features

	21/4/2003
	Liz Giuffre

While at times remixing can be both, if done properly it can liberate in the most ideal way, without bombs or invasions.

"To break down those stereotypes of ripping off someone else's music you re-invent a different sound," explains Scotty aka MC Optamus, from Perth mixmasters Downsyde. "When you can hear where [a sample] actually came from, but you can create a different entity, that's when remixing and sampling really comes into its own."

While garden variety remixes often inhabit B-sides or special edition CDs and are usually given silly names like, "The just because we had some time and felt like dicking around" mix, to reduce a remix to mere filler is to waste a great opportunity. "There's a fine line between a remix and people who just put a drum loop straight under a song," Scotty says. "It's the creativeness that really makes the difference."

As mixing technologies become more sophisticated and user-friendly, the scope for remixing is as wide as Big Kev's waistline. When making Downsyde's latest single, "El Questro", Scotty and the boys often took samples as small as one note or a lyrical phrase and, by manipulating pitch and rhythm, created an unlikely but infectious hybrid. "There were three or four mains; the piano and trumpets all came from different records and were all pitched and manipulated, but I couldn't actually tell you how many samples we used," he explains. "A lot of the time there's so much stuff being used that you can't actually recall where the composition comes from."

An avid record collector, Scotty's process starts with scouring through records for unusual bits and pieces. Having found something he likes, he then begins to play around. "It's always good to have a starting point, but that could be absolutely anything - a lyric or a drum rhythm or a bass line - just having one point to build upon. You need a foundation before you build your house." Scotty's advice to aspiring remixers is simple: "There are no do's or don'ts to anything, it doesn't matter what genre of music you're doing," he says. "You never have to be confined within the lines of what someone else says, there are no creative rules. Art has no boundaries whatsoever."

Those of you that have heard Downsyde's work would know that their musical house is a pretty solid one. With a hip-hop affiliation, the boys twist and turn everything from Bach to Cuban dance to create tracks that are truly original. Curious? Well lucky ducks, Noise and Triple J are giving you an opportunity for a closer look with the band's "El Questro" available for you to remix. You can download the key elements of the track from either the noise site or via triple j , and have free reign to chop and change as your heart desires. Not only that, tracks from other Aussie acts including Silverchair, Ben Lee, The Waifs, Resin Dogs and Bodyjar will also be up for the remix treatment. So get yourself a good mouse mat and start creating!