Slam Remix comp: Slam interview

Slam Remix comp: Slam interview

27 August, 2007 | 6.25AM

• Written by: Terry Church
• Filed under: Music News: slam, slam remix competition, soma

Last June Beatportal teamed up with Slam to find one talented producer to remix their new hit single ‘We’re Not Here’. The response and the quality of entries was so overwhelming that Soma Recordings had no choice but to choose three official remixes to release digitally [check them all out in the player below]. Beatportal caught up with Slam duo Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle to find out more about how they chose the winning remixers.

How did the competition go?

Stuart: “Great! We were really surprised at the sheer amount of entries. We had well over a hundred entries to listen to all from many different genres and from different parts of the globe.”

Were you surprised by the quality of entries?

Orde: “Not really surprised by the quality. We knew that out of so many there were bound to be some excellent mixes.”

“We were more surprised by the variation. Normally we have two or three mixes on a normal Soma release, not a hundred.

“We made a point of not having the names or a list of where each entrant was from so Don and Dave at Soma put them all on various CDs numbered so we could make an unbiased decision.

“What was interesting was listening to so many interpretations of one track.”

What were you looking for in the winning remix?

Stuart:”Something that used the parts from the original but used them in a creative way.”

So why did Jstawarz’ version win - what did he do right?

Stuart:”Like I said above the Joe Stawarz mix did exactly that.

“It’s a mix that uses the parts in a very creative way.

“Not just a remake of the original but a true interpretation.”

Do you think you will be using his remix services in the future?

“For sure. You can look at these things cynically or you can look at them in a positive light.

“He is maybe an artist we would never have came across other wise.

“We are definitely looking forward to hearing more from from him in the future, from a label point of view and also as an artist in general.”

There are also two runners up. How did they do?

“The first runner up is Michael Weldon [Mr Copy] from Glasgow which is pretty cool as that’s our home town as well.

“His mix is very stripped back and druggy.

“He made great use of the parts and kept it simple.

“His mix is more about what he left out than what he put in and it’s a great interpretation that sends dancefloors crazy.”

“The second runner up is Christian Fischer, a techno producer from Leipzig in Germany.

“Again he uses the parts in a subtle way crafting his own style on top.

“This is peak time dancefloor mayhem with tight production.

“The reason we choose this mix is because it makes great use of the parts but has its own unique vibe going on, and good solid production.”

Have you played any of their versions out in clubs?

“We have played all three at various stages in a night.

“The moment that springs to mind though is when we played the Joe Stawarz mix at Fabric, it went down a storm.

“The rest have had a brilliant reaction as well.”

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