Colatron.com

Brooklyn Sweet Freakphony

2008-05-09T23:51:00.003+01:00

Well, this is officially my first collaboration in more ways than one.

As some of you may remember, about 6 months ago, I made a little promo one shot for Scott over at Ramdom Thoughts, which was basicaly based upon an idea that me sweet sweeeeet Angel gave me. We were chillin' over at my flat one night when she mentioned the Beatnuts' tuned that was sampled on J-Lo's "Jennie from the Block". I wasn't familiar with the original so I googled "Brooklyn Bomb" upon her advice. I eventually came by a little instrumental jobbie, by some unknown artist that sampled several beats from various hip-hop superstars, that included the Beatnuts that I fell in love with immediately. This became the basis for my instrumental, and eventually after trying a few other instrumentals over the top of it, the Verve's legendary "Bittersweet Symphony" fitted it perfectly.

You have to remember, when I first went to Uni, my musical life revolved around house, old skool and d'n'b. I'd grown up hanging out at my mates' houses listening to the likes of the Smiths and the Roses, and even though I was in denial to be controversial, I did like guitar based/indie music, but it was all about the beats for me at the time. I went along to the V98 festival in Leeds more for the drinking than the music, but it all changed once I saw the Verve headline on the Sunday night. It's an old cliche about life changing moemnts but this was literally just that. I have no qualms about admitting, I cried me eyes out to the live version of "Lucky Man" and "History" still sends a shiver down my spine, but "Bittersweet Symphony" remians for me, THE defining song of the 90s, Needless to say, it's still my most favourite gig I've ever been to (and there's been a few now!) and the Verve's "Urban Hymns" is still in my top 5 albums of all time. It inspired me to learn guitar and wear flares. That's powerful music!

Anyway, so the promo was made with my trademark Colatron voices and samples, and it was well received, generating more traffic to the site, plus it earned a fair few downloads for a short piece. I had to try and make a full length track out of it.

So off and on, over the last 6 months, I've revisited the Acid Pro session, completing the instrumental part of things around the same time as I finished the EVP sessions. I just did not have a vocal to fit it.

An avid reader of the Island of Misfit Songs blog by the incomparable Butch Rosser (aka DJ Brother Darkness) in the US, I'd clocked a few months back that he occasionally posts a list of ideas he has that he'd like fellow mashers ot throw together for him. A few ideas have really excited me, but I've just never got around to making them. But on the last challenge, Butch had the genius idea of pairing Adina Howard's "Freak Like Me" (butchered by the Sugababes) with soul classic, "Mr. Big Stuff" by Jean Knight (which holds another special place in my heart ever since my good friend Kirsty was the Soccerette of the week on Sky Sports Soccer AM show a few years back and she had to do that catwalk thingy to it). In theory, a great pairing, but in practice, my laziness prevented me from putting the effort in to match the two.

Another of Butch's ideas involved matchign Biggie Smalls with the Verve - I've never been a Biggie fan as such, but as mentioned, I'm a HUGE Verve fan. The cogs were turning in my head. I have a Verve track, with a strong back beat made, hmmm.....

I dropped the Adina vocal in and well, excuse the French but shit me if it didn't virtually fit immediately.....

3 weeks later, playing around with various track placings/cuts, and looking for that final touch (I went for a home-made Bittersweet Symphony acapella to bring the anthemic lyrics back in) and here it is. I have to give a little it of credit to Angel, you are quite literally the best hon (you need to meet this girl - 6ft 2" of ex-model/dancer perfection, now signed to a NY rap label - she is simply awesome) and I have to give a whole load of credit to Butch for giving me the inspiration to take two of his ideas and mash them. A mash of a mash. Crazy. So yeah, this is essentially, Colatron & DJ Brother Darkness on the ones and twos. I love it, it's going back to the hiphop beats of early Colatron, and it's freaky like a monkey

Colatron & DJ Brother Darkness present....

Brooklyn Sweet Freakphony

featuring
Pharoah Monche - Simon Says (Intro)
Unknown - Brooklyn Bomb (feat. Slick Rick, Crooklyn Clan, Bad Boy, Beatnuts, Time Zone, Biggie, Jay-Z, Mase, Mobb Deep & Nas)
Adina Howard - Freak Like Me
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony (both instrumental and DIY acapella)

and vocal excerpts from the following movies

Hideous!
Timerunner

MP3 Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?gpd18kr2wjv

Don't forget everyone to check out Butch's blog. Its a cracking read with some wicked interviews on there too with some luminaries of the scene. It's over at

http://theisle.wordpress.com/

And show some love for me Angel over at MS&M records. And if you need more info on those movie samples, check out my favourite new site at

http://www.badmovies.org/

If anyone does know who did the Brooklyn Bomb mix, let me know; it's driving me nuts, and I'd love to give it a bit of credit.

Colatron's off to get tipsy and consider heading out to DJ Yoda tomorrow. I'm looking for inspiration for the next one...

Ciao for now

Burn Beachball Burn

2008-05-03T00:25:00.003+01:00

Well here's a special one.

About 2 or 3 month's ago, I had an email from Scott Johnson, talking about how show #100 over at the Ramdom Thoughts blog, was going to be a little special (it's pretting special anyway!) and every track played was going to be an exclusive. Having contributed towards the show for the last year (yep, a whole year having a go at this crazy little thing called mash, and I still don't know if I've got any better), the challenge was on to make something to put towards this monumental moment in mash-up. As it happens, I was 3/4s through making the EVP mix, so I started to panic a little - would I have time? Would I have the source material? And so on....

Fortunately, I didn't have to worry. As an avid user of a certain P2P platform (ahem....I'm sure a legal disclaimer should come in about now), I searched for my usual terms, "acapella", "Instrumental", "obscure tibetan prayer chant"....and I stumbled across a VERY usable acapella of the Trammps classic "Disco Inferno". The bane of many a drunken student night out at the Ritzy, Yates, School Disco etc., it's often forgotten that the vocal on this track is actually, ruddy incredible, and is thought of as another boozy cheesy night-out track. Which is a crying shame.

I wanted to give it a modern vibe, but yet, at the same time, I was working on a few house classics such as the Bucketheads for my "Way I Bomb Your Body" track so I was firmly stuck in the mid-90's. One track that I remembered fondly was the trance classic, Nailin & Kane's "Beachball". God I used to love that track. I was sat in the car one day on the way to work just trying to remember the hook, as it was always one of my favourite tracks from the days of Oakenfold live at the Que Club (the Essential Mix live, from one of my local clubs - a must hear event every Friday between '95 - '96). I came by a few different versions of it (I had the CD single but a certain good DJ friend of mine has them in a black binliner down in his posh flat in London...the swine!) and one was just about the right length. The usual drag and drop in Acid Pro, and Bob's Your Uncle....it sounded good! I had to put a bit of work in to the section where the break down comes in as I lost the beat, but I think I managed to find it again.

So, a relatively simple A+B, but the synth just really brings out the Jimmy Ellis vocal, which at one point just soars....check it out during the breakdown when the raw power of "Satisfaction....came with a chain reaction" is sung. Spine-tingling.

As expected, show #100 was a top event, so here's to another 100 shows minimum for you Scott. Thanks for the challenge, and thanks for playing this little Colatron ditty. I hope everyone else out there enjoys this slice of trance disco.

Burn Beachball Burn

Nailin & Kane vs. The Trammps
Beachball vs. Disco Inferno

MP3 Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bw17jsxihzk

PS. Next week's post I am REALLY looking forward to. Another challenge, this time set by me good friend Butch Rosser out in the US of A, which has led to possibly one of my most exciting Colatron tracks yet. Can't stop hammering it on the playlist, and apparently, Butch likes! In the words of Shaw Taylor, "Keep 'em peeled..."

Liberty Bell

2008-04-25T00:00:00.002+01:00

Bit of a flurry of activity going on this week, considering that I didn't have time to get anything done last week. It's an early treat this week, mainly as I'm out partying on Friday, tomorrow night, as opposed to my normal routine of a few beers on the way home from work, followed by a couple of hours of mashing beofre relaxing with a bottle of vino and Star Trek:TNG (yep, geeky!).

Here's one that I'm quite chuffed with if only because it came about exactly as planned. As I came across the Liberty X vocal a week or so ago, I was struck by the idea of doing a mash based on the pun of the name of that icon of America, the Liberty Bell.

Two tracks into looking for something that involved bells (my first choice was Slo Moshun's classic, "The Bells of NY") and I had my candidate - the sublime and legendary Orbital classic "Chime".

And the best part was, the vocal virtually fitted the length of the 7" mix of Orbital straight away! A little bit of tempo changing, a few irksome vocal cuts here and there to try and get it in time, and the track was made.

A straight-forward A+B mash, with possibly my most favourite title I've ever given to one of my works :D

Liberty Bell

Orbital vs. Liberty X
Chime vs. Just A Little

MP3 Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?4xzpp0visr3

In other news, keep an eye out for the much anticipated show #100 over at Scott's excellent as ever Ramdom Thoughts podcast

http://www.ramdomthoughts.co.uk/

This one's an extra special show for obvious reasons, as every track featured is an exclusive. I've had the skinny from Scott and it sounds like it's going to be a top show, and yep, I have a track in there meself too, as well as an extra special little gift to Scott himself, in the form of a "virtual musical birthday card". The only time you may ever hear DJ Shadow, Altered Images and Marilyn Monroe in one place. Expect the exclusive track up online here in the near future...it's a summertime doozy!

Also, I've had the pleasure of getting in to the top ten of one of me fave blogs on t'interweb, the resplendent Butch Rosser's Island of Misfit Songs blog. It is a cracking site with some great interviews, listings, a great Muxtape and the odd idea giveaway here and there. Anyway, cheers Butch, the cheque's in the post mate. Check it out over at

http://theisle.wordpress.com/

But another thanks has to go to Butch for giving me a great great idea that I can hopefully finish off this weekend and get up online here next week-ish. I can't stop whistling it in the shower! Cheers again dude!

Anyhow, I got Monday Night RAW on me TV at the mo. So I'm offski to throw a few powerbombs in the flat. Until next time, adeiu...

Bullying Kills...

2008-04-12T17:23:00.003+01:00

Another week flies by... another new tune...

As mentioned on my Colatron Facebook Fan Page, I get inspiration from the strangest places. I was literally taking the trash out the other night when this one popped up in my head. I've been trying to do a few more guitar based tracks, and I had a couple of top indie band Killers acapellas so I was set on doing something with them. However, I also had acquired an instrumental of top electro-punks the Audio Bullys "We Don't Care" which was one of my fave tracks a few years back, with it's thumping kick drum. So much for the guitars...

This one took 2 nights and one afternoon to put together; it would have been a lot quicker if only for the fact I was subconciously recreating the great Loo & Placido's "Fat Utah Bullys" track from my favourite mash CD, [S]mashingmachine -101% Bootleg. Yep, I basically put the whole track together starting with the Audio Bullys and Fatboy Slim's "Star 69" - I thought I was on to a winner until I realised the track already exists and Colatron always tries to originate. However, I left the Fat Boy Slim vocal in as a snippet as my little tribute to the mash-meisters. A dash of Benny Benassi helps fill out the middle part.

So I didn't get my guitar track, but then there's always next week to make one... instead, sit back and turn up the bass, and enjoy what happens when the Killers pull on their electro-boots...

Bullying Kills

Audio Bullys vs. The Killers vs. Fat Boy Slim vs. Benny Benassi
We Don't Care vs. Somebody Told Me vs. Star 69 vs. Satisfaction

MP3 Download Page Here
http://www.mediafire.com/?rs3b5v2wau1

PaulEssence

2008-04-05T17:10:00.005+01:00

I'm feeling particularly lazy this week, so no new tune as such, although this is a recent bass shaker I came up with for the EVP mix. Besides, after last week's dedication, I had to get this one in if only to dedicate it to number one Sean Paul fan Big Sam Henstock.

As mentioned elsewhere in these pages, I was a huge Perfecto fan in the mid-90s and one of my fave tunes that Oakenfold would spin was the classic goa trance track "Floor-essence" (had the pleasure live at Tribal Gathering '97 - what a mad night THAT was...). This was when trance was trance, none of this Cascada nonsense (although she is the future Mrs. Colatron) or that kind of pop trance silliness that permeates the top 20 nowadays. No, this track had balls, and although not as hard as some trance I've come across recently (Full Moon party in Koh Samui - my brain still hurts) at the time back in '96, it sounded like the end of the world.

And then there is Sean Paul - the man winds me up like you wouldn't believe, and yet I still find him strangely catchy and listenable. He ain't no Supercat, but then not many people are.

The mighty Divide and Kreate did an amazing mash with Sean Paul and Yaz called "Temperaturized" and I wanted to have at go at doing something similar. Whilst I'm not as good as he at keeping things in key, I like to think this is strong enough to get a dance floor going, and if not, I'm packing my bags to head over to Goa to bang it out anyway.

Oh, and to give you the skinny...my new exclusive is done and dusted and hopefully queued up for play on Scott Johnson's show #100 in a couple of weeks over at ramdomthoughts.co.uk. I'm super-chuffed with it, and I think it may be my second fave tune I've made this year ("Edwards' Theme" still does it for me) so keep 'em peeled. Should be on line in a couple of weeks.

PaulEssence

Man With No Name vs. Sean Paul
Floor-Essence (Dayglo Mix) vs. Temperature

MP3 Download Page Here
http://www.mediafire.com/?tmutcmv9aco

Kayleigh's Superstitious

2008-03-30T15:20:00.004+01:00

Well, I don't often do requests unless it's a really great idea (as Dr. Phil gave me in the pub last night - I'll try and get to work on it in the next couple of weeks), but two of friends have been on at me to come up with something the last couple of weeks.

First up was Uncle Shaun - not my Uncle of course, but a very good friend who enjoys all things musical. He's been obsessing with Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life" for a while now, and although this track is in fact taken from "Talking Book" it is probably the most defining record in Stevie Wonder's vast back catalogue.

Secondly, the lovely Kayleigh White has been singing to me for ages now, trying to give me ideas. In fact, her singing gives me the heebie jeebies (only joking chick!), but she has been singing Timbaland's "Scream" constantly for a few weeks now. I became determined to make something that she would know and enjoy (and possibly dance to like the whirling dervish she is!).

I started off trying to do something with "Scream" but it is actually a lot harder than one would think. I had one idea mixing it with U2, but the tempo was all over the shop and I couldn't be bothered to mess around with getting it in key (although I may revisit it one day - the chorus worked at least!).

Instead, I thought back to when I made "The Way I Bomb Your Body" - I had so much fun making that track, and I was so happy with the results, I decided to revisit it, but this time with the instrumental as opposed to the vocal. Working through my collection of 'pellas I came across a couple of Stevie vocals and the great DIY 'pella of Superstition made and donated on GYBO by Aggro 1 (one of my fave mashers) - I could kill two birds with one stone, hopefully making Uncle and Kayleigh happy with one blow.

Slotting it in, it worked surprisingly well, until I got to the choral breakdown "When you believe in things...." which didn't seem to fit the beat. No probs I thought, I'll just keep repeating the verses until I get to a part of the 'mental when it should finally fit back in. And that part actually came (which was a nice surprise!). Then I decided to drop a little bit of Keri Hilson's wonderful vocal back in for some sweet backing vocals. Bear in mind, "The Way I Are" is probably my favourite pop track from last year, and I can't explain it but her vocal sets me on edge every time I hear it, so she had to go back in the mix, even if only at a low volume. A touch more of Timbaland's "uuhs" and "yeahs" add the final touch, and some great vocal syncopation towards the end.

There's been a million and one mashes of Superstition, but I'm proud to add this as my contribution - I hope you all like it, and Kayleighbear, this one's dedicated to you

Kayleigh's Superstitious

Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson vs. Stevie Wonder
The Way I Are vs. Superstition

MP3 Download page here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?miwmcom119e

Oh yeah, and I made, as promised, Kayleigh-a-go-go the cover star. Big Stevie loves having you on his arm hon!

Dedicated to the dancing queen

I'm off to make my Chris De Burgh acapella, I can feel another dedication coming on....lmao......

No One Looks Further

2008-03-22T19:01:00.002Z

Well, hot on the heels of yesterday's release of the EVP mix, I thought I'd drop y'all a bonus treat for the weekend, the first new track I'll release from the mix itself, "No One Looks Further".

A bit of a prequel/sequel to my "Edwards' Theme" track, this one was a bit of an accident. As you all know, I love Alicia Keys and if I've done one tune with her, I've done a million. The last thing I intended to do was make another one, but when I was trying various vocals over the Dennis Edwards instrumental, this one stood out like a sore thumb and I couldn't ignore it. Plus I'd promised a few more 80s tracks for the guys at the pub.

Don a powersuit, and crack open a bottle of Babycham and dance like the 80s never happened...

No One Looks Further

Dennis Edwards & Seidah Garret vs. Alicia Keys
Don't Look Any Further vs. No One

Download MP3 Here
http://www.mediafire.com/?gtgomodnu4i

Electronic Voice Phenomena

2008-03-21T16:53:00.004Z

It all began several years ago, when reading an edition of the Fortean Times, I stumbled across the story of Vrillon. On November 26th 1977, just over a year before I was born, a mysterious voice hijacked the national news report shown on UK television, claiming to be of the Ashtar Galactic Command. He warned us of our destructive ways and how to join a universal awakening by giving up our weapons of evil. Being an avid reader of all things ufo, I searched out more information once I had access to the internet and was lucky enough to come across an MP3 made of the original recording. The voice struck me as being eerily spooky and prescient. The story has now been deemed a hoax, but the intrigue of how an amateur radio ham could assemble a transmitter powerful enough to take over a television company’s emitter still makes me want to believe that possibly, just possibly we were spoke to from beyond…

Just after Christmas this year, I revisited the MP3 to listen to it one drunken night again. I wondered if there were any other strange or out of place recordings of voices. I recalled other stores I had read of Electronic Voice Phenomena, purported voices from beyond the grave, and of mysterious phone calls in the night where people would speed read numbers down the telephone lines to startled listeners before yelling out “Wake up down there!”. I set to finding more of these types of recordings. A wonderful website over at listverse.com had a top ten bizarre recordings, from which I garnered a whole heap of bizarre samples, including Mado Robin, who recorded one of the highest sung notes in the history of human voices, William Joyce (or as he was more commonly known, Lord Hawhaw, an English fascist who produced propaganda for the Nazi Party, the amazingly bizarre and covert number stations (radio broadcasts of numbers, similar to the story mentioned above, that are used by spies and anarchists around the world), a Russian exorcism, and the deeply moving and disturbing recording of the Jonestown Massacre. Ironically, at around the time I was finding these recordings, a documentary was on television about the Jonestown tragedy. It made my mind up, I was going to make a new mix themed around these out of place voices.

Vrillon supplied an excellent intro and had already wrote the ending. He would appear in and throughout the mix itself too. But the crackle and hum of the broadcast muddied Vrillon’s voice to the point where his words were indetectable. Undeterred, a little clean up in Audition made it a lot clearer (at the expense of damping the spookiest part – that interminable humming buzz present throughout the sample). Still, it needed something else. I had recently discovered the new breed of artists making dubstep, namely Burial. This guy is amazing, acting like the pop anarchist Banksey whilst making emotive but brutal tracks. Some of his more instrumental tracks would provide an excellent backdrop to the mysterious voices floating in and out of the mix. And Vrillon approved….

It was then a case of working to my usual haphazard procedure of making a track as I go along, trying it in the mix, and if it didn’t fit then making the next one. Not an ideal way of producing a full length mix as I should really be planning some kind of structure to it but the gods of mash appear to smile on me as these things always sort themselves out in the wash.

Initially, I planned on having a purely UFO based theme running through the mix, hence the Close Encounters samples I used, along with the echoing refrain from Basshead’s “Is There Anybody Out There?”, but this soon proved to be impractical if not nigh on impossible for me.

I had a few half started tracks sitting in my projects list which I had cast aside for not working as I’d wish. One of these was DJ Shadow vs. Aaliyah. I could never do anything that worked in the second half of the track. However, I had recently remade the track that broke me in to the world of mash – Six Day War, my anti-war protest with DJ Shadow and Colonel Bagshot. One of the kind souls of GYBO, DJ Prince, had uploaded the samples used in making Paul Hardcastle’s “Nineteen”, which made it in to my re-mash, and so I decided to extend them in to the Aaliyah track and have the first movement of the mix dedicated to anti-war (echoing Vrillon’s sentiments!). This would be an example of how my mindset works when doing these things! To hit the message home, I dropped Aaliyah again, this time mixed with Ian Brown’s “Illegal Attacks”, another anti-war track, to emphasise how wars will probably repeat the cycle of destruction for the rest of time (I’m a natural pessimist!) despite what people like I think or want.

Next up was the 80s movement, typified by using a few samples from one of my favourite 80s films, Blade Runner. It took me back to the classic mid-90s mixes from Paul Oakenfold on the Fluoro label (more of which later) and so it was in. Then having already stumbled across Edward’s Theme (still probably in my top fave 3 tracks I have ever made), I quickly put together a sequel/prequel in Alicia Keys vs. Dennis Edwards & Seidah Garret, mainly as a favour to me good friend Big Uncle Shaun Pearson as he’s a bit of an 80s fan.

A dreamy interlude featuring snippets of some of my other tracks cuts in, to lead in to the first of my anti-hit list hits from last year, Teardrop[s] which still remains a cult favourite amongst those in the know.

Then I take the tempo up and back to the 4 to the floor chugging rhythms of house and old school hardcore, meeting against some of the most commercially successful hip-hop/r&b artists of recent years (yep, I’m a sell out). The hardcore tracks are some of my most favourite to make as they take me back to my youth, dancing away in my bedroom, pretending I have the white gloves and the whistle on the go. Nostalgia, it ain’t what it used to be, eh?

Some more sage advice from Vrillon supplies a welcome rest from the Belgian Hoover sound, before I crank it up even further with some raging oldschool drum and bass courtesy of legend Micky Finn duking it out with Stevie Wonder before heading in to my second Anti-hit list hit, my signature tune, “Killa Katie”. I still love the juxtaposition of Mick Skinner chanting “Oi Oi Oi” against Kate Nash’s “Bitter….Fitter”.

Then another breakdown comes with the interjection of another re-mashing of an earlier work, Alicia Keys vs. Ian Brown, this time with an added hint of Dann. Its fitter, happier, more productive….

For some reason I cannot explain, the next movement came to me when drunk and I thought a great idea at the time. I had become obsessed with having a section dedicated to Sean Paul. Don’t ask me why – the man irritates the crap out of me. But “We Be Burnin’” and “Temperature” are undeniably addictive tunes. The mellow, chilled out beats of the Prodigy’s “3 Kilos” fit Sean’s lyrics perfectly, and then I pulled it out of the bag by using another Paul Oakenfold standard, The Man With No Name’s “Flooressence”. This slab of pounding Goan Trance stands out as my favourite track from the Fluoro label of the mid-90s, and I still remember with some fondness having it to this track at various beach parties/Ibizan clubs as a teenager. This track has already provoked some controversy with me work colleague Sam Henstock though, as in his words “You just don’t f**k with the classics, especially by dropping Sean Paul over it!”/ I love it though, and I hope you do too.

I wanted some more UFO based spookiness in towards the end of the mix, just in case the listener has become too comfortable, and the following track provides it in buckets. Again, being a big fan of UFO-based things, the Art Bell “Coast to Coast AM” radio show is a big part of my growing up. I would regularly scour the website looking for more weirdness and scary tales of aliens and conspiracies. I had two recordings of his to choose from. The first was the tale of a guy who worked at the now not-so-secret Area 51, who was speaking on the Art Bell show, before the satellite broadcasting the transmission cut out. That’s a whole freaking satellite up in space broadcasting this specific show turning off for no apparent reason whilst a government employee reveals the secrets of government treaties with aliens. And the guy disappeared when service was resumed. Hmmm….how do you say, conspiracy theory? The second was the one used here, purely because the guy cracks me for his tunnel-visioned view of getting to the bottom of the truth. Art receives a phone call from a guy flying his light-aircraft in to Area 51 airspace, and whilst Art pleads with the man to be sensible and turn around, the guy just won’t have it. Until he is tailed by a couple of F-16s and describes what sounds like a UFO coming out of the ground to come and get him…. It’s slightly scary, but for me, it just cracks me up everytime I hear the guy. “Let’s crank this thing on up….”. Although I return it to a sense of reality by dropping the original Lamb – “Gorecki” lyric back in to the ending of the track about “If I should die this very moment….”. Adds a dash of poignancy.

Finally, my one big outro. For a year now, I have wanted to use the closing theme from the Incredible Hulk movie and TV series in something. The “Lonely Man” theme by Joe Harnell still remains one of my favourite piano pieces of all time, as for a corny superhero show, it’s one moving piece. And admittedly, I nicked the idea of Scarface from the UNKLE Edit:Music for a Film CD. In fact I ripped the sample directly from the CD, but I don’t care, as I love Pacino’s monologue about how you need people like me. Say goodnight to the bad guy! There’s a bad guy coming through.

The final section with Vrillon was a free for all. All of the samples I’d originally downloaded from the Listverse site that I hadn’t managed to fit anywhere were thrown in here, alongside some recurring samples from the early part of the mix, and for some reason, Leanne Rimes and Cascada. I have no idea why I put this in, aside from the fact I just like the way it sounded. And we close the section with the chilling words of the Rev. Jim Jones.

The mixes closes out by returning to the original Vrillon broadcast, including where transmission returns after Vrillon stops speaking and an excerpt of the Looney Tunes music is heard (the one thing that in my opinion can point to it all being a hoax). The ITN news reader explains what has happened and that police were called out to a lady who was scared by the transmission. I like that. That’s the way people should be when listening to a transmission by Colatron. Scared…

"Be still now and listen , for your chance may not come again"

Electronic Voice Phenomena

Full tracklistings (all tracks by Colatron unless otherwise specified)

1. Out of Place Voices pt.1
Vrillon of the Ashtar Galactic Command
Burial - Dog Shelter
Danny Tenaglia - Elements

2. Is There Any Archangels Out There?
Burial - Archangel
Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There?

3. John Williams - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (theme)

4. All Guns Blazing Again
UNKLE - Guns Blazing (Drums of Death pt.1)
Aaliyah - Try Again
Paul Hardcastle - Nineteen

5. Ennio Morricone - Once Upon A Time In America

6. Six Day War part II (And the War Goes On)
DJ Shadow - Changeling
George W. Bush - Various speeches from 2001 - 2004
Janis Joplin - Mercedes Benz
DJ Shadow - Walkie Talkie
Colonel Bagshot - Six Day War
Paul Hardcastle - Nineteen
DJ Shadow - Six Day War (from Live! In Tune and On Time; feat. Sci-Clone - Red Fever
various samples of the souds of war

7. Try Illegal Attacks
Ian Brown - Illegal Attacks (Orchestral Mix)
Aaliyah - Try Again

8. Illegal No Ones
Ian Brown - Illegal Attacks (Orchestral Mix)
Alicia Keys - No One
Christina Aguilera - Hurt

9. Vangelis - One More Kiss, Dear

10. No One Looks Further
Dennis Edwards & Seidah Garret - Don't Look Any Further
Alicia Keys - No One

11. Edward's Theme
Jan Hammer - Crockett's Theme
Dennis Edwards & Seidah Garret - Don't Look Any Further

12. Vangelis - Tears In The Rain

13. Out of Place Voices pt. 2
UNKLE - In A State (Edit: Music for a Film Remix)
Colatron - Mixed Messages
Newton Faulkner - Teardrop

14. Teardrop[s]
Newton Faulkner - Teardrop
Massive Attack - Teardrop

15. The Way I Bomb Your Body (House of Jack mix)
The Bucketheads - The Bomb
Timbaland (feat. Keri Hilson) - The Way I Are
Tom Novy - Your Body
Mr Fingers - Can You Feel It

16. The Prodigy - Intro

17. A Flash of Usher
Joey Beltram - Energy Flash
Usher - Yeah

18. Independent Mentasm
Second Phase - Mentasm
Destiny's Child - Independent Woman

19. Out of Place Voices pt.3
Vrillon of the Ashtar Galactic Command
Burial - In McDonalds

20. Uptight Badass
Micky Finn and Aphrodite - Bad Ass
Stevie Wonder - Uptight

21. Killa Katie
Kila Kela - Crop Circles
Kate Nash - Foundations
The Streets - Don't Mug Yourself

22. U Still F.E.A.R. My Name
Alicia Keys - U Don't Know My Name
Ian Brown - F.E.A.R.
Dann - F.E.A.R.

23. Burn For Free
The Prodigy - 3 Kilos
Sean Paul - We Be Burnin'

24. PaulEssence
Man With No Name - Floor-Essence
Sean Paul - Temperature

25. The Voice from Area 51
Lamb - Gorecki
Art Bell vs. the man who flew to Area 51

26. Say Goodnight To the Lonely Guy
Joe Harnell - The Lonely Man Theme
Al Pacino - Scarface

27. Out of Place Voices pt. 4
Burial - UK
Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There?
Lord Hawhaw
Leanne Rimes - Somewhere over the Rainbow
Number Stations - The Conet Project
Cascada - Every Time We Touch
Reverend Jim Jones
Vrillon of the Ashtar Galactic Command

Download RAR file containing MP3 and full artwork from here
http://www.divshare.com/download/3933080-1a7

For those interested in the full story of Vrillon, you can do a lot worse than to start here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vrillon

Finally, a big thanks to all those involved in this one, especially the artists who created half of this stuff in the first place, but also to those who helped out with instrumentals and ideas and inspiration, including but not only limited to, Mick Ford, Wagganator, Scott Johnson, Bobby Martini, DJ MiF, Divide & Kreate, DJ Prince, Uncle Shaun, Dr. Phil and Eater (Mr. Oblong) for getting me drunk enough to come up with this stuff.

"May you be blessed with by the supreme love and truth of the cosmos"

Love Will Tear Dub Apart

2008-03-16T15:32:00.003Z

Hi all, here's a little something to keep you going until next week's release of the big one.

Last year, the wicked Bobby Martini took over Ramdom Thoughts for a week, and on the show, he played an amazing cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", one of my favourite songs of all time. The cover was a moving piano ballad version by the wonderful London singer songwriter, Nerina Pallot and straight away I fell in love with it and her.

I began playing around with the track and by luck, found that I made a pretty decent and usable DIY acapella out of it. Only one problem though, nothing would fit it musically. I tried all sorts of instrumentals, the closest I came to success being with an old Sabres of Paradise track, but it just didn't do anything for me.

I left it for a couple of months, having given up on the idea of it. That was until about 2 weeks ago when I stumbled across a relatively obscure cover of the original, by the Brooklyn based Jah Division who specialise in Joy Division dub cover versions. I haven't found out too much about the band aside from they are signed to The Social Registry and they have a MySpace at

http://www.myspace.com/therealjahdivision

and that their bass is PHAT! Now as many of you know, two of my fave albums of the last 10 years are the Easy Star All*Stars versions of Pink Floyd and Radiohead, so I love this stuff. Had a brainwave!

A little bit of chopping on the Nerina vocal, a load of delay, echo and equalisation, and away you go. Chuck in a little bit of a King Tubby sample and the aforementioned Easy Star All*Stars and hopefully I have come up with something that will get you all ready for a hot and hazy summer.

Love Will Tear Dub Apart

The Jah Division vs. Nerina Pellot
Dub Will Tear Us Apart vs. Love Will Tear Us Apart

MP3 Download Page here:-
http://www.mediafire.com/?oirowgtcddi

Cheers again Bobby for opening me eyes to Nerina. I urge everyone to seek out her version of the track. It's awesome.

A very quick update

2008-03-09T14:27:00.003Z

Hi all, just a quick line to you all to apologize for the lack of new material the last couple of weeks. New tracks have been made and are ready to be posted, but I'm holding back on them for the time being as they appear in the forthcoming mix, and I want them to surprise you all when you first hear them.

The mix is now complete, and will be debuted exclusively on me good buddy Scott Johnson's Ramdom Thoughts podcast (http://ramdomthoughts.co.uk/) from around the 14th March (Show #95). I've been banging it out in the car and in me humble opinion, it sounds ace! Once its been out via Scott's show for a week, it will be released on here on the 21st March. It really is hopefully well worth waiting for. 73 minutes of spooky, aural pleasure, with a dash of alien based insanity.

I've also got a few other new works in progress which are going ok; my usual policy of trying to get a track online per week has kind of gone to pot so far in 2008 but please be assured there will be lots of Colatron-esque goodies coming your way soon. Thanks for all the support again.

There is a way now that you can all keep tabs on me, and I'll hopefully be able to update more often than here - I've gone and created one of those Fan Pages on Facebook. I'll keep this site mainly for the music, and then over at there, I'll try and keep you all up to date with where stuff is, when it's appearing etc. and any other random meanderings that are going on in me musical life. I still haven't finished it off properly yet (I didn't realise how many tracks I had made until trying to do the discography section! What a chore!), but I'll hopefully be able to upload some interesting videos/photos/clips etc. Please do come and 'become a fan' over there - it would be lovely to meet you all and have a bit of 'interaction' going on (god, makes me sound like a pervert).

Find my page over at
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Colatron/22900897712

Right, I'm off to make a bowl of soup and enjoy the rest of the FA Cup upsets - Cardiff are winning as I type. Ace! See you soon.

Andy

The Way I Bomb Your Body

2008-02-22T23:23:00.003Z

... or "how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb".

Another quick update, with a classic house vibe this time...

This last month's been manic but hopefully there is more of this to follow...

The Way I Bomb Your Body

Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson vs. The Bucketheads vs. Tom Novy
The Way I Are vs. The Bomb vs. Your Body

MP3 Dowload Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?dlkmlmuywmb

U Still F.E.A.R. My Name

2008-02-19T19:23:00.003Z

Not too much to say at the mo, as still beavering away on the new mix, but in the meantime, here's a little remix of my previous [s]mash hit U F.E.A.R. My Name.

A lot more Ian Brown and a lot less UNKLE, 50% of this made with my own DIY instrumental and acapella. I've tightened up on the timing too, and had a play with some stereo effects.

Look out this weekend too, as a whole new track coming your way. And I love it. She bangs...

U Still F.E.A.R. My Name

Alicia Keys vs. Ian Brown vs. Dann
U Don't Know My Name vs. F.E.A.R. vs. F.E.A.R.

MP3 Download Page over here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?8tdwmmommnz

Happy Valentines...

2008-02-14T01:47:00.004Z

...to all the lady Cola-freaks. If I'd had more foresight, I would have made a romantic mash, but I ran out of time. Check out me "Good Girl Turned Sexual" elsewhere on these pages instead and let the good times roll :D

See ya soon

x

Work It The Fuck Out/Red Hot Work Out

2008-02-09T00:17:00.000Z

Not too much to say this week; I'm so busy working on exclusive tracks for the new full length mix, I haven't really had time to finish off any of my current projects (last count was 7 different tracks), and hence I'm banging out a couple of oldies to keep the Cola-Freaks happy for a week or two.

This is a double Beyonce portion, both tracks featured as the extended intro on the Part IV mix. It's the sound of the awesome pop-tastic diva Beyonce (yep, another Beyonce mash!) versus the gritty council estate inspired lyrical spittings of the simply incredible Skinnyman (you MUST search out a copy of "Council Estates of Mind" - UK hip hop doesn't get any better nor more thoght provoking).

It's also the sound of Beyonce versus one of the best hip-hop acts I've ever seen live. The mighty Jurassic 5. Short and sweet but may sit well in someone's MP3 mix set.

Right, I'm off to scare myself with some of these new dark sounds I'm coming up with (the intro to the new mix terrifies me!). Have a great weekend everyone. But before I do go, big shout out to Valerian11 over at the fab Gary Numan forum (http://www.numanme.co.uk/forumme/) for directing the good folk over there to here. Much appreciated. And cheers to DJ Squid and the Bootleggers Dozen in Portland on the 24/7 KNRK station for banging out "My Cheated Heart Goes Bang" in the show a week or two back. I got played! Check 'em out at http://knrk.radiotown.com/splash/

"At this time brothers and sisters, it is indeed my pleasure, to introduce to you a brother who's been around for a long, long, long time...."

Work It the Fuck Out

Skinnyman vs. Beyonce
Fuck Da Hook vs. Work It Out

Download page here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?a1z6jbmhlet

Red Hot Work Out

Jurassic 5 (feat. the Dap-Kings) vs. Beyonce
Red Hot vs. Work It Out

Download page here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?8dydrx3lwz1

Edwards' Theme

2008-02-01T23:37:00.000Z

A funny old week in the world of Colatron online. Always one for searching for myself or other Colatrons around the world via Google, I came across a couple of interesting posts.

First up was over at a site I hadn't heard of before but I love the concept. Mixphoria. Basically, a battle of the tracks, 2 mash-ups go head to head and the winner decided by visitor vote. My Inna Raya Furtada track was chosen to go up ahead the awesome DJ Earworm. Of course, I lost but it's the taking part that counts. Many thanks to the guys at Mixphoria for including me. Give them support and take in some great tracks over at

http://www.mixphoria.com/

Next up was Culture Bully's top 15 mash-ups of 2007. Again, I didn't make the grade but a very kind soul named Hattie queried why me good mate Bobby Martini, and myself hadn't made the cut. Yay! I have a fan! Unfortunately, Culture Bully doesn't appear to know who I am, but hey, I'm working on getting my name out there so who knows, maybe this year I can win someone over and make the top lists at the end of '08. And Hattie, thanks for the support - by all means, leave me a comment or send me a message. Nice to hear from my fan(s?).

Right - here's the next track of '08, and my first exclusive of the year for Scott over at Ramdomthoughts.

I've basically been having a go at mashing the legendary Miami Vice theme since I got a PC early last year. For such a deceptively simple track, its amazing how hard it is to get anything to go with it. Many projects have fallen by the wayside. Then recently, I came across an awesome torrent, kindly posted by the amazing DJ M.i.F. featuring 80 or so motown acapellas. I've been fiddling with them for the last month or so, and amazingly, one of my favourite 80s tracks, "Don't Look Any Further" actually seemed to fit perfectly. Or so I thought.

I generally, when making a track, can tell from the first 4 or 8 bars if it's worth pursuing. This one seemed to be a winner, Dennis' vocals instantly catching my ear against Jan Hammer's synth. I was excited. However, the timing on the vocal seemed a little out, and sparse. It took me a good couple of nights to snip the vocal parts, map the various tempos, and then flesh it out by re-arranging various backing vocals. The track was finished and I loved the moody, soundtrack-vibe kick up the eighties feel I'd achieved. But one thing bugged me. Was it in key?

Dennis seems to hit the spot consistently, but Seidah seems to go all over the place hitting those powerful high notes. Multiple playbacks didn't help as sometimes it seemed to fit, but other times was distracting. I sought advice from Bobby M, who amazingly, had actually had an attempt at the same track approx. 6 months before (great minds and all that - lol) and having made pretty much the same track gave up on it trying to get Seidah consistently in tune. Me? I have no such morals and will do anything to get a post online! Hehe.

I did do a little pitch correction in Audition which helped slightly take the sharpness off it, but I'm still not 100% behind her - maybe 98% at best. As with Bobby, I don't thnk its possible to get her completely on key. But I don't care. The idea is too potent to not use, and I love the track anyway - for me the clashing gives it a bit of tension, adding to the moody hot summer night vibe of the track. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Hattie - this one's for you.

Edwards' Theme

Jan Hammer vs. Dennis Edwards & Seidah Garret
Crockett's Theme vs. Don't Look Any Further

Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?8xztn4gjgge

Break out the shoulder pads

Six Day War part II (And the War Goes On...)

2008-01-28T00:32:00.000Z

I never go back, only forwards. Once a track is finished, I will rarely if never go back to tweak it, even at someone's advice - if I can't nail a track first time round, that's the way it was meant to be. And I will rarely if ever use the same vocal twice (unless I am really struggling to make anything, or the vocal could work better in the new idea that hits me). This hopefully keeps things fresh from me.

However, there is one track that I would go back to every day of my life if I could think of something new or better for it - Colonel Bagshot's "Six Day War". The track which was so wonderfully treated by DJ Shadow on the Private Press album, has long remained one of my favourite songs of all time. Classic late 60s psychadelia where the lyrics seem as pertinent today as they did back then (the 1967 Arab-Israeli War) with hard funky beats and soulful backing built in by Shadow.

And it holds a special place in my heart as it was one the main part of one of the first mashes I made - Six Day War (I've Got Something to Say mix), which if truth be told, was probably a little sloppy but got me noticed and made me a few friends along the way. Hell, after everything I've made, it's still the favourite track of 95% of my friends who listen to my stuff.

And then there was the mash I made with Janis Joplin vs. DJ Shadow - Mercedes Benz vs. Walkie Talkie. Again, I think this was the 2nd track I ever made, and I still love it now, nearly one year on. Another anti-war mash.

I was in the car the other day listening to the DJ Shadow Live at Brixton Academy set from 2006, just after the release of the Outsider album (I went to the gig in Birmingham on that tour - an amazing night of music, scratching and German Kirschbier - trippy!), and early in the set Shadow plays an amazing live mash of his own "Six Day War" with "Walkie Talkie". Something clicked. I had made mashes based on both tracks, so why not re-mash them in to one mighty mash - my Opus Magnum, my celebration of nearly one year in mash-up land, my celebration of Bush's final months in term...

I was inspired and jumped straight to work. To my delight, the Bagshot original fitted Walkie Talkie with a few minor tempo adjustments and cuts here and there. But I wanted to get Janis Joplin in there too, to make it a Colatron vs. Colatron, or Colatron Squared gimmick. Problem being, Walkie Talkie is only about 2:30 minutes long. Janis had to go (although she did help out on the intro, setting the theme of the record against Georgie boy's gibberish ravings), but still, I wanted to extend the track.

Again, sat in the car, only this time listening to my CD of Shadow's "Live! In Tune and On Time" set from 2004 (if anyone's wondering - I love DJ Shadow!), I checked out his live mix of Walkie Talkie and was struck by the mixing of the track with drum n' bass maestro Sci-Clone's "Red Fever". Gives it a real menacing feel. Perfect for the sound of war. I had to somehow blend the original with the live version and I think I've managed to blag it.

Then, dropping in the obligatory sounds of Bush sounding like a hypocrite/idiot/war-mongerer/the devil incarnate, a few choice sounds of horror, a few samples from Paul Hardcastle's amazing anti-war track "Nineteen" of Albert Dobbs and Peter Thomas (thanks to DJ Prince for posting a superb sample pack over at GYBO) and the sample of Shadow himself closing the track, I had myself the sequel I've always wanted to my original anti-war mash.

It still moves me...I hope it moves you too.

Six Day War part II (And the War Goes On...)

Colonel Bagshot vs. DJ Shadow vs. George W. Bush (w/ Paul Hardcastle and Sci-Clone)
Six Day War vs. Walkie Talkie

MP3 Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?30emldxy5tn

The full list of tracks used are:
DJ Shadow - Changeling
George W. Bush - Various speeches from 2001 - 2004
Janis Joplin - Mercedes Benz
DJ Shadow - Walkie Talkie
Colonel Bagshot - Six Day War
Paul Hardcastle - Nineteen
DJ Shadow - Six Day War (from Live! In Tune and On Time; feat. Sci-Clone - Red Fever)
various samples of the souds of war

"Ladies and Gentlemen..."

Inna Raya Furtada

2008-01-20T05:56:00.000Z

Forget Timbaland - Frank Farian is the real uber-producer of pop music. This dude was making high quality, catchy beat driven rhythms when Timbaland was still in his nappies.

And as such, I was driven to this - mashing the mighty Boney M.

First up, I gotta give props to Bobby Martini, who made this possible. I received a mail on Facebook last week asking if I ever read the blog over at:

http://www.audioporncentral.com/

Now, whilst I did read it once or twice a week, I never took a great deal of notice as I was generally too busy to sit down and read it all. Silly really, especially as it introduced me to one of my favourite Memes of all time - the Tommy Seebach "Apache" video mash. Seriously, I cannot watch the Prodigy one without a great big smile coming across my face (although am I the only one who finds it strangely erotic?)

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bJduTv1ucq8&feature=PlayList&p=F5914606B2E02A7D&index=2

Anyway, after reading Bobby's message I headed straight over to APC to catch up and the first post that my eyes clocked, was the various disco covers of psychadelic rock classic "In A Gadda Da Vida" by the mighty Iron Butterfly. One of my favourite movie moments is in 80s classic "Manhunter" when the Tooth Fairy is hunting down his blind victim to the sounds of In A Gadda Da Vida. Awesome use of a soundtrack. But amongst the various disco covers, the one version of this mighty rock epic that stood out to me, was the Boney M. version.

Now I don't care what anyone says, cheese or not, Boney M. have some serious tunes. We all know them, and we all love them, whether the 4 guys were singing them or not. Farian's electro-processed vocals and Bobby's dancing were ahead of their time. Seriously. And I challenge you not to want to dance whenever a Boney M. track comes on.

So after watching about 8x Boney M. vids on Youtube, plus the accusation from Zendi that last year I went a bit too hip-hop (what is he talking about?!! Dude, I love ya, but stick to your guitar!), I was set on making my first disco mash.

The problem was - I had about 6 vocals lined up to use with this. Taylor Dane (!!) nearly made the cut, plus the Gossip was on the cards, although I've already mashed SITWOC so decided against it. In the end, I settled on Madonna, but then Nelly Furtado was bugging me too. What to do? I couldn't have the vocals together as they were too distracting from each other and the original Boney M. track was too short to split them out.

What do you do when your instrumental isn't long enough? Hack it to pieces and make a new track! Or in this case, copy and paste the body of the track back in to the main one to extend it, and hope the beats line up! Lol.

Pull on your flared catsuit, pump it up with your affro comb, and dance like Bobby Farrell never went out of fashion

Oh, and needless to say, I now read APC on a daily basis. I recommend you do the same.

Inna Raya Furtada

Boney M. vs. Madonna vs. Nelly Furtado
Gadda Da Vida vs. Ray of Light vs. Maneater

MP3 Download Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?62gq8f1mg9z

Backup MP3 Download at Divshare, here:
http://www.divshare.com/download/3537952-129

PS. It's coming soon, a kick up the eighties. It changed my life and saved me from my vices....??

Independent Mentasm

2008-01-12T21:39:00.000Z

Geez, this took me some time to get around to. Since New Year, I've really struggled to come up with anything new - not for lack of files or ideas, but nothing seemed to be gel-ing for me. I've got about 6 projects on the go but just not feeling them at the moment. Writer's Block. It's a crippler!

Still, I threw this one together as a means to start the new year with a bang.

I've had several ideas for crazy 1991 Hoover-rave track Mentasm floating around since I came up with the hardcore trilogy last year, but none of them were really paying off. Then come New Years Eve, in the Cross bar in Moseley, the DJ dropped a housed-up, sped-up mix of the classic Independent Woman and my mind was racing. This seemed like the obvious choice.

Admittedly, the vocal has probably been done to death on the scene, but hey, I still love it and I've never heard a bad mash-up of it (the legendary "Dreadlock Woman" still being one of my fave mash-ups of all time) so I make no apologies for making another version of it.

Throw in a tiny sample from an Altern-8 track, and a HUGE rant at the sound tech, at legendary rave Universe's "Big Love" event (13th August '93 - Lower Pertwood Farm, Wilts.) by the greatest MC of all time (although it's a close call with the Original Detonator, MC Robbie D - I was searching high and low for one sample of him saying "Callin' all the ravers!" but I couldn't place it, hence Mad P got the shout), and you've got a bass-thumpin' rave pop classic.

Are you robbin' the people? Probably....

Independent Mentasm

Second Phase vs. Destiny's Child (w/MC Mad P)
Mentasm vs. Independent Woman

Download Page Here:
http://www.blogger.com/'http://www.mediafire.com/?cvtldwv5n5m'

Back-up Divshare Download Here:
http://www.divshare.com/download/3444712-883

Happy New Year everyone!

Mixed Messages

2007-12-29T14:38:00.000Z

Well, it's time for probably my last post of the year, and I thought what better way to see out the year than with a multi-artist mega mash!

I actually began working on this track back in June, knocking up the intro in a matter of minutes, but I hit a brick wall, in that I couldn't find a vocal worthy of slipping over the awesome Unfinished Sympathy (one of the best tracks of the 90s without doubt). 6 months later and I went back to the project to see if anything had changed, having amassed another 500 or so acapellas to my collection (I've come across some awesome Motown vocals - watch this space!).

"The Message" is one of those vocals that has probably been done to death in the world of mash-up, but it still remains one of the greatest and most powerful raps out there, it's story of life living in the ghetto being one of the most moving rhymes ever committed to vinyl (hence it's well deserved place in the Rolling Stone top 100 Greatest Songs of all time). Placed in context with the also overused "I Have a Dream" speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., it creates an even more powerful and moving story.

Drop in some emotive piano from one of UNKLE's finest moments and backing vocals from the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, with a dash of the Pussy Cat Dolls and hopefully you have a party banger with a message.

Thanks again to everyone for the support in 2007, and I'll see you all next year!!!

Mixed Messages

UNKLE vs. Martin Luther King, Jr. vs. Pussycat Dolls vs. Massive Attack vs. Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five vs. Aretha Franklin

(In a State (Album Version) vs. I Have a Dream vs. In a State (Edit: Music for a Film Version) vs. Don't Cha vs. Unfinished Symapthy vs. The Message vs. Who's Zoomin' Who?)

Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bxmpm9znpy1

Last Resort ZShare Link Here:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/6001817ecf5ef7/

Dedicated to the lovely Gemma Kennedy, who I promised a track to in return for listening to me CD! This one's for you hon! Looking forward to more dancing in the New Year :D

Happy Holidays!!!

2007-12-23T03:06:00.000Z

No tune for you today folks (one or two imminent though!) but I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you all for tuning in to Radio Colatron and making this first year of my making mash-ups so much fun and so worthwhile. I may have lost innumerable hours of sleep in the process of searching for the perfect tune, and I may have broken several copyright laws along the way (!!) but considering this started as a bit of fun, here in my living room in Birmingham, UK, it's now something that I really enjoy and look forward to hearing from you all how much people enjoy what I'm doing. Here's hoping 2008 is even more succesful for me, and that I continue to improve.

In the meantime, you all have a wonderful festive period and holiday. Catch you all soon,

Happy Holidays,
Andy

Illegal No-Ones

2007-12-16T23:53:00.000Z

It's funny how things work out. This is now the second track I've made pitching the wonderful, beautiful and talented Alicia Keys against the 90s legend Ian Brown (the first being a personal fave of mine, "U F.E.A.R. My Name" somewhere down below on this page), but it wasn't meant to be this way...

I started off playing with this instrumental last week (BEEEEEEG shout out to my mate Fag for the heads up on the instrumental) and thought I had the most fantastic match ever, in dropping Christina's "Hurt" over the top. The intro worked beautifully, the various breathey vocal parts dropping in to place wonderfully against the impending danger of the string stabs. I'd even got the artwork all planned in my head. It was to be, the perfect track. But I just couldn't get the chorus to fit. It was too fast, too loud, too much like hard work! Gutted, but not put off, I started thinking, divas and big voices. I pitched every 'pella I had of every big, sweet souful voice against the track, but nothing quite fitted. At one point, I had 5 'pellas in the project in Acid. I even tried to weave the vocals in and out of each other to create a battle of the vocals. But it didn't feel right.

Then I went back to one of my fave vocals in Aaliyah's "Try Again" and with a bit of tweaking, it worked brilliantly. In fact, you'll find it down below as a bonus treat; but I always try to do something new and I'd already used this vocal in "U R Still A Dudu" which I am happy with, and so I wanted to try something new.

Alicia Key's "No-One " has been in my top ten tracks of the last few weeks, and I had been deperate to do something with it, searching high and low for somthing suitable. I'd even begged my usual sources for an instrumental of John Lennon's "Instant Karma" as it was around the right BPM - you'd be amazed how hard it is to find a non-hip-hop/soul track at around 89.9bpm, and I was determined not to use the Fugees with this vocal.

Anyway, in desperation, I tried the Alicia vocal against the Ian Brown track, thinking how ironic it would be if it worked and I ended up with another chilled out Alicia boot. Of course, it worked!
There's no beats in this one so it more likely to head for your chill-out compilations, or be used in a breakdown during a set (I arsed around in Ableton last night for hours creating my own beats but nothing really floated my boat), but I love the cinematic feel to it. And in the end, I managed to drop a sample from Try Again throughout the track, AND get some snippets of Christina in there to finish with, so it all ended up good in the hood.

I gotta get me some tickets for Alicia next Easter at the NIA....I love this girl so much....

Illegal No-Ones

Ian Brown vs. Alicia Keys (feat. Christina Aguilera)
(Illegal Attacks (Orchestral Mix) vs. No-One)

Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?9wxxrbmqxnm

Last Resort ZShare Link Here:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/56797784da34cf/

And here is the bonus track, the simple A+B track

Try Illegal Attacks

Ian Brown vs. Aaliyah
(Illegal Attacks (Orchestral Mix) vs. Try Again)

Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?5fmeh9znix3

I Saw a Bouncing Ball

2007-12-10T23:48:00.000Z

Well, I threatened it and here it is, purely because the next 'new' tune I'm working on is giving me a headache with the chorus sections (but trust me, once it comes together, hopefully by this weekend, it will be well worth the wait - how do you say 'Orchestral Pop'?). My experiment with experimental music.

This one came together a good 3 or 4 months ago one night when I was pratting around with piano based ballads, looking for something that would possibly close a full length mix (and as those in the know, know, I did indeed use this to close the Part IV mix) - I'd had the visionary Bat For Lashes album for a while on the PC and hadn't really got around to listening to it. However, I'm known for dropping unheard tracks in to my compilation CDs for the car, and this was one such track.

I first came across Bat For Lashes on TV (last year?) when I saw the other-worldly Natasha Khan at the South By Southwest festival from Austin, TX. I was actually watching it to see the magnificent Scott Matthews perform (another artist I can claim to have seen before they 'made it') but Bat For Lashes were also featured strongly on the programme and I was blown away. The combination of the visual and auditory poetry I was seeing/hearing was a heady brew and put me instantly in mind of a Kate Bush/Jeff Buckley combo. I loved it.

So here I was stumbling around with the track with its tricky time signature, looking for a beat I could maybe skip in over the top. Well, if it's tricky time sigs you're after, look no further than the electronic genius of Richard D. James. Most of you know I love Aphex Twin, so as quick scan of me CDs and Bucephalus Bouncing Ball stood out like a sore thumb. Would it work? I didn't care. The Shiraz told me it would ;-)

Amazingly, at least to my ear, it's crazy drum n' ball rhythm really compliments the Bat lyrics. To me, it puts me in mind of an naively, inquisitive girl looking at the apocalypse through the eyes of an innocent. But then I do suffer from Nuclear Nightmares.

Whether I'm right or wrong, it does close out a set mighty well. The Ambient Apocalypse Anthem. I'm drinking again.

Now with amended intro including a recorded sample obtained from Freesound, created by the incredible Acclivity - he really does record some mindblowing stuff and make it available freely for use. I recommend any masher to find him out and check his work.

I Saw a Bouncing Ball

Bat For Lashes vs. Aphex Twin
(I Saw a Light vs. Bucephalus Bouncing Ball)

Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?5nymble3ntu

Last Resort ZShare Link here:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/55256892a15863/

Shootin' From the Heart

2007-12-08T00:39:00.001Z

At last - some new material. I was going to post a few tracks from the Part IV mix to keep you all going, but a part of me felt guilty, I had to make some new stuff (although I will probably get "I Saw A Bouncing Ball" up on here shortly, if only because rhythmically, it's so mental!).

So here we go. Leicester's finest, the producers of the best rock from the last 3 years or so, hook up and dance with the Princess of Pop, Kylie.

As soon as I heard 2 Hearts a few weeks back, it's potential to be a glam rock extravaganza shone immediately through the slightly weedy pianos. A couple of tracks sprang immediately to mind - Goldfrapp's 'Ooh La La' and Oasis' mighty lapdancing anthem, 'Force of Nature'. However, finding instrumentals of said tracks was nigh on impossible (and I really didn't have the time to make my own). Still, one track seemed to keep getting played on my car stereo - mash-up icon Go Home Productions' 'Bus Stop Runner' clashing Kasabian against various heroes of glam. It clicked. I love Kasabian (one of my fave live bands) and I particularly love "Shoot The Runner" and I knew straight away where I could source the instrumental from.

Big big thanks go to Mick "Slipknot" Ford (son of Tony "Harrison" Ford (It's an outrage!)) for the supply of Kasabian. Cheers dude (and I want those other instrumentals you promised!).

Surprisingly, the Kylie vocal wasn't as easy to work with as expected. And trying to make a Kasabian 'pella to float the vocals back in throughout the track wasn't as easy as expected. But I got there in the end. And the results (IMHO) rock. And who knew that 2 Hearts is a cover of the track by electro band Kish Mauve?! One to search out me thinks.

True story, I once watched the Hours in Leicester, at the Charlotte, whilst stood next to Serge. I then found out, a chap I work with, is from the same village as Serge. And then a few months later, I appear in some artwork with Serge. Lol. Even if you all hate the track, I'm chuffed with it if only because it's my favourite piece of Colatron related artwork to date.

Shootin' From the Heart

Kasabian vs. Kylie Minogue
(Shoot the Runner vs. 2 Hearts)

Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?bywmjq0zgze

Last Resort ZShare Link Here:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/5455005154874a/

I'm a King and she's my Queen, bitch!

EDIT: Great news Colafreaks - a top chap by the name of EvilKeg has taken this track and decided to blast it out over the airwaves/digital streams of Brap FM, down in Brighton this Wednesday coming (12th December) - this excites Colatron greatly and is great exposure for his hard work (lol), along with all the top work me good buddy Scott does over at http://ramdomthoughts.co.uk/. If you get chance, tune in and support me new friends over at http://www.brap.fm/. Tell 'em Colatron sent ya.

Do You Really Like Hardcore?

2007-11-25T20:30:00.000Z

Here's the first of a few additional track to be released from the Part IV mix (see below for the goods!), and once again, I'm taking it back to the oldskool. This is also, incidentally, my fave track from the whole mix.

This one came about as a complete surprise/fluke for me. I'd been working on a trilogy of Hardcore mashes, which resulted in the previous "Ms. Nelly's Nightmare" and "Congress of a Clown", and I had a few ideas as to what would make up the last track, but I'd sat on it for ages. I had 3 or 4 tracks to mash togehter, but none of them were really doing it for me (although, at least one of them will be finished off in a month or so once I get a bit of spare time), until one night at 3:30am after a night at the pub, it suddenly came to me.

I had been searching for the tracklistings to a wicked tape I had years ago, one of the fabby Mixmag Live tapes mixed by Slipmatt & Lime, the legends from the early 90s, responsible for SL2's "On A Ragga Tip" and "Way In My Brain" and "DJs Take Control". It was a pretty hardcore mix, consisting mainly of Belgian techno with sparse sprinklings of piano and breaks, but I loved it (I'll have to dig it out from the loft next time I'm over at me Mamma Colatron's house), but one track stood out for me at the time - Outlander's "Vamp" released on the legendary R&S Records. At the time, it was a cacaphony of drums and bass, with a variation on the infamous 'hoover' stab providing the melody. Awesome stuff.

Anyway, I found the track and desperately wanted to use it. It was at the aforementioned 3:30am slot when I drag and dropped the Pied Piper vocal in to Acid over the top for a laugh. And laugh I did. It was perfect! A little tempo change here and there and the syncopation of the vocals to the music was spot on, as if the two had been written for each other even though they are seperated by a decade. It finished off the old skool section of the Part IV mix perfectly.

Ironically, the track that made it into Part IV was unfinshed and edited 'on the fly', so here is the complete vision for the track, along with new intro and outro, featuring my two favourite MCs from back in the day, Everson Allen of the Ratpack and MC Mad P of Top Buzz fame. For completeness, the samples used are from:

Altern8 - Activ8
Ratpack - live at Pandemonium, Club Andromeda (May '93)
Altern8 - Infiltrate 202
Top Buzz - live at Fantazia, The Showcase (November '92)

The next probem is, I'm enjoying this hardcore revival so much, the trilogy has now been extended, indefinitely!!! 'Ave it....

Do You Really Like Hardcore?

Outlander vs. DJ Pied Piper & The Master of Ceremonies
(Vamp vs. Do You Really Like It?)

Download Page Here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?djveno3bzo2

Last Resort ZShare Link here:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/51610242f70501/

Mad P sums it up best
"You see we? We come from mash it up!"