behind the remix with Sun Kin
Haven't you heard? That musicpulsestudios now has a remix label?? And the first release just came out, I Enjoy Remixes Vol. 1, which features the artists Sun Kin and Styles Munson remixing each others' songs??? Well now you know, or perhaps you already knew, in which case, you will know so much harder than before.
Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 7, 2024
We love a good remix here at musicpulsestudios, so I thought I'd send a remix-themed questionnaire to both Sun Kin + Styles Munson and hear their remix perspectives. First we have Kabir Kumar of Sun Kin...
The first thing I try to do when making a remix is listen to the original and allow myself to passively enjoy and then closely listen to what details I like or would want to ‘cover’ in my remix. That’s ideally before touching any of the stems. Styles’ vocals and melody on "Bugg" are both very rich and rhythmically engaging, so I wanted to spotlight them. Once I opened up the stems, I pitched the background harmony stack up and built the structure with the lead vocal on top of a series of loops of that stack.
Well, probably mastering, lol, but at the end of the production process the last thing is usually just going through and trying to make sure all the different sections flow naturally into each other. Trying to justify and glue together more of my space cadet ideas!
Probably the groove of the main section. It reminds me of being shrunk down to the size of the titular Bugg and being thrown about by forces much larger than yourself. The way the harmony stack sample, (live-performed) Minimoog bass line, shimmery star synth and the chopped drums fit together like they’re constantly falling over and rolling on the floor and smearing each other. I love rhythms like that, like when I heard Bjork refer to her beats as ‘tapestries’ I really resonated.
I try to approach a remix as an audio image I’m drawing with a palette of other people’s sonic…paints… I’m usually less bound by song structure because I know a version of the song exists already, so there’s almost a total freedom to express myself through production. When I find myself with a catchy melody like "Bugg" it’s a fun challenge to see how far I can get away with wacky tonal shifts…
This is probably going to age me but "Deadbeat Summer (Toro Y Moi) Remix" by Neon Indian shows off two of my favorite ‘hypnagogic pop’ producers hitting some early heights. I’m impressed with how lazy Chaz’s synths and chopped vocal samples feel, as I truly did not believe the original song could get more blissed out.
Last year I remixed songs by two of my favorite DIY songwriters, Pacing and Josaleigh Pollett. "Have you tried meditation?” by Pacing I would say has a slowcore, hyperfolk, emo vibe and "The Nothing Answered Back" by Josaleigh Pollett feels more like indie dance or prog pop a la Kate Bush…
I think a good remix is its own thing. If it’s too close to the original song and not bringing anything new to the table compositionally or production-wise (preferably both), my feeling is that I might as well listen to the original song… A good remix demonstrates the power and meaning of the original song even while radically reinterpreting it.
I might remix like... a movie? Sometimes I think about re-harmonizing and re-contextualizing music the way directors might put Shakespeare into like mid 90s gang territory. Could be fun to reimagine like, Dune or something. But it’s all made in very accurate miniature for some reason. Whenever they zoom out it’s very obvious that it’s just a tiny globe in some kid’s bedroom or something.
Thanks to Sun Kin and Styles Munson for participating in this first remix venture. Check out their link aggregation: Sun Kin + Styles Munson.
Thanks for reading, and now listening to, musicpulsestudios! If you like it, tell a friend.
