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µ-Ziq vs the Auteurs appreciation


easterlingman

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its not my favorite Mu-ziq release...but I absolutely LOVE track 2....reminds me of Phiesope...i love how he takes acoustics and layers these harsh beats over them....takes me back to when I first got into electronic music, the 1995 style, ICBYD and what not....thanks for reminding me of this album...was listening to it in the car today.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 11 months later...

Here's some interesting info on the release I found on discogs...

 

"The story with this release, was that during the period of time that this came out, commercial record labels had finally realized the marketing potential of hiring big name DJs to do remixes of artists signed to their label. Of course, DJs got paid a lot by these labels just to remix another artist's work, but a lot of the time the DJs were bored and uninspired by these artists.

 

Whereas back a few years earlier, a DJ might have done a remix of an artist they really liked or of an artist that had inspired them (a compliment not unlike that of a rock band "covering" another band), now there were all of these DJs being paid a lot of money to remix crap that they hated by artists that were, obviously, just being hyped-up by their labels.

 

This CD happened after one such label, which was in the process of trying to generate hype for The Auteurs, decided to hire µ-Ziq to remix tracks from The Auteurs' album "Now I'm A Cowboy". Michael Paradinas (µ-Ziq) didn't like the album at all, was bored with it and just decided to make original music and throw samples in from the other album here and there. The result was, essentially, a µ-Ziq album with cuts of vocals and maybe a guitar-line from The Auteurs' album here and there throughout the mix, and had an overall dark, abrasive, drone feel, showcasing Michael Paradinas' boredom with the material loud and clear.

 

The label wasn't sure what to think when they came to pick up the finished product and listened to it. I'm sure they were dismayed, hoping for something that would show off a little more of The Auteurs songwriting, which had been completely dissolved with the remixing. They paid Michael and sold the album none-the-less (probably due to contract), and as far as I can tell, a lot of people love it... except maybe those record executives and The Auteurs.

 

In turn, this CD was one of the first examples of an anti-remix album, or versus album (meaning, loosely, one artist "against" another), and also went on to inspire other remix albums, such as Aphex Twin's equally seminal "26 Mixes For Cash" - and by the time that had come out, record companies were already specifically looking for and buying remixes from DJs that sounded nothing like the original artists."

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Guest nannystatenoise

what a coincidence...i just picked this up at Cash Converters 2 days ago (in Singapore, where no one really listens to u-ziq, sp, afx,etc) for just 1.30 pounds...the cd looked like it had been laying there for years ..

 

nearly couldnt believe it was a mu-ziq album until i saw the name 'paradinas' printed on the cd...

 

yeah, nice distorted percussion!

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  • 10 years later...

Here's some interesting info on the release I found on discogs...

 

"The story with this release, was that during the period of time that this came out, commercial record labels had finally realized the marketing potential of hiring big name DJs to do remixes of artists signed to their label. Of course, DJs got paid a lot by these labels just to remix another artist's work, but a lot of the time the DJs were bored and uninspired by these artists.

 

Whereas back a few years earlier, a DJ might have done a remix of an artist they really liked or of an artist that had inspired them (a compliment not unlike that of a rock band "covering" another band), now there were all of these DJs being paid a lot of money to remix crap that they hated by artists that were, obviously, just being hyped-up by their labels.

 

This CD happened after one such label, which was in the process of trying to generate hype for The Auteurs, decided to hire µ-Ziq to remix tracks from The Auteurs' album "Now I'm A Cowboy". Michael Paradinas (µ-Ziq) didn't like the album at all, was bored with it and just decided to make original music and throw samples in from the other album here and there. The result was, essentially, a µ-Ziq album with cuts of vocals and maybe a guitar-line from The Auteurs' album here and there throughout the mix, and had an overall dark, abrasive, drone feel, showcasing Michael Paradinas' boredom with the material loud and clear.

 

The label wasn't sure what to think when they came to pick up the finished product and listened to it. I'm sure they were dismayed, hoping for something that would show off a little more of The Auteurs songwriting, which had been completely dissolved with the remixing. They paid Michael and sold the album none-the-less (probably due to contract), and as far as I can tell, a lot of people love it... except maybe those record executives and The Auteurs.

 

In turn, this CD was one of the first examples of an anti-remix album, or versus album (meaning, loosely, one artist "against" another), and also went on to inspire other remix albums, such as Aphex Twin's equally seminal "26 Mixes For Cash" - and by the time that had come out, record companies were already specifically looking for and buying remixes from DJs that sounded nothing like the original artists."

Here's some interesting info on the release I found on discogs...

 

"The story with this release, was that during the period of time that this came out, commercial record labels had finally realized the marketing potential of hiring big name DJs to do remixes of artists signed to their label. Of course, DJs got paid a lot by these labels just to remix another artist's work, but a lot of the time the DJs were bored and uninspired by these artists.

 

Whereas back a few years earlier, a DJ might have done a remix of an artist they really liked or of an artist that had inspired them (a compliment not unlike that of a rock band "covering" another band), now there were all of these DJs being paid a lot of money to remix crap that they hated by artists that were, obviously, just being hyped-up by their labels.

 

This CD happened after one such label, which was in the process of trying to generate hype for The Auteurs, decided to hire µ-Ziq to remix tracks from The Auteurs' album "Now I'm A Cowboy". Michael Paradinas (µ-Ziq) didn't like the album at all, was bored with it and just decided to make original music and throw samples in from the other album here and there. The result was, essentially, a µ-Ziq album with cuts of vocals and maybe a guitar-line from The Auteurs' album here and there throughout the mix, and had an overall dark, abrasive, drone feel, showcasing Michael Paradinas' boredom with the material loud and clear.

 

The label wasn't sure what to think when they came to pick up the finished product and listened to it. I'm sure they were dismayed, hoping for something that would show off a little more of The Auteurs songwriting, which had been completely dissolved with the remixing. They paid Michael and sold the album none-the-less (probably due to contract), and as far as I can tell, a lot of people love it... except maybe those record executives and The Auteurs.

 

In turn, this CD was one of the first examples of an anti-remix album, or versus album (meaning, loosely, one artist "against" another), and also went on to inspire other remix albums, such as Aphex Twin's equally seminal "26 Mixes For Cash" - and by the time that had come out, record companies were already specifically looking for and buying remixes from DJs that sounded nothing like the original artists."

thanks for this info, had always wondered. it's a great album

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Here's some interesting info on the release I found on discogs...

 

"The story with this release, was that during the period of time that this came out, commercial record labels had finally realized the marketing potential of hiring big name DJs to do remixes of artists signed to their label. Of course, DJs got paid a lot by these labels just to remix another artist's work, but a lot of the time the DJs were bored and uninspired by these artists.

 

Whereas back a few years earlier, a DJ might have done a remix of an artist they really liked or of an artist that had inspired them (a compliment not unlike that of a rock band "covering" another band), now there were all of these DJs being paid a lot of money to remix crap that they hated by artists that were, obviously, just being hyped-up by their labels.

 

This CD happened after one such label, which was in the process of trying to generate hype for The Auteurs, decided to hire µ-Ziq to remix tracks from The Auteurs' album "Now I'm A Cowboy". Michael Paradinas (µ-Ziq) didn't like the album at all, was bored with it and just decided to make original music and throw samples in from the other album here and there. The result was, essentially, a µ-Ziq album with cuts of vocals and maybe a guitar-line from The Auteurs' album here and there throughout the mix, and had an overall dark, abrasive, drone feel, showcasing Michael Paradinas' boredom with the material loud and clear.

 

The label wasn't sure what to think when they came to pick up the finished product and listened to it. I'm sure they were dismayed, hoping for something that would show off a little more of The Auteurs songwriting, which had been completely dissolved with the remixing. They paid Michael and sold the album none-the-less (probably due to contract), and as far as I can tell, a lot of people love it... except maybe those record executives and The Auteurs.

 

In turn, this CD was one of the first examples of an anti-remix album, or versus album (meaning, loosely, one artist "against" another), and also went on to inspire other remix albums, such as Aphex Twin's equally seminal "26 Mixes For Cash" - and by the time that had come out, record companies were already specifically looking for and buying remixes from DJs that sounded nothing like the original artists."

 

This is all completely wrong.

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Here's some interesting info on the release I found on discogs...

 

"The story with this release, was that during the period of time that this came out, commercial record labels had finally realized the marketing potential of hiring big name DJs to do remixes of artists signed to their label. Of course, DJs got paid a lot by these labels just to remix another artist's work, but a lot of the time the DJs were bored and uninspired by these artists.

 

Whereas back a few years earlier, a DJ might have done a remix of an artist they really liked or of an artist that had inspired them (a compliment not unlike that of a rock band "covering" another band), now there were all of these DJs being paid a lot of money to remix crap that they hated by artists that were, obviously, just being hyped-up by their labels.

 

This CD happened after one such label, which was in the process of trying to generate hype for The Auteurs, decided to hire µ-Ziq to remix tracks from The Auteurs' album "Now I'm A Cowboy". Michael Paradinas (µ-Ziq) didn't like the album at all, was bored with it and just decided to make original music and throw samples in from the other album here and there. The result was, essentially, a µ-Ziq album with cuts of vocals and maybe a guitar-line from The Auteurs' album here and there throughout the mix, and had an overall dark, abrasive, drone feel, showcasing Michael Paradinas' boredom with the material loud and clear.

 

The label wasn't sure what to think when they came to pick up the finished product and listened to it. I'm sure they were dismayed, hoping for something that would show off a little more of The Auteurs songwriting, which had been completely dissolved with the remixing. They paid Michael and sold the album none-the-less (probably due to contract), and as far as I can tell, a lot of people love it... except maybe those record executives and The Auteurs.

 

In turn, this CD was one of the first examples of an anti-remix album, or versus album (meaning, loosely, one artist "against" another), and also went on to inspire other remix albums, such as Aphex Twin's equally seminal "26 Mixes For Cash" - and by the time that had come out, record companies were already specifically looking for and buying remixes from DJs that sounded nothing like the original artists."

This is all completely wrong.

 

fill us in please !!

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Here's some interesting info on the release I found on discogs...

 

"The story with this release, was that during the period of time that this came out, commercial record labels had finally realized the marketing potential of hiring big name DJs to do remixes of artists signed to their label. Of course, DJs got paid a lot by these labels just to remix another artist's work, but a lot of the time the DJs were bored and uninspired by these artists.

 

Whereas back a few years earlier, a DJ might have done a remix of an artist they really liked or of an artist that had inspired them (a compliment not unlike that of a rock band "covering" another band), now there were all of these DJs being paid a lot of money to remix crap that they hated by artists that were, obviously, just being hyped-up by their labels.

 

This CD happened after one such label, which was in the process of trying to generate hype for The Auteurs, decided to hire µ-Ziq to remix tracks from The Auteurs' album "Now I'm A Cowboy". Michael Paradinas (µ-Ziq) didn't like the album at all, was bored with it and just decided to make original music and throw samples in from the other album here and there. The result was, essentially, a µ-Ziq album with cuts of vocals and maybe a guitar-line from The Auteurs' album here and there throughout the mix, and had an overall dark, abrasive, drone feel, showcasing Michael Paradinas' boredom with the material loud and clear.

 

The label wasn't sure what to think when they came to pick up the finished product and listened to it. I'm sure they were dismayed, hoping for something that would show off a little more of The Auteurs songwriting, which had been completely dissolved with the remixing. They paid Michael and sold the album none-the-less (probably due to contract), and as far as I can tell, a lot of people love it... except maybe those record executives and The Auteurs.

 

In turn, this CD was one of the first examples of an anti-remix album, or versus album (meaning, loosely, one artist "against" another), and also went on to inspire other remix albums, such as Aphex Twin's equally seminal "26 Mixes For Cash" - and by the time that had come out, record companies were already specifically looking for and buying remixes from DJs that sounded nothing like the original artists."

This is all completely wrong.

 

fill us in please !!

 

ugh - just take the complete opposite of what he said.

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"The story with this release, was that during the period of time that this came out, commercial record labels had finally realized the marketing potential of hiring big name DJs to do remixes of artists signed to their label."

 

Commercial record labels? as opposed to what? Even mailorder labels like Industrial Records in the late 70s and 80s were commercial operations. "Big name DJs" had, in fact, been "hired" to do remixes since the early seventies, because European discotheques stimulated chart sales so much. A popular disco remix of a potential chart hit could propel the song higher and end up in the top ten. High Energy remixes (mid to late 80s) and House remixes (87+) were just continuations of this trend.

 

"Of course, DJs got paid a lot by these labels just to remix another artist's work, but a lot of the time the DJs were bored and uninspired by these artists."

 

Were they? How do you know? Most remixers love what they do, it's an artform. Do you know what they were paid? AFX famously said he was bored, but he wasn't a "Big Name DJ" in 94. 

"Whereas back a few years earlier, a DJ might have done a remix of an artist they really liked or of an artist that had inspired them (a compliment not unlike that of a rock band "covering" another band),"

 

This rarely happened to my knowledge. Are you still talking DJs? Or are we talking electronic musicians from the early 90s wave?

 

"now there were all of these DJs being paid a lot of money to remix crap that they hated by artists that were, obviously, just being hyped-up by their labels."

 

Labels to like to promote their artists. Who says it's crap? A lot of money? Probably not.

 

"This CD happened after one such label, which was in the process of trying to generate hype for The Auteurs, decided to hire µ-Ziq to remix tracks from The Auteurs' album "Now I'm A Cowboy"."

 

Wrong. The label Hut recordings, run by David Boyd were an indie label (subsequently bought by Virgin/EMI) who had signed bands such as The Verve, Moose and The Auteurs (just one guy - Luke Haines). I shared a manager, Tony Beard, with Luke, so it was his idea for me to remix his other act. The idea was to do one remix of Lenny Valentino, but I did three in one day, as I wasn't pleased with each one. Tony suggested I try remixing another track, so I think I did Daughter of a child.

 

"Michael Paradinas (µ-Ziq) didn't like the album at all, was bored with it and just decided to make original music and throw samples in from the other album here and there."

 

Wrong. I did quite like a lot of the songs on the album. None of the songs are 'original music', they are all deconstructed remixes, either using samples as the starting point/source material, or actually being cover versions (e.g. Lenny Valention #2).

 

"The result was, essentially, a µ-Ziq album with cuts of vocals and maybe a guitar-line from The Auteurs' album here and there throughout the mix,"

 

Nope, they're remixes.

 

"and had an overall dark, abrasive, drone feel, showcasing Michael Paradinas' boredom with the material loud and clear."

 

Showcasing my remixing style maybe.

 

"The label wasn't sure what to think when they came to pick up the finished product and listened to it."

 

The label (and Luke and Tony) loved the 4 remixes I delivered. I was the one who wasn't sure about them. They convinced me to do some more, so they could release it as an EP/album.

 

"I'm sure they were dismayed, hoping for something that would show off a little more of The Auteurs songwriting, which had been completely dissolved with the remixing."

 

I love people who are sure.

 

"They paid Michael and sold the album none-the-less (probably due to contract),"

 

Yes, they did pay me. The most money I had received for anything musical up to that point. Luke kept the publishing, but it was a good lump sum for me. As I said, it was the label's and Luke's decision to release the album as they loved the material so much. It led to me being signed by Hut/Virgin/Astralwerks.

 

"and as far as I can tell, a lot of people love it... except maybe those record executives and The Auteurs."

 

I hope people do like it, why do people assume "record executives" don't like good music? They love being challenged and finding new music, that's why their in the biz.

 

"In turn, this CD was one of the first examples of an anti-remix album, or versus album (meaning, loosely, one artist "against" another), and also went on to inspire other remix albums, such as Aphex Twin's equally seminal "26 Mixes For Cash" - and by the time that had come out, record companies were already specifically looking for and buying remixes from DJs that sounded nothing like the original artists."

 

I don't think this is true.
 

 

 

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"The story with this release, was that during the period of time that this came out, commercial record labels had finally realized the marketing potential of hiring big name DJs to do remixes of artists signed to their label."

 

Commercial record labels? as opposed to what? Even mailorder labels like Industrial Records in the late 70s and 80s were commercial operations. "Big name DJs" had, in fact, been "hired" to do remixes since the early seventies, because European discotheques stimulated chart sales so much. A popular disco remix of a potential chart hit could propel the song higher and end up in the top ten. High Energy remixes (mid to late 80s) and House remixes (87+) were just continuations of this trend.

 

"Of course, DJs got paid a lot by these labels just to remix another artist's work, but a lot of the time the DJs were bored and uninspired by these artists."

 

Were they? How do you know? Most remixers love what they do, it's an artform. Do you know what they were paid? AFX famously said he was bored, but he wasn't a "Big Name DJ" in 94. 

 

"Whereas back a few years earlier, a DJ might have done a remix of an artist they really liked or of an artist that had inspired them (a compliment not unlike that of a rock band "covering" another band),"

 

This rarely happened to my knowledge. Are you still talking DJs? Or are we talking electronic musicians from the early 90s wave?

 

"now there were all of these DJs being paid a lot of money to remix crap that they hated by artists that were, obviously, just being hyped-up by their labels."

 

Labels to like to promote their artists. Who says it's crap? A lot of money? Probably not.

 

"This CD happened after one such label, which was in the process of trying to generate hype for The Auteurs, decided to hire µ-Ziq to remix tracks from The Auteurs' album "Now I'm A Cowboy"."

 

Wrong. The label Hut recordings, run by David Boyd were an indie label (subsequently bought by Virgin/EMI) who had signed bands such as The Verve, Moose and The Auteurs (just one guy - Luke Haines). I shared a manager, Tony Beard, with Luke, so it was his idea for me to remix his other act. The idea was to do one remix of Lenny Valentino, but I did three in one day, as I wasn't pleased with each one. Tony suggested I try remixing another track, so I think I did Daughter of a child.

 

"Michael Paradinas (µ-Ziq) didn't like the album at all, was bored with it and just decided to make original music and throw samples in from the other album here and there."

 

Wrong. I did quite like a lot of the songs on the album. None of the songs are 'original music', they are all deconstructed remixes, either using samples as the starting point/source material, or actually being cover versions (e.g. Lenny Valention #2).

 

"The result was, essentially, a µ-Ziq album with cuts of vocals and maybe a guitar-line from The Auteurs' album here and there throughout the mix,"

 

Nope, they're remixes.

 

"and had an overall dark, abrasive, drone feel, showcasing Michael Paradinas' boredom with the material loud and clear."

 

Showcasing my remixing style maybe.

 

"The label wasn't sure what to think when they came to pick up the finished product and listened to it."

 

The label (and Luke and Tony) loved the 4 remixes I delivered. I was the one who wasn't sure about them. They convinced me to do some more, so they could release it as an EP/album.

 

"I'm sure they were dismayed, hoping for something that would show off a little more of The Auteurs songwriting, which had been completely dissolved with the remixing."

 

I love people who are sure.

 

"They paid Michael and sold the album none-the-less (probably due to contract),"

 

Yes, they did pay me. The most money I had received for anything musical up to that point. Luke kept the publishing, but it was a good lump sum for me. As I said, it was the label's and Luke's decision to release the album as they loved the material so much. It led to me being signed by Hut/Virgin/Astralwerks.

 

"and as far as I can tell, a lot of people love it... except maybe those record executives and The Auteurs."

 

I hope people do like it, why do people assume "record executives" don't like good music? They love being challenged and finding new music, that's why their in the biz.

 

"In turn, this CD was one of the first examples of an anti-remix album, or versus album (meaning, loosely, one artist "against" another), and also went on to inspire other remix albums, such as Aphex Twin's equally seminal "26 Mixes For Cash" - and by the time that had come out, record companies were already specifically looking for and buying remixes from DJs that sounded nothing like the original artists."

 

I don't think this is true.

 

 

 

Well glad that was cleared up then. This is still among my fav µ-ziq LPs. The first electronic track I ever made was a total rip-off of the melody from Lenny Valentino 3, a cover of a remix I guess!

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