Tag Archive for 'The Bayliens'

SXSW Spotlights Artist-Fan Collaboration in New Film About Music 2.0

sxsw

Over the last several months, MixMatchMusic has been busy working on a short film for South By Southwest, titled “Remix…A New Way to Engage Fans”. Well, we’re happy to announce that the film is now live and you are invited to see how artists and fans are turning to remixing to connect and interact with fans in a music 2.0 world.

Emerging hip hop artists, the Bayliens, are poster children for a music 2.0 world that is nearly as much about connecting with fans off stage as it is entertaining them onstage.  This film shows how they’re connecting with fans at an almost molecular level, by offering them the musical building blocks of their songs and encouraging them to remix them into new sounds and new songs. The film also features insights from AmpLive (of Zion I) and Trifonic on the power of artist-fan collaboration.

Musicians are navigating a dramatically changed music business landscape.  More than ever, they have to engage and involve casual listeners in order to build deep and lasting relationships with them.  The group behind the video, MixMatchMusic (aka, the dudes writing this post), is focused on helping musicians make those connections and deepening the bonds that link them with fans.

The Bayliens

Tra.kz Artist Spotlight: Enzyme Dynamite ("Girls" Trevor Simpson Remix)

enzamiawhitetigercappsdIf you read Evolving Music, you probably know that the Bayliens have been taking the Bay Area by storm this last year, and are currently inviting you to remix their single “Bubble Gum”. But, Enzyme Dynamite (1/3 of the Bayliens) is a man of many flavors. “Girls” features Enzyme leaving his familiar hip-hop roots and stepping into new territory: electro.

And, Enzyme handles it well. “Girls” is remixed by Energy 92.7’s Trevor Simpson, a master producer and DJ who lays down the necessary dirty synth and driving beats to make this song bang. This song will surely find its way in the your local dance club very soon. Listen/Download Girls here!

Remix HMD

Underground hip hop artist, HMD, who recently released his debut album One Pursuit, is known for his collaborations, having worked with the likes of Masta Ace, Wordsworth, R.A the Rugged Man, Reef the Lost Cauze, Baby Blak, and many others. Now he wants to work with you!

You can remix several of HMD’s tracks (“Mummers Beat Down”, “Old Records”, and “Imma Make It”) here. Click on any of the widgets by HMD, download the stems and remix in your own audio editing software OR use the online MixMaker. Once you upload your remix back to the widget, others can listen to, vote on, and share your remix. Check it out!

Besides having a knack for deftly arranging collaborations with other artists, HMD is also known for his sampling. Digging up dusty records and identifying old school sounds that blend magically with his beats gives him a unique sound. Apparently the guy is a master turntablist too. For more on One Pursuit, check out the review on Hip-Hop Linguistics.

As you may have noticed, Evolving Music has begun covering bands that use the Remix Wizard to engage their fans, starting with The Bayliens. Set up your own widget here and we may feature you on this blog.

Remix Culture is Exploding

DIY music mashups are becoming increasingly prevalent as more and more musicians see the value of interacting with their fans. Luckily, as DJ Earworm points out, “the music industry is beginning to see the benefit of increased exposure through releasing stems directly to the public”.

Remixing used to be largely the territory of DJs, producers and other “sonic manipulators”, who would typically overlay the a cappella from one song on top of another or sometimes add their own sounds. But now fans are embracing the concept. We owe a big thank you to Radiohead for popularizing the fan remix concept (again) and to all the other musicians who have begun to release stems through various mediums. More and more artists, both underground and mainstream, are warming up to the idea.

Increasingly, average people don’t just want to passively be entertained by media anymore. They want to experience it. Whether it’s pictures, audio, or video, people are manipulating and mashing up media to their hearts’ content. YouTube is a great example. People want to be seen and heard and be free to exercise their creativity in new ways. (Sometimes leaving the rest of us scratching our heads and wondering why they would possibly post a video of themselves doing that… but hey, they should still have that freedom and ideally the tools to do so.)

One has to give some credit to Girl Talk as well. Through his enthusiastic use of unauthorized samples, Girl Talk has been a pioneer in the mashup revolution. While legal remixing is certainly different than the bootleg subculture that grew around unauthorized sampling, these two sides of remix culture seem to be slowly converging. As artists and the powers that be in the music industry begin to embrace the perspective that when someone samples your music it’s not stealing, but rather free promotion, the boundaries begin to melt away. And thus, music evolves.

In an article delving into some mashup history and the growing mashup revolution, Roberta Cruger says:

“In DIY culture, consumers are the producers, owning the tools of production — a laptop instead of guitar, bass and drums. The bedroom is the studio and factory machinery moves out of the nightclub onto the Internet for millions to access. The media monopolies are fighting back, but with the airwaves gobbled up by conglomerates, homespun mash-ups may be the people’s digital antidote.”

When a need becomes apparent (in this case, the desire of fans to remix), naturally the solutions begin to surface as well. Like the MixMatchMusic Remix Wizard, which allows artists (e.g. The Bayliens) to host their own remix promotions easily. As remix culture continues to grow, it’ll be fascinating to see what kinds of creative fusions and deconstructions happen. New genres will evolve, the industry will continue to take unpredictable twists and turns, and who knows what other clever things will surface as the tools and the freedom to explore and create are placed in the hands of music consumers.

For example, someone took the Remix Wizard (created to facilitate music remixes) and set up a page called “Help Sarah Make Sense” where you can rearrange Sarah’s words (for better or for worse). Pretty funny actually. Go make a remix!

Remix the Bayliens with the Remix Wizard

Remix season has begun folks! In the next few weeks, be on the look out for the unleashing of several Remix Wizards that will give you the chance to (legally) remix some great bands.  To kick it off, we have a catchy little number by the Bayliens called “Bubble Gum”, which some of you may have heard on Wild 94.9. They released a video for the song last week (see below),  and now they want you to get your remix on!

Enzyme Dynamite (left) & Jay Three (right)

The Bayliens: Enzyme Dynamite (left) & Jay Three (right)

For those of you who haven’t been around the Bay Area hip hop scene recently, it’s safe to say the Bayliens have landed. Since dropping their debut release “Crop Circles” over a year ago, their incessant touring and energy on stage have made them one of the bay’s most loved artists. Now they’re following the footsteps of bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails by releasing stems for others to remix. Click here to download the stems for free, or to make a remix in the web-based MixMaker.

Produced by Dublin Beats, Crop Circles is an accessible mosaic of hiphop sounds fused with an electronic and often futuristic twist. The song features vocalist Cait La Dee, who teams up with Enzyme Dynamite and Jay Three to deliver an instant west coast classic! Get a feel for who the Bayliens are by tuning in to their “Zany 360” radio show on Fuzic.

To check out, vote on, and grab submitted remixes of Bubble Gum, go here. While you’re there, try making your own mix using the online MixMaker.