Florence And The Machine has bought back the love

Everyone loves a mashup, whether they’re hardened clubbers or not. In fact, if you’re not familiar with the term ‘mashup’ (and we’re not talking potatoes and gravy here), you will absolutely, I can guarantee, know what I mean by ‘remix’. Yes? Good. Well, that’s basically what a mashup is. Call it what you like, in fact: bootleg, cut-up, smashup or blend. This is where tracks are either layered over one another, effectively creating a whole new song — or simply phased in and out with a Venn diagrammatical crossover somewhere in between. Like what your DJ mate does.

A Short History of the Mashup

Mashing music, somewhat surprisingly, has been going on for eons. Way back when classical music was the pop of its day, composers inclined to reinvent scores and melodies even had a special name for what we know now as mashup: quodlibet. In fact, quodlibet has been traced as far back as 1544, when all people knew were lutes and recorders. However, the art of quodlibet was generally carried out with a tongue firmly in a cheek and was a frivolous exercise in humorous entertainment, more than likely a subtle dig at the original composers. Quodlibet is still a term that’s used in classical arenas, but in the mainstream and pop era, quodlibet is a bit of a mouthful (plus, to unfamiliar ears, it sounds a bit too much like the top row of letters on your computer’s keyboard) especially within the club scene. But, remixes, samplings and mashups aren’t limited to clubs alone.

Take The Verve, for instance. We all know Bitter Sweet Symphony and the track’s anthemic orchestral underpin. You may or may not know that those violins were actually plucked — no pun intended, from The Rolling Stones’ manager, Andrew Loog Oldham’s orchestra, which was used on the 1965 Stones’ hit, The Last Time. Or how about the lesser-known record, Your Woman by White Town in 1996? The unusual Mickey Mouse-esque muted brass instrumentation on that track was originally a record put out in 1932, namely My Woman by the Lew Stone Band. And then there’s the likes of Eminem: his sampling of Dido’s Thank You on his hit of 2000, Stan, was what made that record as popular as it was. Dance hits like You’ve Got The Love by The Source sampled Candi Staton for their landmark track, which, thanks to Florence and The Machine has recently basked in a resurrection of popularity. Old times, good times.

2 Many DJs fool around with too many tracks

Remixing or sampling records in such a way can turn into a copyrighted minefield, as The Verve soon discovered. The band failed to obtain clearance to use The Andrew Loog Oldham Orchestra’s composition for Bitter Sweet Symphony and a gruelling battle of royalties ensued. Thus, The Verve didn’t bring home a dime from that record, despite it charting in at number 2 in the UK in1997. This is why mashups, excepting the odd above board remix, have largely remained resident away from the mainstream.

Contemporary Mash

Where the late 90’s were prolific times for sampled music, the noughties saw a spike in thirst for orthodox mashups, most notably by way of Soulwax DJs side project, 2 Many DJs. In 2001, university bedrooms everywhere couldn’t escape their epic album, As Heard On Radio Soulwax Pt.2 (oddly named, seeing as how there was never an official Pt.1). Adulterous but entirely genius, 2 Many DJs mashed up the likes of Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5 with Royksopp’s Eple; stuck The Velvet Underground’s I’m Waiting For My Man underneath Peaches’ explicit Fuck The Pain Away; balled together The Stooges’ No Fun with Salt’n'Peppa’s Push It; and melted seamlessly into one another The Cramps’s Human Fly with The Wildbunch’s (better known as Electric Six) High Voltage. The resulting record — a continuous hour of mashed sound, was frenetic, exciting and really quite hardcore. After all, an hour’s worth of compulsive dancing knocks spots off a raggedy old university gym membership.

More recently, though, is Girl Talk, otherwise known as Pensylvanian mashup aficionado, Gregg Gillis. Having released three records since 2002, Gillis’s take on the mashup is altogether a little more daft than that of 2 Many DJs. His most recent album, 2008′s Feed The Animals, sees Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U sped up to an Alvin and The Chipmunks level to play beneath Shawnna’s Gettin’ Some. And how do you fancy Rage Against The Machine’s Freedom meddled into Aaliyah’s We Need A Resolution? Yeah. All a bit unlikely.

Beastles, a mashup of The Beatles and The Beastie Boys

But unlikely is often best. Perhaps one of the most radical interpretations of the art of mashing comes courtesy of The Beastles (aka dj BC). The Beastles, however, doesn’t simply cobble together his favourite tracks in a Girl Talk / 2 Many DJs style; he does precisely what he says on the tin. That is, mashing up The Beatles with The Beastie Boys. Like The Verve, The Beastles got hackles a-prickling when Apple Records, the famous label associated with The Beatles, demanded the removal of his self-released album dj BC presents The Beastles. True to cocky form — after all, is it not sacrilege to record Lady Madonna over So Watch’a Want? dj BC released Let It Beast in 2004. It really shouldn’t have worked. But it did, by heck.

Last, but not least, a mention has to go to DJ Earworm who takes the mash-up to a whole new level. The San Franciscan DJ (real name Jordan Roseman) has been creating an annual ‘United States of Pop’ mash-up since 2007. Taking the internet and airwaves by storm, these tracks mix up the top 25 tracks of the year according to Billboard magazine. To date, his latest offering has been watched over ten million times on Youtube! If you’re a fan of Earworm’s multiple-track mixes, you’ll probably appreciate Norwegian Recyling, aka Peter Bull, a 25-year old student from, wait for it… Norway! Mr Bull specialises in mashing recognisable pop tracks, creating something which sounds entirely different. We’re not sure if this kind of recycling is good for the enviroment. Or your ears for that matter.

DIY Mashing

So, fancy a stab at your own hot-diggety mashed mixtape? Why not? (I bet all of us have fancied laying Cheryl Cole’s recent number one, Fight For This Love over Kelis’s Lil’ Star, no?). Firstly, you need a good ear; it may be a dumb point to make, but the key to all this mashing business is recognising, well, keys and tempo. You can’t stick bossa nova over the Viennese waltz (but you can sure as hell try!). If you’ve got it, Garageband is great for experimenting on and recording your efforts. Or it might be worth downloading Virtual DJ if you don’t own a pair of decks already to get to grips with knitting separate tracks into one another. A great place to start is by visiting Boot Camp: Mashing For Beginners. And if you perfect this skill, you have by way of hey-presto a new skill to tout, so by all means pick yourself a catchy DJ moniker and start a sideline career.

But if this is all a little complicated, don’t feel a fool by grabbing two CD players and pressing play simultaneously to figure out if there’s any correlation between two tracks you have a feeling might work mashed. Even if you don’t carve yourself a reputation as the new mashup artist on the block, there’s nothing wrong with a little spot of bedroom creativity. Um, if you know what I mean…

Some essential mashups for your aural pleasure