EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Remixers United 2 with DONNY

Amanhã será o lançamento mundial de Remixers United Vol. 2 e para promover esse evento eu apresento com exclusividade uma nova entrevista com o produtor do album, Donny.
Thanks Donny!

YOU'VE HAD QUITE A BUSY YEAR...

Yes, it has been a busy year for me, in regards to remixing. This year I released my "Into The Mood" album, as well as some singles for it. I've contributed an assortment of remixes individually ("Causing A Commotion," "I'm In Love With Love," etc), volume 1 of my "A to Z" album, and produced the first "Remixers United" album. And now I'm producing the follow-up album to Remixers United.

REMIND US HOW YOU CAME UP WITH THIS IDEA...

Years ago, another website had a remixing contest to remix a specific Madonna song, involving as many fan remixers as possible. So I decided to use the same idea, but without limiting ourselves to just one song. I thought, "Wouldn't it be great to have many different remixers unite to make one full length album of new fan-made Madonna mixes?" I knew there were a lot o

f talent out there, and thought that if we collaborated on one album, the competitive aspect would be removed. You know, as in Remixers United. So I urged various remixers to contribute unreleased material and it all came together for the first album. Even you, Inco, contributed. Thank you!

YOUR WELCOME. AND I WAS HONORED TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE AN OPENING TRACK ON THE ORIGINAL RELEASE - AS WELL AS THE SECOND ALBUM.

I was glad to get most of the remixers back a second time. I always knew there would be a second album. The fans wanted it. They voiced their need for a follow-up album. The trouble

was, it's not easy to do. When the first album was released, everyone (especially me) breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. A lot of hard work paid off. But since the fans wanted more, we all agreed that enough time had to pass before tackling another project like this. Sometime in early September, I contacted some of the remixers to find out if they thought enough time had passed. I asked if we should make another Remixers United album. The answers were yes, yes, yes. Realizing it was a little over three months before Christmas, I decided to announce that "Remixers United 2" would be released on Christmas day. It's been a rough three months since that announcement but the time has finally arrived.

WAS IT EASIER OR MORE DIFFICULT TO PRODUCE THE SECOND ALBUM

?

Oh my, if was more difficult than the first. For the longest time, I couldn't get remixers to commit. I got several "maybes," one "no," and a couple "yes" but just short of a couple months, a lot of the "finished" mixes were not ready yet, and there was a lot of slow responses to my emails. Also, the message board topic for it was getting little responses, and this made my own personal motivation drain. I almost wanted to throw in the towel and cancel the project.

I'M GLAD YOU DIDN'T.

I have Dubtronic to thank for that. I asked him if I should cancel the album about half way through, and he encouraged me to hang in there, to be a bit more assertive in some areas, and that he would help me out any way he could help. This suggestion was mirrored by another person (whom I can't remember the name). So I lifted my chin and continued. I pushed the remixers to ease my mind regarding the progress of their songs - and that's exactly what they did. They came through with FANTASTIC remixes. I am sorry if there was ever any doubt.

THIS ALBUM DOESN'T HAVE A COUPLE REMIXERS FROM THE PREVIOUS ALBUM, BUT ADDS SOME NEW ONES.

Yeah, when I announced the second album, I was hoping to get some new remixers. Dikkie (who is not exactly new to the Madonna fans) joined us, as well as CoSmiK and Modern. That makes this album unique: we have a wide range of styles when it comes to remixes.


WHY DID YOU DO A DOUBLE ALBUM?

It's funny, when you think about it. When I was worried that there wouldn't be enough finished tracks to fill ONE album, the remixes started coming in to ease my mind. When I added all the running times together, the total running time exceeded 80 minutes (the amount of musical time a blank CD holds). So I knew we had to break up the album into two CDs. (This, of course, is not a problem for those who don't burn to CD, and just make a play list of mp3s - a format where running time is not an issue).

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THERE WERE A TOTAL OF 13 TRACKS, THEN 15, 16, AND 17 TRACKS. THE FINAL COMPILATON HAS 20 TRACKS! WHAT HAPPENED?

That's Dubronic and my fault. In the end, I didn't want a CD with less than 10 tracks, so I asked Dubtronic if he could make any more tracks in such a short time. I offered to make just as many myself. Literally two and a half weeks away, the two of us came up with enough tracks for 10 on each CD, a total of 20 tracks.

AND THE FINAL TRACK IS SANTA BABY. THAT'S PERFECT FOR A CHRISTMAS RELEASE!

It was always my intention to end with that track for that very reason. But this is my second time I have remixed Santa Baby. My first mix, made a long time ago, was just a re-editing of the album version. For this one, I wanted new music completely. I'm pretty happy with it.

SO WILL THE FANS GET A REMIXERS UNITED 3 SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE?

I'm sure it will happen. But only after a long break again. Maybe even longer than the previous break. Perhaps we can get even more remixers. There are several out there I would LOVE to get involved.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR DONNY?

Donny's facing remixing exhaustion. LOL. I'm going to do a couple more individual tracks from the Like A Prayer album. I'll release Volume 2 of my "A to Z" album. Dubtronic and I are working on a collaboration album of 6 to 8 mixes, one or two where we work together on the same song(s). Sort of Donny vs. Dubtronic, and vise versa. Details on that project soon. I'll be releasing a remastered "Donny's Greatest Mixes." I'm also making a few Enigma mixes. And then finally - when all those are done - I am going to take a much needed vacation from remixing. You probably won't hear from me after that for about 6-12 months. I *really* need the break.

AH, THAT IS SAD TO HEAR ABOUT A TIME IN THE FUTURE WITHOUT A DONNY MIX. BUT I UNDERSTAND IF YOU NEED THE BREAK. AS LONG AS YOU PROMISE TO RETURN.

As long as Madonna keeps making music, I'll always be returning. Take care, Inco. Thanks for the interview.