.Evolving Music.

Heads up musicians, producers and fans! Dredg is inviting you to remix their song Gathering Pebbles and win some killer prizes! Here’s the invitation, straight from the horse’s mouth:

Hello all, thanks for taking the time to remix Gathering Pebbles. Feel free to do as you wish with the stems, and use only as many as you wish. We look forward to hearing some alternate versions of the song and we’ll be selecting our favorite in April. We will make the winning remix available for sale on iTunes and the winner will be granted a producer/remix royalty percentage!

Dredg (aka vocalist Gavin Hayes, guitarist Mark Engles, bassist Drew Roulette and drummer/keyboardist Dino Campanella) is a prolific indie band that has been building a worldwide following for over a decade. Through their truly captivating live performances, they have developed a devoted, cult like following (in a good way). While on stage, the band completely immerses its audience with their sound and strangely calming, yet intense, presence. For a great example of just how connected their fans are, check out this video that a dredg fan made for Gathering Pebbles:

Gathering Pebbles is a driving, psych-rock tune that has a lot of interesting layers to play with. The song is off of the band’s 2009 release The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion, their 4th studio album. Bassist Drew Roulette describes the album as “a rock and roll record, filled with experimental journeys and eccentric jousts,” and now it’s your turn to join the journey and take it wherever your creativity leads you.

The Gathering Pebbles remix contest, which is powered by MixMatchMusic, starts today (February 1, 2010) and runs until April 1, 2010 at 12pm PST.  All entries will be heard and winners will be carefully selected by dredg. The grand prize is big for any musician/producer looking to break out in the music industry, and the runner up prizes are pretty sweet as well:

• One grand-prize winner: The winning remix will be officially released by dredg. The remixer will get a royalty payment of 3% from the sale of the remixed version of Gathering Pebbles. The winner will also receive a bundle package that includes a signed The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion CD, a T-Shirt and a pair of tickets to a dredg show of choice.

• Two runner up winners: Each winner will receive a bundle package, that includes a signed The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion CD, a T-Shirt and a pair of tickets to a dredg show of choice.

To enter the contest, visit dredg’s website, or scroll down to the widget below. You can download the stems for free and make your remix using the software of your choice. Or, if you want to keep things even simpler, click on the MixMaker button and make your mix online. If you’ve never made a remix before and want to get a behind-the-scenes look at how dredg made the song, be sure to check out the MixMaker. Most importantly, upload your remix to dredg’s widget so that you can get credit for your masterpiece! Other people can listen to it, vote on it and share it. You can read the official contest rules here.

Inspired Flight. This band has a sound that is hard to describe. And yet, looking at the artists they list as influences on their MySpace page, their sound just makes sense. They’ve really learned how to incorporate some of the subtle and intangible things that make those musicians great musicians.

Their bio says it well. “Rooted in hip-hop and dipping into elements of indie rock, downtempo, dub and dance, Inspired Flight is taking your pre-conceived notion of what a band and DJ are and merging them into something new and quite hypnotizing.” Though their sound clearly incorporates a myriad of different elements, including vocals, keyboards, other exotic instruments, and laptops, this band is made up of just two people -  master turntablist, OpenOptics, and accomplished guitarist/songwriter, Chavez. To learn a little more about their respective musical backgrounds and inspiration, click here.

The duo wants you to join their remix contest, powered by MixMatchMusic. Go on. Have a long hard listen to their song, “It Always Takes,” feel it, breath it, internalize it. (This, by the way, is easy to do because the song is beautiful. It has a haunting melody and something generally mesmerizing about it.) Then, take it apart and re-envision it as your own. Add, subtract, multiply, magnify, simplify, or otherwise modify the song to your liking.

To do so, you can download the stems (for free) and use your own software to remix them, OR if you want to keep things even simpler, click on the MixMaker button and make your mix online. Most importantly, UPLOAD your remix so that you can get credit for your masterpiece! Other people can listen to it, vote on it and share it.

This remix contest runs until January 31st, 2010 and Inspired Flight will choose their favorite submission. The lucky winner will be the featured bonus track on their album, coming in March 2010. Nice! Oh ya, and you’ll also get a limited edition T-shirt and poster, as well as an Eyeball HD Webcam from Blue Microphones. Read the complete contest rules here.

Go. Be inspired!

Most musicians have started to realize the importance of social media. And by social media I mean more than just having a MySpace page for your band. While not all of them are on twitter like they should be, many have at least figured out where their target listener demographic hangs out. One band that is clearly ahead of the curve is British synthpop trio, Filthy Dukes. The first thing you notice on their website is the social media links to Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, YouTube, Flickr, Last.fm, Wikipedia, and Twitter.

In addition to being thoroughly dialed in to the social media world, Filthy Dukes also understand the importance of artist-fan interaction. Not only are they  letting fans into their world, they’re letting fans become part of the creative process. For example, on their site they had this announcement: “Come have a go at the Tupac Robot Club Rock rap and appear in a Filthy Dukes video!”

Get in on the action yourself and have a go at remixing their song, TupacRobotClubRock, using MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard. The song is an electro-rock banger, complete with dirty synths, driving beats and several different vocal tracks for you to play with. The winner will win a day with the Filthy Dukes in their very own studio! Not only will you get the chance to see the band at work, you’ll get to perfect your own remix on the mixing desk of Conny Plank, Kraftwerk’s legendary producer. This is the very mixing desk, built to Plank’s own specifications, that was used on everything from Autobahn to the Eurythmics’ debut and Ultravox’s Vienna. This piece of musical heritage is now pride of place in the Filthy Dukes’ studio.

Get remixing for your chance to bag this amazing unique opportunity! Depending on your audio editing expertise (or lack thereof) you have two options available to you. You can either download the stems for free and use any software you want (go nuts!), or just click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor, which is fairly intuitive and easy-to-use for the layman, yet still full of cool features. This is also a great way to just see how the song was made. Once you’ve completed your remix, don’t forget to upload it so that others can listen to, vote on and share it.

Filthy Dukes will select the winning remix, taking into account the votes and rating each remix receives on the Remix Wizard widget. The deadline for entry is 1/11/10. Date in the studio TBA on consultation of band and winner. No purchase necessary. No transport or accommodation included. No prize alternatives offered.

Calling all DJ’s, Producers and Recording Artists!!

Talenthouse is partnering with MixMatchMusic’s online remix technology to give you the chance to remix Photek’s track and submit it to Talenthouse for a chance to be on an upcoming Photek release. For all of you Drum & Bass lovers out there, here’s your chance to help Photek finish a song! Photek, who has been producing and spinning creative drum and bass since 1992, is looking for dubstep and 4 to the floor remixes of his Drum & Bass track, “Fake ID”. He’s asking creators to produce a banging track that people would want to hear in a club. Our friends at Talenthouse say that they’re not looking for Photek clones, but for people to be original. Can you dig it?

If your remix is selected by Photek and the Talenthouse community, it will become an official Photek release and you will be credited in full as the official remixer and receive full promotion and distribution.

How to participate:
The Photek “Fake ID” remix contest can be found on the Talenthouse website as well as in a Remix Wizard that has been setup for the contest.  Stems can be downloaded from either place, but please be sure to upload your remix to both places. If you don’t have any music making software, you can use MixMatchMusic’s MixMaker to make your own remix online! For a complete list of rules and requirements, check this.

Who is Photek?
Although Photek is recognized as one of the founding pioneers of Drums and Bass, what sets him apart from the crows is his amazing ability to take the signature Photek sound to different places, outside the D&B genre.

While on Virgin Records, he managed to chart some of the most groundbreaking music into mainstream consciousness with the albums “Modus Operandi” and “Solaris”. His singles have spanned the full spectrum of electronic music, with straight up club hits like “Mine To Give” to the most legendary & abstract “Ni Ten Ichi Ryu”. It is this versatility and originality that has made Photek a favorite among artists such as Trent Reznor, Andre 3000, Bjork & David Bowie.

Originally from London, Photek is now based in Los Angeles where he finds himself evolving into an ever broader range of music through film music and artist collaborations. The UK/USA connection seems to have worked out perfectly for Photek, with the “Love & War” named Single Of The Week on BBC Radio 1 in London and his mixes of NIN’s “The Hand That Feeds” a hit on KROQ in Los Angeles.

Here’s a little taste of some of Photek’s remix, production, and score credits:
Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Bjork, Gwen Stefani, Goldie, Zero 7, Shy Fx/Elephant Man, Everything But The Girl, Roni Size “Reprazent”, Beth Orton, Attica Blues, London Electricity, Bumblebeez, Therapy, The Faint, Ringside, Jem, Rairbirds, Craig Armstrong, M. Night Shyamalan’s – Signs, Six Feet Under, The Matrix – Animatrix, The Italian Job, Stay, Invincible, American Wedding, Dreamland, Blade, City Of Industry, Raising The Bar.

This 4 member DJ crew from Tel Aviv brings us traditional Jewish melodies on top of American hip-hop tracks, reggae, and funk. Meet Soulico.

Their new album, Exotic on the Speaker, is the “result of years of creative collaborations and finesse – culminating in 13 club ready tracks featuring the likes of Ghostface, Del the Funky Homosapien, M.I.A. understudy Rye Rye, Pigeon John, Lyrics Born, and more,” says The Daily Rind.

In anticipation of the new album, the boys released a free promo mixtape, Exotic on the Mixtape, including the song “Put em up”, which Pitchfork calls “an exuberant synthesis of traditional Israeli folk melodies and familiar hip-hop sensibilities.” You can download it all here.

Once you’ve download the mixtape, read Soulico’s answers to The Music Slut’s 8 Questions, including how playing to an Israeli audience differs from an American one, and check out Sabbo’s blog, Noiz in Zion, if you like remixes (and free downloads). Of course they are on MySpace and Facebook too.

JDub Records, which is a “not-for-profit dedicated to innovative Jewish music, community, and cross cultural dialogue,” was lucky enough to sign Soulico before anyone else found them. CEO Aaron Bisman happened upon their first mixtape while he was rummaging through the bins at Tel Aviv’s Hatav Hashmini record store. Apparently they were hard to track down, but he jumped on their MySpace the day it went up and claimed them.

Thanks to our friends over at JDub Records for hooking us up with these guys. As part of the release of their new album, Soulico wants you to remix the title track, “Exotic on the Speaker,” and is giving you access to the stems of the song via the MixMatchMusic Remix Wizard. You can either download the stems (for free) and use the audio editing software of your choice OR simply click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor. If you’ve never experienced remixing before, or just want to see how the song was made, check out the MixMaker. Once you’ve completed your remix, upload it so that others can listen to, vote on and share it.

Soulico will be choosing one grand prize winner plus three runner-ups. Here’s what you can win:

Grand Prize:
- Soulico – Exotic on the Speaker CD + LP
- Stanton YakPak DJ bag filled with JDub Vinyl
- Your choice of Prime Loops Software
- Pair of Radius Ear buds
- Remix featured on jdubrecords.org & Soulico myspace

3 Runner-Ups:
- Stanton YakPak DJ bag filled with JDub Vinyl
- Copy of Soulico – Exotic on the Speaker CD
- Remix featured on jdubrecords.org & Soulico myspace

Deadlines: Contest starts Monday, October 5th and ends Monday November 23rd. Check out the official rules here.

Get on it!

Heads up fans, producers, and DJs! We’ve got a brand new remix contest for all of you looking for new and impressive ways to participate in the creative process and show off your DIY skills. MixMatchMusic has joined forces with Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born and eyewear company Sutro Vision to bring you a chance to remix Lyrics Born’s newest single, a re-union track with the other half of his Latyrx duo, Lateef the Truthspeaker, called “Pushed Aside, Pulled Apart.”

“Pushed Aside, Pulled Apart” will be appearing on both Lyrics Born’s upcoming Variety Show mixtape and the studio album he has due in 2010. The track utilizes female vocals, synths and moving drum and clap percussion to frame uptempo lyrics from Born and Lateef surrounding the decisions and choices they’ve been faced with making for their careers. Check out the video for the single below.

In an effort to engage and interact with fans, as well as contribute to the growing number of artists allowing fans to remix their work, Lyrics Born has loaded the stems to “Pushed Aside, Pulled Apart” into the MixMatchMusic Remix Wizard and has given you two options for making a remix: Either download the stems for free and use any software you want, or just click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor. If you’ve never experienced remixing before, or just want to see how the song was made, check out the MixMaker. Once you’ve completed your remix, upload it so that others can listen to, vote on and share it.

So what will you win? From the entries, Lyrics Born himself will be picking three winners – a grand prize and two runner-up prizes. The grand prize winner will receive a pair of Lyrics Born signed Sutro sunglasses (these shades are sweet!), autographed copies of the entire Variety Show catalog, a Lyrics Born T-Shirt, 2 free tickets to any Lyrics Born show, a meet and greet with Lyrics Bron at said show, and their track featured on LyricsBorn.com presented by Lyrics Born himself.

The 2 runner ups will each receive a pair of Lyrics Born signed Sutro sunglasses (he will sign the case), a copy of the new Lyrics Born Variety Show mixtape, a Lyrics Born T-Shirt and 2 free tickets to any Lyrics Born show as well as their remix featured on LyricsBorn.com. The official rules for the contest are available here.

So what are you waiting for? The contest starts today (Tuesday, August 25th) and runs through Friday September 25th. Tune in, sign on and start mixing!

We recently introduced you to the up and coming UK artist Delphic. You also had the chance to remix their song “Counterpoint.” Have a listen to some of the great remixes that were created OR give it a(nother) shot here.

Lucky for us, the Manchester boys have released another single called “This Momentary.” Check out this beautiful video for the song, shot by Dave Ma, which weaves together images shot in and around the Chernobyl area, documenting the place as it is now and portraying the lives of the people who still live there.

LA Friendly describes the song as “a subtly blissed out blast of euphoria that takes in both the crisp drive of minimal techno and the epic scope of bands like Muse or Radiohead to create something entirely their own and entirely new and beguiling.” Delphic wants to see what you can do with this song, so go get your remix on. It is chock full of pristine synth layers just begging to be picked apart and put back together. Really good stuff for remixing!

Delphic has loaded the stems to “This Momentary” into MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard, and has given you two options for making a remix: 1) You can download the stems for free and use any software you want; or 2) You can click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor. If you’ve never experienced remixing before, or just want to see how “The Momentary” was made, check out the MixMaker. Either way, make sure to you upload your remix to the widget so that others can listen to, vote on, and share it. We’ll pick our favorite remixes and feature them on Evolving Music!

Want more? Join the community, share your thoughts, and interact with other fans on their Facebook page. Want to see them live? Check their tour dates here.

If you haven’t heard yet, there is a phenomenon happening right now that warrants your immediate attention. King of the West Coast, Snoop Dogg, has teamed up with San Diego’s genre-bending Slightly Stoopid for a mind blowing collaboration. They’ve thrown modern reggae great (and son of Bob), Stephen Marley, and seedy pop newcomer, Mickey Avalon, into the mix too. What we have here folks is the Blazed and Confused Tour (don’t forget to become a fan on Facebook). Here’s a little sneak peek:

Rick Florino of Artist Direct notes that at the Irvine show “Snoop closed off a fantastic set chanting ‘Peace and Love.’ There was something very ‘Woodstock’ about the whole set… There’s no segregation at a Snoop Dogg show and he delivers something for everybody. What’s more rock n’ roll than that?”

Each of these artists/groups has a unique sound and message, and yet their vibe and mindset is one and the same. Bob probably summed it up best with “One Love.”

As part of the tour, Slightly Stoopid is hosting a remix contest for their song 2AM, a summertime reggae classic that will sooth your soul! Slightly Stoopid has loaded the stems to 2AM into MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard, and now all you pro and amateur musicians (and even nonmusicians) have the chance to create your own kickass remix of the song and share it with the world.

You have two options for making a remix: you can download the stems for free and use any software you want; or you can click on the MixMaker button on the widget to make a remix in MixMatchMusic’s simple online music editor. If you’ve never experienced remixing before, or just want to see how 2AM was made, check out the MixMaker! Either way, make sure to you upload your remix to the widget so that others can listen to, vote on, and share it. The contest starts July 15, 2009 at 2:00 AM and ends August 21, 2009.

There will be ONE winner picked by Slightly Stoopid, who will receive:

A set of the new Slightly Stoopid branded headphones, an autographed Stoopid poster, 2 tickets to the next Slightly Stoopid concert in your area, a limited edition Slightly Stoopid branded glass pipe, CDs of Slightly Stoopid’s entire discography & Chronichitis vinyl, and the Slightly Stoopid Live in San Diego DVD! Also – the winning remix might be posted for streaming on Slightly Stoopid’s Website, MySpace, thesixtyone, and Facebook (subject to Slightly Stoopid’s approval). Not bad, eh?

To get your creative juices flowing, here’s the official video for 2 a.m. Roll yourself a blunt and have a look and a listen. Then, enter the Blazed and Confused at 2AM Remix Contest here.

While Dan the Automator may not be a household name, he certainly should be. There’s not many DJ/Producers that can helm 4 well-regarded projects, make numerous advances in cross-genre mixing and matching, and still remain under the radar. Ask a majority of radio listeners who Dan the Automator is, and my guess is you’ll get 70% blank stares. On the other hand, ask those same listeners if they know who the Gorillaz are, and 95% will know and relate their memory to “Clint Eastwood” or “Tomorrow Comes Today.” It’s the nature of the music industry and the “listen to this new pop” radio society that fans love a group but can have absolutely no clue who makes up that group. So for those 5% and 25% groups respectively, Dan the Automator was behind the Gorillaz.

But that’s not all. He was a driving force behind Handsome Boy Modeling School, a hip-hop collaboration with Prince Paul that included guests such as Sean Lennon, Mike D of the Beastie Boys and Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto. He served as the producer for Kool Keith (Dr. Octagon) and DJ Qbert’s well-known album, Dr. Octagonecologyst. Add to that his credit as the main man behind Lovage, a collaboration between Kid Koala, Mike Patton of Faith No More and Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields, and his full on production of Del the Funky Homosapien’s revolutionary concept album Deltron 3030 and you have one well established producer who has worked with some very big names.

Feeling left out because you haven’t gotten to collaborate with Dan the Automator? Fret not. For all you musicians and aspiring musicians, Dan the Automator has launched a remix contest for his 2009 remake of the Sugar Hill Gang’s hip-hop classic “Rapper’s Delight.” The new version features Domino and Casual (Hieroglyphics) and Charli 2Na from Jurassic 5. Simple to use from MixMatchMusic’s Remix Wizard, just download the stems to your computer and mix away. If you don’t have spiffy mixing software, worry not, as the Wizard allows you to remix on any computer through the web. The catch? The contest ends on Sunday the 14th, so you better get scratching!

Dan the Automator’s song here.

Remix Wizard for the contest here.

Reggae rock artist, Mojo Morgan, son of the legendary reggae artist Denroy Morgan, and member of Morgan Heritage, recently released his debut solo album, “got Mojo?“, on Gedion Soldiers/Keynote Records. Dub and Reggae calls it an “alternative rasta rock album infused with heavy reggae, hip hop, and R&B flavors” but also notes a “heavy dose of rock and soul to keep audiences grooving”. A big thank you to Giant Step for introducing us to this dynamic artist!

[N.B. If you google Mojo Morgan, you may notice that he could be easily confused with Tony "Mojo" Morgan, also referred to as The Hoochie Coochie Man. NOT the same dude.]

Among other accolades, Mojo was a featured artist for the Nike Women promo campaign. They used his track, “Tonight.”

Like it? Well, guess what? You can now remix that very track, “Tonight,” here! (Or look for the Remix Wizard on his MySpace page.) For remixing, you have two options: you can either download the stems for free and make a mix on your music software of choice, or you can make a mix online using the MixMaker. Either way, be sure to publish your remix to the widget for others to listen to, vote on, and share. Submit your remix by June 15, 2009 and you’re in the running to get an all expense paid trip to meet and hang out with Mojo Morgan at his next concert, and to have your remix featured on Mojo’s Myspace page and other site.

Here’s a little more Mojo to get your creative juices flowing:

Are you a fan yet? Why not make it official? Become a fan of Mojo Morgan on Facebook.