Certain opportunities tend to present themselves in unique ways. When I first started listening to dance music in the 90s or even gave the production idea a thought years later, I never would have guessed that an opportunity to remix a Sasha track would present itself.
It’s rather difficult not to sound cheesy or almost stalkish when speaking of what Sasha has meant to me as a DJ and Producer. I have always enjoyed dance music, however, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around the idea of the “DJ”. To me this person was just a glorified, wannabe rock star playing other people’s music. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what they did and how so many people could support them. That was until I went to my first “real” DJ show of Sasha & John Digweed at The GrooveJet in Miami.
These guys were different. Sure, I had seen other DJs play and listened to other DJs release their mix CDs. Sasha & Digweed were a breed of DJ that set them apart from the aspiring DJ. They were surgical with their mixes, and still managed to keep the evening going without missing a beat. The bar had been elevated for me to appreciate a new level of DJing as an art form.
At the same time, I felt like there was a void in dance music. There was a gap between the DJ and the producer of these amazing tracks. I remember having conversations with some top flight DJs on how they obtained their records. Some were a part of record pools that allowed producers to submit their records to be selected by these exclusive DJs. In many ways, this essentially became the hunting grounds for DJs to scour for gems that would essentially get unlimited play time by these DJs during their global sets.
Thanks to the digitizing of music, sites like Beatport, amongst other ones, those days are long gone. As we know, digitizing was bad for the record/vinyl companies, but great for all producers and those trying to make a name. I think the digital age is even better now for the DJ who now has a larger access of music available, but perhaps bad for the art form itself. Only time will tell.
When the contest for Sasha’s Remix of ‘Cut Me Down’ surfaced, I was excited by the idea that I was finally going to get the opportunity to work on something of this magnitude. More importantly, it was a contest that was opened up to the “no namers” of the production world. Granted, I have seen/heard some entries of people who are published producers and well-established DJs. Not sure what the rules pertain to that, but needless to say, the experience has been phenomenal.
This is my first remix at anything. Keep in mind; this is also my first time using Ableton as a production tool. Ableton is a beast in itself. If anything, I was surprised how easy and user friendly it was. I had worked with other software in the past including Logic (briefly), Fruity Loops, and Reason. The workflow and concepts are similar, but Ableton allows you to handle the production piece in such a granular way that as a producer you have more control of the output.
I have come to realize that Ableton is a new instrument for me. Keep in mind my background in music started writing songs on the guitar, writing lyrics and singing. I believe this experience has allowed me to look at arrangements much differently than the novice producer.
Before jumping into this remix contest I had to take a very important step – a backwards one. In order to understand the contest, I knew Sasha wasn’t looking for a re-edit of his track. Oddly enough, that was his initial feedback two days after the contest had started. My plan of attack with this remix was to take his track and really make it my own. In a lot of ways I was eager to prove that I could take something and add to its intricate foundation and make it even more complex.
I do hope this is the start of a new phase in my musical career. I’m eager to learn more and hopefully this contest will give me the opportunity to do so. Even if I’m not selected I already know that I’m coming out on top.
Please make sure to vote/”Like” for my track by following this link: like.djzanni.com. The deadling is July 10th.
Tags: ableton, burn studios, Christian Zanni, cut, cut me down, cut me down remix, dallas, dallas texas, Digweed, dj christian zanni, dj sasha, dj zanni, final cut studio, John Digweed, remix, remix contest, Sasha, sasharmx