But boy, the first time I heard the lyrics I fell in love with it. Deeply. It's a fantastic song on many levels. I've also been able to recognize her voice as an instrument itself, although her singing is non-traditional it is a very wondrous tool. For so long I wondered why nobody else bumped her except flapjacksyrup and batsceba and she was stuck on a low level. Dammit, I wanted her to upload soemthing new for the wake. I must've sent out 100+ tuneboxes that day. It helped. Woohoo for me.
Have you ever listened to a song so much that you got sick of it? What's going on there?
My high school buds would kill me: Led Zeppelin. just smoked out on it. I was that guy with the Chevelle SS going down the strip with Kashmir playing as loud as I could take. What a twit. - Do you think that the way a song changes with repeated listening is in any way related to where that piece of music might fit into the spectrum that goes from entertainment to art?
No. Anybody who says otherwise is a pretentious git.
(I'm stealing back a couple of the questions)
14. Current Favorite Artist on t61: easy: Band of Horses. Lots of artists I really love on there, but this is an easy answer. - Artist you most wish would upload music: non-t61?
Don't care. Whoever gets here, I'll listen.
T61 artist? Keith Warren. The bits he has are magnificent. Curious to see what range of style he has. - Who is the listener you'd most like meet in person?
Oh, clearly this person : (new window). - Anything else to say:
Yes. Very much. I want so greatly to thank all those who have offered me their support in these last couple of weeks. It's going to be a trying time, I'm sure, but I'm keeping optomistic thanks to some personal success stories that were tuneboxed to me and the jokes and all the kind wishes.
I'm really quite overwhelmed (who's cutting onions in here?) by the sudden influx of grovertars / supportatars that have popped up as my first chemo approaches. It's hilarious and emotional all at once. Thanks to all who've done it and to bryank who, I believe, was the first. Jeesh, even a couple artists have done it... Glenn Case, bitwise, Evil Seagulls, Room Nineteen, alluswe. (I shouldn't list for fear of missing one...) - Found for me by some elvis impersonator:
2 more achievements
Just an update to D's last post on the topic
 | groupie Added May 29 show your love by max bumping songs eligible beginning at level 5 level 1: 50 songs level 2: 100 songs level 3: 250 songs level 4: 500 songs level 5: 1000 songs | |
 | godlike Added June 2 revive a song to the homepage level 1: 1 songs level 2: 5 songs level 3: 10 songs level 4: 25 songs level 5: 50 songs level 6: 100 songs | |
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