So often you can have an outstanding voice or song, but the production sucks. So it does not show the real potential the song has. In these days with recording budgets being cut, mostly as a sign of poor sales, more and more artists are recording their projects at home, then getting them remixed to a more mastered state for release.
Quality production with real instruments luckily still happens, as we have recently heard with Rumer, even a real string section was included. The days of big soulful orchestras like Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra or MFSB (The Philadelphia International Records House orchestra/ Band) are rare, as many of those had in the region of 50 musicians. This year, I signed a demo of a song that was over seven years old and first I arranged some edits / Re-Edits on the track, which then lead to a remix, which resulted in one of Soul Music's biggest songs of the year in the UK. Do the artists like remixes of their work? They stated after the releases prior to their album presentation to me, after gaining a name from the remixes, If I'm totally honest. ''If you want an album full of other peoples mixes etc then i suggest you ask someone else to write the songs and release their own album''. So the big question is, do some artists feel offended that their work has been changed? or the fact that the remix producer has stolen the limelight, but the song at the end of the day remains the same! To me, the remix reaching other market places the original mix might not have & therefore expanding the songs potential.
Promotion is a key element to the singles success, no point spending the earth recording the song, then not spending money on promotion. Just how many artists think that their Facebook friends and fans will buy it in droves & then wonder why they have no chart position?.
Back in the day there weren't so many genres, so if it was a new single by say, Kool & The Gang, it would have climbed in all the charts including the Dance, Soul, National chart, without the later worry for the label to establish the track to the House or other market places, although many classic's has been remixed since, they do bring a new younger fan base or new audience to the song and quite often establish a top selling album for all involved, be it in the title form of ,Re-Loaded, Re-Hashed, The Remixes, Expanded edition, or even a greatest hits with new extra remixes..
Melba Moore recently used our services to promote her latest single, ''Just Dance'' the original mix had an R&B vibe, with Radio DJ's asking for other remixes, with Melba's permission, I got the single remixed for her, the first two remixes released just before Christmas with the other two remaining remixes set to be released in the new year.
They say a good song never dies, where in fact in some cases the artist might have passed, but their music will stay with us forever, often becoming more popular after rather than before their death. The remix does benefit all parties! The remix producers normally or often has to re-write the backing track to fit the original vocal part of the song, therefore they could receive co writing royalties cheques for their work, but if it generates sales that would not have happened without the remix, then fair is fair. Most of today's artists expect remixes to be done. The most recent work by Lisa Stansfield has just been re-released as part of a remix album package, whether or not the artist gets to hear all the remixes is another thing, as quite often they are writing new songs for the next album.
(Lisa Stansfield talks to Gary Spence on Solar Radio)
Often the remix can also re-chart a song like Drizabone, Rufus and Chaka Khan experienced in the UK top 20 with their classic songs, Real Love and Ain't Nobody.If you are a re mixer or producer it would be great hearing from you, likewise if you have your own Soul classic stored on a computer somewhere - You can send your show real to me Gary Van den Bussche at discosoulgold@live.com. Thanks for reading.
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