Mysto & Pizzi - Kanye West "Love Lockdown" Remix

[Examigan]

I was just watching the crazy video they made for their Kanye West Remix, when I noticed a pretty familiar screen on their OpenLabs DAW

What section is it on? I didn't see it...maybe if you say the time it appears, like 2:30 er whatever (?)

I think everytime you can see the DAW screen in that clip, you can see Sylenth1. I just checked, on 0:34 and 1:24 there's a pretty clear shot of the upper 2/3 part of Sylenth and after that, on about 1:28 you can see the whole left part of Sylenth1. BTW, of course watch the clip on 'high quality' with fullscreen.

Ok now I see it. Thanks.

But...maybe I am out of the loop, but who ARE these guys? What they play on the keyboard is so basic, are they pros or...? They don't have to be as good as somebody like Rick Wakeman, but it wouldn't hurt to be a little more elaborate in their playing.
That would take maybe 10 minutes to write something like that.

[thespecialist]

That would take maybe 10 minutes to write something like that.

http://www.mystoandpizzi.com/

They did remixes for several big popstars and got awarded with a platinum plaque for their R Kelly remix. I'm not sure what your plans are for tonight, but if you think you can do that in 10 minutes and are planning to go out tonight, it might be an idea to drink 1 beer less, go 10 minutes later and use that time to write a remix for a commercial song and send it to the popstar who wrote it. Please let us know when his/her single with your remix on it is available in the shops

What I mean to say, it's so damn easy to downplay any commercial hit with 'oh, that's damn easy, could have done that myself in 10 minutes'. But reality is that only very few people are succesfull at this.

[zvenx]

I think your reply is spot on, and I am one of those musicians who didn't use to respect simple stuff. But you quickly learn that simple and catchy are completely different things..catchy is a gift.....basic you can do in ten minutes but they aren't the same.
rsp

[thespecialist]

But you quickly learn that simple and catchy are completely different things..catchy is a gift.....basic you can do in ten minutes but they aren't the same.

Couldn't agree more.

[cain]

+1, im in los angeles and i see so many people try

[Examigan]

That would take maybe 10 minutes to write something like that.

http://www.mystoandpizzi.com/

They did remixes for several big popstars and got awarded with a platinum plaque for their R Kelly remix. I'm not sure what your plans are for tonight, but if you think you can do that in 10 minutes and are planning to go out tonight, it might be an idea to drink 1 beer less, go 10 minutes later and use that time to write a remix for a commercial song and send it to the popstar who wrote it. Please let us know when his/her single with your remix on it is available in the shops

What I mean to say, it's so damn easy to downplay any commercial hit with 'oh, that's damn easy, could have done that myself in 10 minutes'. But reality is that only very few people are succesfull at this.

"Very few people are successful at this"... doesn't mean it is great.

If I think I did a great job (and others do like it, just not the "golden eared" people working for Britney or whoever) but the pop crowd doesn't like it, does that mean I am a bad songwriter?
No.

I understand "Catchy"...that is like "West End Girls", I always thought it was very simple, but I can understand it is catchy, and that others might like it for some reason.

But this stuff in the video:
If you didn't know who they were...or what they've done in the past, would you say WOW!! That is amazing!!! I couldn't do THAT!!!" (?)

You CAN do what they did (it's not like playing a Zappa or Vai song) and you might not get discovered of course, but I think a lot of it is luck... knowing who you know, all the contacts, etc.

With that said, I respect they are doing what they want to do, and music is music, and it's cool that they are successful at it.

[thespecialist]

"Very few people are successful at this"... doesn't mean it is great.

Beaty is in the eye (ear ) of the beholder. I think Trentemoller is great and some of his tracks I see as the purest form of art, I'd like to think of it as poetry in music. Does that make his tracks 'great' ? I'm sure tons of people would disagree.

I don't like hiphop/rnb that much and therefore I'm really not a fan of Timberland. But anything this guy writes becomes a hit ! And he wrote tons. So, while I don't think it's 'great', I do think the guy is gifted and I do have respect for that.

You CAN do what they did (it's not like playing a Zappa or Vai song) and you might not get discovered of course, but I think a lot of it is luck... knowing who you know, all the contacts, etc.

While this may have held true in the past, nowadays it doesn't anymore. Sure, it helps if your sister is dating a popstar, but if you're not that 'lucky', there are so many other ways now. Thousands of labels have entered the market, each with their own websites (and contact opportunities), there are now lots of public sites where you can reach a crowd (and scouts) like youtube for example. While 'luck' might make things easier for sure, it's really not a necessity anymore. So that's really not an argument you can hide behind. If you've tried and nobody wanted your track, then either you didn't try hard enough or (more probably) your track wasn't 'good' enough.

[MacQ]

Hey,

I did remixes for several years for major acts. Britney and Justin Timberlake alike. And my insight is this: the budgets aren't what they used to be.

That said, for producers who are hungry for credits, this kind of work is pretty straightforward and easy to do. But it's too much of a lottery now ... 50 guys get a cappellas, and 1 or 2 mixes get picked up, for maybe $1,500 to $2,000 each. For the 20+ hours one puts into a GOOD remix, and understanding that there is ZERO participation in any royalty earnings (the label buys the mix from you as a work-for-hire), it's not really a decent deal. The money these days is in WRITING, because at least you get a royalty on the back end if it does well.

These guys have a line into Jive (R.Kelly, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake), so that's how they got their first "high-profile" gigs. But it won't amount to much without constant sales pressure to other labels, and getting cuts. Their R.Kelly cut notwithstanding, they have a lot of grunt work to do before they can start calling the shots.

But they have passion and are serious about it, and for that I give them a huge amount of respect. It sucks for them that they're hip-hop guys forced to do dance music, but I guess wherever you can find the money is okay. If they write that killer hit now, they're in a great position because the lines of communication to the big A&R's are now open, plus they're New York-based, so they actually go to meetings with guys rather than over the phone. It's so much easier to get a gig with a meeting.

So, in the end ... the message here is to write hits, because remixes are fun for the resumé, but amount to nothing in 5 years time.

~Stu

[MitchK1989]

I also see massive in that clip... The bass synth in particular sounds like it's from massive. (as in the slow attack sustained dirty one, not the stereotypical bass synth sounds)

[Nokenoku]

I don't like hiphop/rnb that much and therefore I'm really not a fan of Timberland. But anything this guy writes becomes a hit ! And he wrote tons. So, while I don't think it's 'great', I do think the guy is gifted and I do have respect for that.

His stuff of the last years was total bullcrap (don't know what exactly he did before .. but I'd be surprised, if there'd be something good, which he had not stolen) and only got sold because he already had a name.

If a noname would come up with unmusical crap songs like "Sexyback" or "Way I are", NOBODY would have been listening to that shit without the massive marketing push that untalented pseudo-composer got. So no, I have no -absolutely no- respect for Timbaland, because his songs only got hits because the marketing was done right. To most people you can sell (nearly) every music you want, if you only tell them how cool and "in" it is (in fact you can actually sell nearly every opinion to people). And that's what happened with Timbaland and (by the way) is a serious factor for the badness of todays commercial pop-music!

Just open your eyes (and ears) and think about, what good music is .. what good music means. Timbalands "hits" have nothing to do with good music.

But now since there was that Timbaland-boom (which was started by really really good marketing), everybody tries to copy it. And it's no wonder ... it's easy to produce, you can feel "cool" by doing it, you can very likely sell something AND you don't even need to be a good song-writer to do it.
That's the reason, why everybody today is copying it, and why the niveau of commercial pop-music reached its absolute zero point.

Peoples minds got poisoned through marketing, and now the whole thing developed a cruel amount of momentum, which drives it further and further ...



Oh, sorry for OT, but it had to be said.

[zvenx]

I find timberland productions very catchy......have no idea if he stole them and yes I am aware of that thread/youtube to some song from norway or not sure where..
rsp

[zvenx]

I think we always need to remember what is one man's meat is another man's poison.
Many classical musicians consider anything that isn't classical bullcrap and not music...for me I find it hard to believe the rolling stones are so popular... for me it isn't good music.... but because I think so doesn't make it not good music.. everyone has different taste and I dont' think any of us are more right than any other.....what makes the world go around.....everyone is different.
rsp

[Nokenoku]

Taste is overrated. There's good music, and there's bad one ... this has nothing to do with any genres.

To be "catchy" is not to be good. And even not catchy songs can become catchy if you just listen to them multiple times (and with that Timbo-crap they bomb you the whole day on radio).

[zvenx]

ok what makes music good?
rsp

[Nokenoku]

Free your mind and ask yourself ... and you will find the answer.