Black Eyed Eric (Colatron Wants Your Soul)

Well, as the lyrics go, "It's been a long time"

What a month July has been. Highs and lows....lots of lows. Stag parties, weddings, drinking, assaults with a piece of salmon, torrential flooding, assaults on hotel doors with water colour paintings, more drinking, work, work, work, and unfortunately, a death. It's been one long month, and the amount of work I have been doing recently has been ridiculous, hence the lack of updates so many apologies to my listeners.

This track has been sat on my desktop for around a month now and finding the time to actually concentrate and finish it off properly has been nigh on impossible but last night I knuckled down and worked through the night to get it out

Been playing around with the Eric B & Rakim vocal for ages and couldn't find anything to match it to, and then one day after listening to the mighty Loo & Placido it clicked. Now this ain't no "Black Beatles" - to try and top that would be foolhardy, but I am pleased with the outcome. Think party choon. Think added bass. Think Colatron

I've been constructing the songs in Acid Pro still, but have been using Adobe Audition lately to add the effects and filters, and I think the results are much better. That plus my new bass shaking speakers (17W woofer in my tiny flat? You gotta feel for the neighbours) for the PC just made me want to add the additional bass drum to certain sections of the instrumental. Apologies if it drowns out your speakers, but it sounds perfect on mine.

A few random samples from The Running Man (this was originally gonna be a tribute to Damon Killian, top villain with all the best lines in the classic Arnie movie), a smooth vocal from Lil' Flip straight from Beyonce's "Naughty Girl", a snippet of InDeep's "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" and a bizarre ending top off the track.

The ending is my little apology to all my friends from MySpace and Facebook that I've neglected the last 4 weeks. I decided to give them a little Auto Attendant-style message straight from Colatron Inc. (a bit of an in-joke for those in the know - me working in Telecoms) explaining that they may not get through to me. I think it works and I'll probably end up using it for something else too such as a promo.

Anyhow, enough rant, on with the track:-

Black Eyed Eric (Colatron Wants Your Soul)

Black Eyed Peas vs. Eric B & Rakim
(Let's Get Retarded vs. I Know You Got Soul)



MP3 Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?8hxfbj3wbhm

Be warned - it does chew up the bass!

Dedicated to Chris - I know you had soul

Writer's Block

The clue's in the title!

Once again, been a busy boy at work this week, and so my creative process has been somewhat thrown, to the point where I have what some may call "Writer's Block". Which ironically is the name of the track that this is based on.

I've been in the doldrums creatively this week, to the point where I had no ideas for tunes or artwork, or even to go back to the projects I have on the go currently.

I hate going back over ground already trod, but when I finally found an instrumental I was enthusiastic to use, only one track was in my head to match it - Depeche Mode's 'Enjoy the Silence'. I'd already made a track using the 'pella, posted down below, but using it with this one gives the vocal a new feeling, almost puts me in mind of old school Balearic guitar beat bliss. I couldn't even think of a decent title though!

That said, I've had a game and a half pitching the vocals on this - I hope I've got it right, it sounds good to my ear, but it could be slightly out - it needs fresh ears to confirm.

I've also gotten completely bored of my one usual trick of adding a wee bit of stereo-echo to everything, so I've been playing with the FX in Audition instead, which pleasantly surprised me as being really good and very easy to use! Still took me ages to decide on something suitable to this though.

Something was missing though - a quick flick through the obligatory rap 'pellas later and Skee-Lo was perfect.

Here's the final product. Even had a play with the usual colatron-style graphics! Not my fave piece of work, but it's got the creativity flowing again hopefully - in fact, I've made my own instrumental for my next project, which if I can get the right vocal to fit, could be awesome...roll on next weekend...

Writer's Block

Just Jack vs. Depeche Mode vs. Skee Lo
(Writer's Block vs. Enjoy the Silence vs. I Wish)

MP3 Here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?3whyxzbmmhp

U R Still A Dudu

Just time folks before I head to bed, to post another tune for the weekend, and IMHO it's a perfect tune to end the weekend with, a chilled out slice of r n' b.

I've been toying around all weekend with a few new instrumentals and 'pellas sitting on my PC and at this present moment in time I have about 5 or 6 projects on the go, via Acid Pro. But as always, I blew all of them out as this one came to mind. It's so annoying, I have certain mixes I want to finish but they always seem to get pushed aside as soon as something else fits as a result of playing about.

Anyhow, this one took me maybe 2 and a half hours from getting in from the pub in Moseley - it's semi-inspired by the stereo in the top boozer "The Fighting Cocks" (not the best name for a pub, I admit) where every track they played tonight was so blissfully chilled out, I had to have a go at making a weekend comedown track.

So straight away, I know where I'm headed for - an old CD I picked up about 8 years ago whilst at Uni - Smokedown, this awesome chilled out leftfield compilation I picked up back when I was spending £50 a week minimum on CDs (ironically when I had less money than now) featuring some real way out there electronica. One track jumped out straight away as having a decent easy beat to match a vocal to - Kushti's "U R Still Ahead" - it has a nice mellow vibe too (goes without saying, there's at least another 4 or 5 tracks on there that will be making it on to Acid at some point).

But what vocal to mash it with? Well, from my previous post for "Sometimes I Smile", I was determined to get a foreign language 'pella in the mix, and Tarkan's "Dudu" was top of my list. Tarkan for those who don't know was the dude who came up with the orginal version of Holly Valance's "Kiss Kiss" - a top top track, considering it's pop and I normally hate pop (probably something to do with Holly being cute, the reason I like it :D) - read more about him here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarkan

He really is a talented guy, and considering I don't understand Turkish, I can still appreciate a great vocal when I hear it.

But the track needed something else....the silky smooth vocals of the much missed Aaliyah. Now there was a talented girl who left us in tragic circumstances. Still, she left a great legacy of records (and they are ALWAYS played on Freeview channel 'The Hits' which is a good thing) and this was possibly my fave of them all.

Chuck in a subtle sample (you'll probably never hear it, it's that low in the mix) and a hint of my next track I'm working on (featuring Japanese pop megastar Otsuka Ai) and you have a lovely blissed out track, perfect for a sunny summer's day (let's hope it gets rid of this infernal rain here in the UK).

By the way, I normally put a bit of thought in to the covers for my tracks, trying to relate them to the music, no matter how tenuous the link, but in this case, I went for an image I Photoshopped yesterday for my Facebook profile that I just love (and not in a vain way!) - it's my best bit o' image manipulation yet, so I apologise to those who may like to find a meaning in my covers. And apologies for the crap name for this track too, but I'm half cut, and it's getting late, and one of out top clients is in the office in 7 hours so I should really think about bed.

I'll leave it with ya!

U R Still A Dudu

Kushti vs. Tarkan vs. Aaliyah
(U R Still Ahead vs. Dudu vs. Try Again)



MP3 Here
http://www.mediafire.com/?cjr1ttmpyyt

Perfect Slow Music

The track that very nearly wasn't...

This one caused me a just a few legends of GYBO a few headaches! It's been a hell of a week, what with the shocking situation of hero wrestler Chris Benoit apparently slaughtering his family and then committing suicide (this guy was a hero of mine...I'm still struggling to get my head around it), the crazy terrorist attacks in the UK, the company I work for virtually doubling in size over night (and yet the work tripled....how does that work?), a hectic stag weekend down in rainy Cornwall, Newquay (more of which later), the smoking ban coming in in England, a blinding gig by The Hours in Leicester on Tuesday followed by some celebrity stalking of the man known as Serge from Kasabian (never did get that photo...dang-it), and my good friend Kirsty's 21st b'day party tomorrow night. Suffering from burn-out at the relatively young age of 28.

Anyhow, the stag do....I gotta thank the lads, and Arkie and Davo in particular for a cracking weekend. There's something quintessentially British about camping in a tent with a load of boozed up lads, in the pouring rain all in the name of love/marriage. Plus then there's crashing a go-kart at 50mph in to a wall of tyres and being shot in the throat by a paintball (I still carry the scars) at less than 20 foot, and if I ever eat another over-barbecued sausage with scotch egg chaser again, it'll be too soon.

But it was a fun time, and led to the creation of this track. Being a rather civilised stag party, I was taken aback by the randomness of some of the groups we saw out and about, and I was taken back to my youth by the pounding poppy techno played in clubs/bars such as The Central and Sailors. I used to love this stuff, and the sight of Brownie's dancing made me realise, I had to make a track that could be played in such a place.

Fast forward to Sunday evening... maybe 8 hours sleep in 3 days and I wasn't going to bed any time soon.

One track sitting on my PC stood out and I just so happened to have the 'pella and the instrumental...hear the cogs turning? Two other 'pellas that fit the bill perfectly and I was on a roll (inspired also by listening to a shed-load of Mark Ronson over the weekend, in particular his mash-tastic boot of Kylie's 'Slow').

My track was finished in probably less than 5 hours, and then the problem came up... a software glitch meant that I couldn't render the track. I kept getting some god-awful corruption 2 minutes in to the MP3. How annoying was that. Probably my tidiest work, and I couldn't share it.

A quick post on GYBO however, and a few days later, and finally I found a shortcut around the issue, slicing the track in to loops, and stitching back together in Adobe Audition 2.0, with the addition of a little intro. I'd like to give a beeeeg thanks to all the guys on GYBO who helped out, especially McSleazy, Riko, Essexboy, Ian Fondue and in particular 10000 Spoons. Good work chaps.

Anyway, on with the show...

Perfect Slow Music

Mason vs. Princess Superstar vs. Kylie Minogue vs. Madonna
(Perfect (Exceeder) vs. Slow vs. Music)



MP3 Here (new link as I've tweaked the timing on the Madge vocal)
http://www.mediafire.com/?0omfsmyz2de

PS. I've bit the bullet and sold my soul and signed up to Facebook - have a look for me (or alternatively message me) and join the Circle

Sometimes I Smile

I think it's safe to say, I am now officially a weekend Bootlegger, only finding time to make tracks on a Friday night.

Anyway, another new track for ya, ironically half inspired by watching highlights from Glastonbury on TV last night (gutted - all of my friends are there, and for the first time in 6 or 7 years, there's no festivals for me this year) with Lily Allen appearing on stage today, and a wonderful performance by beatbox maestro Shlomo on the show, helping me remember I had this track on my PC.

The track in question is Deceptikon's "Sometimes You Here It Coming". A top chilled out track I came across on a random blog a few months back, it's another one I'd been dying to use for ages, but never having anything suitable to mix with it.

Then watching the world stage acts on Glasto last night, it struck me.... an acapella I have by (presumably) Turkish superstar Turkan - "Dudu". It worked a treat, without having to me to chop, or add filters or anything. 10 seconds work for a top mash. However, the 'pella was short by maybe 2 minutes, and I hate having to find filler material - if the track you're working with can't fill a mash, scrap it.

Back to the drawing board and the obvious was looking me in the face, Lily Allen's "Smile". Those in the know, know that Lily is an "Andy Bird" - the kind of girl I'd love to go out; she swears, smokes and wears dresses with trainers - everything I love and more. So it's only right I use her amazing vocal with an amazing track. I hope you find the results enjoyable.

Kept it simple, adding a slight bit of echo, and a leslie rotospeaker filter, mainly to hide some dodgy artifacts from some beat-stretching - easy! And I didn't even have to chop it up for the breaks - perfect timing on Mr. Deceptikon's part.

And sorry if this blog reads weird but I'm still watching Glasto whilst typing and I'm not really concentrating. Plus, the final irony, as I'm posting this, Lily has just come on the TV....sigh....I wish she were my girlfriend....

Sometimes I Smile

Deceptikon vs. Lily Allen
(Sometimes You Here It Coming vs. Smile)




Edited - 25/6/07
After a little bit of feedback on the boards, some of the guys feel that the timing was off in the original version of this track, so I've had a can of beer, pointed my finger in the air a lot counting the beats, and added a wee dash of Nat King Cole with some filters applied, in the hope that this works better for them.

Give it a go and see if it makes any difference,

Cheers, a tired Andy
http://www.mediafire.com/?f7g2gymxtfx

Keep Their Heads This Way

Here's one I've been itching to make for a while.

A couple of years back, I bought the awesome Fabric Live 22, mixed live by the amazing Scratch Perverts (interesting fact - the first group/band I ever saw live whilst at Uni, at the legendary Faversham - never looked back!), and the standout track at the time (bearing in mind virtually every track on the CD is a standout moment) had to be Dilated Peoples feat. Kanye West - "This Way" with it's funky samba-esque piano and gospel choir.

Well, a couple of weeks back I came across the 'pella for this sublime track. Instantly, I was wracked with a need to make a track out of it, but which instrumental to use?! I tried every hip-hop beat I had, but none seemed to fit. Then as luck would have it, I also stumbled across the instrumental of one of my fave hip-hop tracks, Dr. Dre's "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" with it's infectious "Ring-Ding-Dong" refrain.

Result - the two fitted at the beginning, but the vocal part from the choir would just not fit. However, a bit of cut and paste and some tempo changes later, and here we go. A few of you may spot a couple of choice samples in there also - the intro from UNKLE's "Back and Forth" (the legendary Original Ozzy version which I'll do something with one day), and Kanye West's "Gold Digger" and "Wake Up Mr. West", and not forgetting Saint Germain's "Rose Rouge". I was going to have a bit of Run DMC's "Walk This Way" also but unfortunately my DJ-ing skills aren't that good!

The only other problem I had was how to finish it, as eventually the Dre instrumental just wouldn't fit, so what better way to end than to bring back the original, which works really well for me, as the emotive pianos finsh off the track perfectly.

So sit back, pour a gin n' juice and enjoy.

Keep Their Heads This Way

Dr. Dre vs. Dilated Peoples (feat. Kanye West)
(Keep Their Heads Ringin' vs. This Way)



MP3 Here
http://www.mediafire.com/?csuxswng2x4

Hot Gossip

Another weekend and another mash-up to post. This time I've gone with a couple of oldies but goldies.

I've been making a couple of compilation CDs for friends, and the ontrack that constantly appears on them has to be Hot Chip's "Over and Over" - nigh on 6 minutes of tight funky rhythm, that never fails to get me on the dance floor. Well I found myself with an instrumental version of it and immediately my mind turned to Fedde Le Grand's "Take No Shhh", if only so I could make a track and call it "Hot Shit!". Well I played and puzzled and it just wasn't happening, so bereft of ideas, I did a massive acapella search.

The results of which turned up "Hollaback Girl" by the lovely Gwen Stefani. Immediately I could hear similarities, and with a couple of clicks on the mouse, my ideas were confirmed, it fitted!

A bit of chopping up and reversals later, and I had the basis of my track, but I was missing something. Fortunately, Lady Fate was smiling on me, and at about 11:30pm last night I stumbled across a great forum for acapellas and instrumentals
http://www.lazyrecords.co.uk/forum/index.php
which whilst not my usual source for material, proved to be rich, full of stuff I'd been looking for, for a long time. One of the first tracks I found on there was a studio acapella of the mighty Gossip's "Standing in the Way of Control" - another track which has been caned on the recent compilations I've been making. The choice was obvious.

So cutting up Beth's vocals (she's an amazing singer - you really should hear the acapella with no backing beneath it, raw power!) and applying a little chorus effect to crisp things up, I had the finished article.

Then at 2:00am, I realised that I hadn't added the mysterious letters being spealt out that Hot Chip had on the original (K.I.S.S.I.N.G S.E.X.I.N.G. C.A.S.I.O. P.O.K.E. Y.O.U. M.E. ??!!), so a couple of 'Voice of Colatraon' generations later and I had my suitably mysterious letters to finish the track with.

3:30am I made it to bed, and I didn't crawl out of the Pit of Colatron until 2:30 this afternoon, but well worth wasting a day over.

As I say, oldies but goldies and great for dancing the night away to.

Right, I have 4 different versions of Massive Attack's "Unfinished Sympathy" to go work on, see you in a week!

Hot Gossip

Hot Chip vs. the Gossip vs. Gwen Stefani
(Over and Over vs. Standing in the Way of Control vs. Hollaback Girl)



MP3 Here
http://www.mediafire.com/?13wuzvzp0a2

Miscellanea

Here's some little curios for you.

Having had a couple of my tracks played on the excellent Ramdom Thoughts podcast, the host Scott Johnson asked me to put together a jingle for myself, and then later, a promo for his show.

Here's the results - they are pretty similar with just a few changes to the samples and structure, but I really like them and are probably my fave things produced. There are two other versions of the Ramdom Thoughts promos in existence too, using Gorillaz and the wonderful UNKLE remix of the Queens of the Stone Age, which I may finish off one day.

Probably of no use to anyone, but hey, in the words of the old Wrigley's Chewing gum commercials, "Great to taste, even better to share!". If any podcasters or radio hosts read this, then please, play the Ramdom Thoughts promo on your show and give Scott the publilcity he deserves...

Colatron Radio Jingle
http://www.mediafire.com/?0f3omtz5u2i

Ramdom Thoughts podcast promo
http://www.mediafire.com/?42v0lmmwz2h

Simon Says Give! (Bollywood Riddim)

Here's the second of the 2 updates folks.

Caning the instrumentals and acapellas this last week, I've been listening to loads of Nelly Furtado. The new style and image is incredible, and as most people know, she is my ideal Smartie's Angel, so I've been dying to use something of hers.

Also, I've just recently dowloaded the fabulous Bost & Bim mixtape (read about it and follow the link to download here, over at GYBO http://www.gybo-v3.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=26722) which takes songs you wouldn't expect to hear in a reggae style and applies a "Riddim", in many cases completely changing the feel of the vocal. So I went on the search for riddims.

What I came up with is this. I tried to keep the Timbaland and Timberlake vocals in there at first, but had real timing issues, so in the end I scrapped them and tried some raps out instead. I finally settled on Pharoahe Monch (much inspired by my lovely friend Angel aka Jaime Summerz - check her out if you can find her on MySpace - she's gonna be huge, the little cutie she is...). Still a few timing issues on there, maybe, but the overall effect works for me. See what you think.

Simon Says Give! (Bollywood Riddim)

Nelly Furtado vs. Pharoahe Monch
(Give It To Me vs. Simon Says)



MP3 Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?5hqcdmneymv

Welcome to the Borderline (Colatron Dub)

Blimey - that was a while wasn't it since the last post?

So, I've been suffering pretty much the bootlegger's version of 'Writer's Block' recently. After finishing off the Sycophant vol. 3, where I was literally firing off 2 or 3 tracks a day in a creative frenzy, the last 2 or 3 weeks I've been really struggling. And that's not for lack of ideas.

I've had a download frenzy, literally laying my hands on 100s of acapellas and instrumentals, some of which I am DYING to use (Dilated Peoples feat. Kanye West - This Way; one of my fave vocals ever and d'ya think I can mix it with anything?!!) but nothing was working out properly for me, to the point where I refused to boot up the PC, as I was getting so frustrated.

However, this Wedensday spun around and I managed to come up with this. It's managed to turn things around for me, and I seem to be getting back to normal in terms of finding things that fit.

Plus, it's my first attempt at recreating the dub vibe I've always loved on the legendary Trojan Records, and more recently the bonus dub tracks on the awesome Easy Star All*Star albums (Dub Side of the Moon, is possibly one of the only records to ever surpass the original IMHO).

The Damien Marley track though, gave me nightmares trying to find a proper vocal to work with it! Probably why I bottled it and went for a stripped down vocal instead...hehe....

Welcome to the Borderline (Colatron Dub)

Damien Marley vs. Pinchers
(Welcome to Jamrock vs. Borderline)



MP3 Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?9m5zhj3e5wj