next up for the mjazz camp, following on from the collaborative '839 lp' from justice & metro, is the aquisse remix project. for those who dont know, 'aquisse' is one of justice's most well known and well loved tracks. a bonafide old school classic, its one of the many reasons why he and the mjazz label are held in such high regard in d&b circles. 2010 marks the tracks fifteenth birthday so he thought it would be a good opportunity to bring it up to date and release it for a new generation of d&b fans. for this, what can be imagined slightly daunting task, he enlisted the talents of no less than 6 of his favourite producers in the genre at the moment, and with the project set to drop anytime soon, edj caught up with justice himself and the 6 producers for a quick q&a about the project and what it entailed.
to kick things off, it seems pertinent to post up the original for a point of reference as such...
Justice
edj: What was the thinking behind this project, and why did you choose Aquisse in particular to be remixed?
Aquisse has always been a special track for me , and it was something really different when i made it, so i thought as it was its 15th birthday this year it would be nice to do something to mark the ocassion.
edj: Why did you choose the 6 producers you did for remix duties?
I was kicking the idea around last year in my head, and it was at the time when I had just started to get some bits off of Muted and I think he asked about having a crack at remixing it. Basically it's all the guys whose music i check for and are I guess the core Mjazz-ers. I suppose also it's a good mix of a couple of "names" on the scene with the likes of Sinistarr and Chris Inp, the criminally under rated in Paranoid Society, the up and coming Diamond Eye and Muted and of course Metro. All those involved have been involved in Mjazz projects over the past year and others a bit longer and all wanted to be involved in the remix project. For me it's not about drafting in big names and that, but just working with a bunch of people whose music I like and giving a platform for the new fella's.
edj: As everyone has mentioned, you didnt send over a great deal of parts for the track...was that deliberate to try and get something totally different to the original, or was it simply a case of not having the original bits & pieces anymore? How hard was it to track down the parts you did have?
Well i could lie and say it was a ploy to try and get the remixers to explore sonic boundaries by giving them only a few sounds/ samples but..........the truth of the matter was that I could only find a few of the original samples....! Basically i had loads of stuff on DAT tapes backed up so it was a case of trawling through 2 or 3 tapes to see what I had. I roughly knew where they were and knew there wouldn't be many, but to be fair everyone got on and came back with something fresh, so it worked out well.
edj: Going back over one of your older tunes like this, and a bonafide classic at that, did it bring about any feelings of nostalgia and memories of d&b past? Any plans to re-release any of you back catalogue for a new generation?
Oh yeah of course, I can still remember the studio and the making of the tune and recording the first session onto a cassette tape to take home and check out. I played it in the car on the way home and the mixdown i had going on just by muting in and out sounds on cubase sounded wicked, So the next session I literally copied what I was hearing on the tape when I did my arrangement. It's funny the things tunes can conjure up- places, times, people, I can often remember a certain year by a tune I did .In respect of back catalogue there are plans afoot because when all the original Mjazz bits came out the internet didn't exist so digital content of all of those is being worked on. The Icons "Emotions with Intellect" will see its digi release in the not too distant future.
edj: Can you give us a quick breakdown of each track, and what you think each one brings in terms of the vibe and reference to the original?
Metro keeps it real simple, strips it right back and gets a nice 80's vibe rolling. Obv the pad is the main element of the tune and all the remixers have weaved this through their work. Chris Inp gets all dubby and futuristic and uses it in a real subtle way along with other elements which drop in and out, its experimental but in no way inaccessible, it builds and rises and falls away again and really captures the feeling of Aquisse. Sinistarr rolls it out, bigs up the pad and name checks me in the tune, it don't get much better than that. Muted and Paranoid Society use the main pad and share a re-riff of it . Muted goes his sparse/lush kick drum influenced direction an d makes it float and the Para boys give it a 2010 remix set in 1995, call it an homage to the era, I guess it 's what Aquisse may have sounded like if i hadn't used an 808 kit on it back then. And last and by no means least Diamond Eye actually replays the man pad riff, which is a real nice touch and drops in some killer breaks and bass, it has a vibe all of its own, and i think overall , all of the mixes offer something different and that there is something for everyone.
edj: Can you let everyone when this project will hit the shops?
The project will drop in September on Digital and will be followed by some sort of vinyl product.
edj: Shouts/thanks...
Shouts to all the mans........Sinistarr, Metro, Chris Inperspective, Creep and Paranoid Society, Muted, Diamond eye, Gappa G, Stunna and anyone else that knows me...............
and onto the remixes. as mentioned by justice, each one brings something different to the table so take a listen and choose your favourite...
Chris Inperspective
Justice - Aquisse CINP RMX by JUSTICE
edj: Have you done much remix work before? How much more or less enjoyable do you find it than writing original pieces?
I luuuurve remixing.. to be honest my original tunes are sort of remixes anyway. The way i sample and everything lends to remixes I think.... Or it could just be I'm a complete thief.. lol!!!! I enjoy wring my stuff or collaborating as well as doing remixes. I cannot choose between the 2 as it's all making music to me..
edj: How did you approach this remix? Having listened to the original did you have a particular idea in mind for what you wanted to do or did you just sit down with the samples and let your imagination run away...?
I didn't listen to the original. I have it anyway and know the tune fairly well.. I was tempted to listen to remind me but didn't as I wanted it to be really indicative of a Chris Inperspective tune. Glad I didn't to be honest, I think it would have come out differently.
edj: Obviously the original track is some 14 years old now - how hard was it bringing it up to date without losing that laid back old school feel of the original?
Not hard at all, I just made the tune... 14 Years though!! Jeez thanks for making me feel old, but nowhere near as old as Justice so I'm ok with that. He's better looking though!!!
edj: Out of the all the remixes in the collection which is your favourite?
The muted remix to be fair is top notch and sinistarr and Diamond eye's are the nuts but they all have something wicked about them and so i just hope my take on this legendary tune holds up.
Muted
JUSTICE - AQUISSE (MUTED REMIX) (MJazz)-v2 by JUSTICE
edj: Have you done much remix work before? How much more or less enjoyable do you find it than writing original pieces?
Well, to be honest, the Aquisse remix was actually my first remix but since then I've worked on other remixes as well. For me, remixing and making a tune from scratch is very different, I can't compare those two options. But out of those I prefer making my own music, I want to go my own ways.
It's good though once in a while to take a remix project to shake things up a bit.
edj: How did you approach this remix? Having listened to the original did you have a particular idea in mind for what you wanted to do or did you just sit down with the samples and let your imagination run away...?
At the time I made this remix I wasn't too skilled if you know what I mean. I had only been producing for few months and my abilities with Reason we're very limited. At the time I was trying to develop my sound and I hardly used snares at that time so the remix has this flava I had going on at that time. Aquisse the original is one of my fav dnb tunes of all time and I asked Justice to find the samples so I could try and make my version of it and this was the outcome.
edj: Obviously the original track is some 14 years old now - how hard was it bringing it up to date without losing that laid back old school feel of the original?
It was pretty hard hehe, I hope it worked out alright for me. Most of the samples we're lost and we didn't have much to work with, but overall I'm really happy with all those remixes, been playing them a lot.
edj: Out of the all the remixes in the collection which is your favourite?
I think all the remixes are strong but my personal fav is Chris Inperspectives.
Metro
Aquisse Metro's simples mix by JUSTICE
edj: Have you done much remix work before? How much more or less enjoyable do you find it than writing original pieces?
In the past I used to do a few for some competitions, but not really done any for any other artists, apart for Justice. Its a cool thing to be giving the opportunity to do especially if its a bit more challenging, but I do like writing original bits too!
edj: How did you approach this remix? Having listened to the original did you have a particular idea in mind for what you wanted to do or did you just sit down with the samples and let your imagination run away...?
I love the original, the main synths and chords that run through it are infectious, original electro style beats and bass true Justice Classic, my approach was to keep it simple hence the name of my remix (Metro's simples mix) I wasn't given a lot to go on sample wise as the original was 14 years back and not a lot of bits were available, but the main bits where there. I just created the simple beat pattern using an original kit and looped end clips of samples so as to be a bit different and obviously used the main stab in all the right places as for me that makes that tune.
edj: Obviously the original track is some 14 years old now - how hard was it bringing it up to date without losing that laid back old school feel of the original?
If anything I would say my version has more of an early 80's electro bounce to it, but the beats are still up to date, its different than most, just how I like it.
edj: Out of the all the remixes in the collection which is your favourite?
All of them..... Paranoids for their old skool jungle feel, could almost be a remix from when it was originally made, Muted's is lush and laid back a real pleasure to listen to, as is Chris Inperspective's with the added old skool rolls and sounds for good measure (he probably remember the original from when it came out)...... the its a toss up between DE and the man from Detroit, imo both are equal, and both are very top draw!! peace and love to all.
Diamond Eye
Justice - Aquisse (DiamonD EyE Remix 2) by JUSTICE
edj: Have you done much remix work before? How much more or less enjoyable do you find it than writing original pieces?
This is my first remix project as i wanted my own tunes up to standard before taking on anyone elses work. I find it easier than original pieces but i like a challenge.
edj: How did you approach this remix? Having listened to the original did you have a particular idea in mind for what you wanted to do or did you just sit down with the samples and let your imagination run away...?
I approached it like it was my own track, just darkened up the bassline and added some additional keys / synth lines. I listened to the original and as soon as I heard the pad and the way it kept building i knew exactly where to go with it, keeping it true to the original but with more grit.
edj: Obviously the original track is some 14 years old now - how hard was it bringing it up to date without losing that laid back old school feel of the original?
Bringing it up to date wasn't too hard as it sounds like what is about now! I just wanted to make it a floor smasher as the pads have that "hands in the air" feel, while staying true to the original instrumentation and parts of the percussion.
edj: Out of the all the remixes in the collection which is your favourite?
My favourite remixes are the Paranoid Society and Sinistarr ones, they're both strictly jungle vibes.
Paranoid Society
Aquisse Paranoid society rmx by JUSTICE
edj: Have you done much remix work before? How much more or less enjoyable do you find it than writing original pieces?
I can`t really remember the last time i tried to make a remix on somebody`s tune and you know it felt really good tossin` myself into deeps of the 90`s drum and bass vibe
edj: How did you approach this remix? Having listened to the original did you have a particular idea in mind for what you wanted to do or did you just sit down with the samples and let your imagination run away...?
Haha , this one is kinda ouch question . I`ve heared about the remix campaign while i was talkin` to Bjarni aka Muted and he gave me his version of the aquisse so when i listened to it it felt so good , his pad layerin` was so familiar to me and it sounded nothing like the original version so i took it and added a combination of the classical breaks, punchie sub bass and some reinforced samples on top ... the result - you`ll be the judge
edj: Obviously the original track is some 14 years old now - how hard was it bringing it up to date without losing that laid back old school feel of the original?
I can`t say how my version of the track is up to date actually , i`ve decide from the beginin` that it`ll have that 90`s vibe and nothing like todays drum and bass so it wasn`t hard , cause i was in my plate of soup
edj: Out of the all the remixes in the collection which is your favourite?
I would say Sinistarr`s version is the most i like , nice subbass work and those tickling keys , you just have to love it.
Sinistarr
Aquisse (Sinistarr Remix)-JUSTICE. by JUSTICE
edj: Have you done much remix work before? How much more or less enjoyable do you find it than writing original pieces?
I've done a few remixes so far, but mainly for non dnb labels (i.e. http://www.exchangebureaumusic.com), only 3, including this one have been for dnb artists. I REALLY like making remixes, my whole upbringing on a remix is to flip it completely, but retain the same elements, and then warp those to make it really pop. I do research and break the track down from top to bottom, and then move from there.
edj: How did you approach this remix? Having listened to the original did you have a particular idea in mind for what you wanted to do or did you just sit down with the samples and let your imagination run away...?
I listened to the original when Tony sent it to me for a month and a half before I started on the remix; what was cool is that he didn't send me drums at all, he sent a big file with all the synths & pads, which made me think outside the box a lot more :)
edj: Obviously the original track is some 14 years old now - how hard was it bringing it up to date without losing that laid back old school feel of the original?
By taking it back!! I made mine an homage to the 90s sound - crazy think breaks, the name shout out all over the track -- not to give away too much of course!!!
edj: Out of the all the remixes in the collection which is your favourite?
There were more remixes? KIDDING of course! :p LOL... really like Chris INP's and Diamond EyE's, cheeky flair on those two :)
so there you go. counting the votes on the last question (not that it matters one iota of course, they're all sick) sinistarr's bouncy relick is the favourite amongst all those invloved. edj's vote would go to the man from detroit too, closely followed by diamond eye, so congrats go to sinistarr. your packet of toffetts and choc pot dip are in the post....
as mentioned, this project will be hitting shops in september so keep your eyes peeled and grab yourself an updated slice of d&b history.
http://modernurbanjazz.com
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