Off The Beaten Meter: Mashups Beyond 4/4

A video to my mashup Watcher of Facades which was created for
Off the Beaten Meter: MashUps Beyond 4/4:
A compilation of mashups using rhythms other than the standard 4/4.

This project conceived by DJ Not-I will be released on april 12th 2010 on the following website:

offthebeatenmeter.blogspot.com/

Watcher of Facades from Virtual DJ on Vimeo.

This mashup features music and vocals from:

Philip Glass - Facades
Genesis - Watcher of the Skies
William S. Burroughs - What Keeps Mankind Alive?

The image sources are from:

2001: A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick
The Shepperton Concert by Genesis
The Music of Kurt Weill: September Songs by Larry Weinstein.

From the Off The Beaten Meter site:

Off The Beaten Meter: MashUps Beyond 4/4 is a compilation of new exclusive (as well as a few previously released) mash-ups in time signatures other than 4/4.

Off the Beaten Meter features tracks by a range of noted bootleg remixers/mashup artists, including Andrewherring, DJ not-I, Eternal Khaos, G3RSt, Lee Spoons, Overdub, RIAA (Mr. Fab), ToTom, Virtual DJ, and Voicedude, who mash up and regenerate odd-metered tunes by the likes of 4Hero, Chris Squire, Dave Brubeck, Foo Fighters, Genesis, Joan Osborne, Louis Armstrong, Metallica, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Outkast, Philip Glass, Pink Floyd, Primus, Queens of the Stone Age, Quindon Tarver, Radiohead, Ravel, Slayer, System of a Down, The Commodores, The Future Sound of London, The Supremes, Tool, UK, and many more.

The resulting compilation is a heady brew of progressive bootleg remixing that pushes the envelopes of both mash-up-making and rhythmic perceptions in general.

Off The Beaten Meter will appeal to and satisfy the chin-stroking muso-nerds as well as the much broader spectrum of people who enjoy and appreciate excellent and interesting music, liberated from genre constraints and the ubiquitous 4/4 straitjacket.

This compilation will blow your mind, yet also have your foot tapping and head nodding in time signatures off the beaten path. So get ready to "Sit back and have some fun / and tap your foot in 21!" (Tony Levin/King Crimson)

Odd Russian Fever (David Bowie, Rihanna, Fever Ray)

This is the second mashup I made with David Bowie's Space Oddity.
(the other one, with Calle 13 see here)

It features Rihanna's Russian Roulette as the main music, mixed with Fever Ray's dark and ominous If I had a Heart:

Odd Russian Fever:

David Bowie - A Space Oddity (vocals)
Rihanna - Russian Roulette (music)
Fever Ray - If I Had A Heart (vocals/music)

Kenji's Love Song (Bob Marley vs Röyksopp)

This song is partly inspired by the story about Kenji, a robot programmed to emulate human emotions, like love.
However Kenji's programming took an extreme turn for the worst, mistaking affection for possession.
You can read the story about Kenji here.

I guess the story is an internet hoax though.

The vocals by Bob Marley are entirely vocoded,
The instrumental track, Silver Cuiser by Röyksopp, is in 6/8 so I had to rearrange the complete song to fit in this different rhythm.

As you can imagine this sounds totally different than the original By Bob Marley.

Kenji's Lovesong

Bob Marley - Is This Love (vocals)
Röyksopp - Silver Cruiser (instrumental)

VDJ - Kenji's Love Song (Röyksopp vs Bob Marley) by VirtualDJ


More links to the mp3:
mediafire
fileden (direct link)
divshare

A Reggaeton Oddity (David Bowie vs Calle 13)

I did not think I would do this but after the previous 2 mashups with Calle 13 instrumentals and classic rock tracks from Queen and the Eagles I have made a 3rd one.
This time it's David Bowie's Space Oddity that gets a reggaeton treatment.

A Reggaeton Oddity:

David Bowie - Space Oddity vs Calle 13 - Atrévete-te-te

Diamanda Galas vs Digitalism - news

In the beginning of 2008 I made a mashup with a version of  I Put A Spell On You as sung by  Diamanda Galas and the electrosong  Idealistic by Digitalism.
To my surprise I got contacted recently by her labelmanagement, telling me that they liked it and if they could use it as a free download on her website. Needless to say that I was thrilled by this.

Many people are not familiar with her work but if you are open minded about music and not afraid where it can take you it is absolutely worthwhile checking it out. Don't expect a Disney or a bubblegum experience though.
Here's a link to her website and to a wiki about her.

My mashup is still to be found here on divshare

Hotel de los Aburridos (Calle 13 vs Eagles, The Doors & 50 cent)

Like the last track I posted this one also uses a classic rock tune and a beat from Calle 13, though this beat is somewhere between reggaeton and cumbia.

Actually this tune was made before the Bohemian Tango track,but it was meant to feature on a summer compilation from Sound-Unsound.
The compilation has been released recently and this was my contribution to it.

Hotel de Los Aburridos

Tracks used:

Calle 13 - Cumbia de los Aburridos
The Eagles - Hotel California
The Doors - Alabama Song
50 Cent - In Da Club

You can listen/download from these following links:




If you are interested in the full album from the Sound-Unsound members, please visit this page



Also, I'd like to bring this to your attention:

With all of Sound Unsound compilations from “Summer Unsound” onwards, we will be supporting a charity with each release. We have decided that this compilation’s supported charity will be the “British Heart Foundation”. The British Heart Foundation is the nation’s heart charity. Every day they save lives, through pioneering research, providing vital information to help people reduce their own heart health risks, campaigning for change and supporting and caring for heart patients. You can find out more information about the British Heart Foundation and make a donation here:-
http://www.justgiving.com/neiltomo/

If you enjoy the album or my tune, please consider making a donation to the British Heart Foundation. Every penny donated makes a massive difference.

Bohemian Tango (Queen vs Calle 13)

This started out of curiosity.

The Bohemian Rhapsody is a complicated song as everybody knows and I was curious if it was possible to do anything with this song at all.
It's probably the mashup I worked longest on, discarding it at first when I had made my first try.
After a few weeks I heard it again and thought it wasn't that bad after all, so I gave it another try.
Some problems I could solve in due time and this is the result.
I'm quite certain that many consider it sacrilege to use this song at all, but that's the challenge isn't it?
The instrumental is by Calle 13 from Puerto Rico, labelled a reggaeton act but they are much more than that and one of the best groups out of Latin America in the last few years.

Bohemian Tango:

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Calle 13 - Tango del Pecado