Dias atrás o projeto Remixers United lançou sua 5 produção,
5 albuns repletos de remixes com a produção de remixers talentosos.
Remixers United é um projeto com a administração do remixer DONNY
e é com ele que eu converso nessa entrevista exclusiva.
Donny comenta sobre RU5 e o futuro do projeto. Além da entrevista, HOLIDAY SHARE lança um album contendo versões Edits para 10 dos remixes de RU5.
Five years! That is quite an
accomplishment!
Thank you. Where
has the time gone?
Do you have any
specific memory you would like to share
about the very start of Remixers United
(RU)?
Nothing that I
haven’t shared before. I can say, however, that I never expected it to evolve
into what it has become. There was no way I could foresee how big it would
grow. Back then, I just wanted to connect to other remixers who mixed Madonna
songs. You can never have too many friends. So I thought, this is a great idea!
United as many Madonna mixers together – call it Remixers United – and release
it free to the public. It was purely selfish the first time. I just wanted to
have friends who remixed. I didn’t expect the first release from RU to be that
big. I thought it would end there.
What was the
reaction when the first RU compilation was released?
Well – considering
I promoted it only one place on the internet – it did pretty well. A lot of
praises trickled in. I might have been caught up in the moment, but my response
to the fans’ reactions forced me to consider doing a second one.
RU2. That was a
double CD.
Yeah. More people
wanted to be involved – to contribute. When it came down to the deadline, I was
one track short of two full CDs. Then, realizing it was being released on
Christmas day, I decided at the last minute to remix Santa Baby – and have the
compilation end with it.
That was a good
idea. That release was very good. Solid.
But you waited another full year
before releasing RU3.
RU3 was
interesting – a lot of dynamics. MDNA had just been released, so we couldn’t
focus on releasing a 3rd issue too early. And by this point, I still had no way
to promote it, other than the one single Madonna forum I had been using. And I
knew I wanted it to be three CDs (since RU1 was 1 CD, and RU2 was 2 CDs).
However, people don’t realize how difficult being a producer really is. The
organization, the promotion, the planning. I was very grateful that I had two people
that were with me from day one, Dubtronic and William Vipond Tait (RU’s graphic
artist).
William does some
amazing work. His CD covers are very professional.
I agree. We have a
very good relationship, both professional and friends. I don’t know what I
would do without him. Or Dubtronic for that matter. They both have been there
for me when times have been difficult.
It’s a great team.
RU wouldn’t exist without you three.
Well, yes and no.
Yes, the three of us have been the backbone consistently from the first release
– but RU couldn’t exist without the help of others too. Such as the remixers
and the fans. And the websites that support RU and promote it. Like yours!
I remember a
promotional interview I did with you a couple years ago. It was for RU3. I pointed
out that RU1 had 1 CD, RU2 had 2 CDS, and now RU3 had 3 CDS. We laughed and you
said that was the end of multiple CD compilations.
But then, a year later, RU4
came out with 4 CDs!
I know, I know.
(laughs). What can I say? It was destiny. 44 songs for the 4th RU compilation.
I can’t explain it really. We were on a roll, I guess. But I swore to myself
that RU5 would NOT have 5 CDs.
And in the end,
RU5 DID have 5 CDs!
Yes. Originally, I
wanted RU5 to have 3 CDs. So I started searching for remixers. I contacted
those who contributed in the past, as well as potential new ones. Initially,
there were a lot of “I want to contribute something! Maybe 2 or 3 songs” from a
variety of people. When I read these messages, I realized it was going to fill
up 3 CDs pretty fast. But a friend of mine said something very important to me
at that time. He said, “Donny, 5-years is a milestone. It’s an important
anniversary. You shouldn’t go down in the number of CDs. You should have 5 CDs
for RU5.” So that was when I made the executive decision to make it 5 CDs. And
in the end, right near the deadline, we ended up with 52 songs. So I included
some previously released songs to round it up to 55 remixes.
Absolutely NOT!
(laughs) If there is one important lesson I learned about producing 55 songs
over 5 CDs is that size has its limits and its share of problems. It became
extremely difficult to keep track of which songs were finished, which songs
were in the near finished stages, who has responded to my latest email, and who
hasn’t. These are only a few things. It was difficult. Yet, at the same time, I
don’t regret it at all. I knew my remixers were reliable (I never doubted them
a bit).
What’s the future
hold for RU?
2015 will be an
important year regarding the progress of RU. We have a few good ideas we’re
gonna try that we’ve never done before. One thing is a “remix contest”. Fans
will get to vote on the best remix of one specific song. The remixer will get a
prize. 2015 will also pay tribute to the “True Blue” album, as well as 2 Diva
releases (Britney #2, and Kylie Minogue).
When can we expect
RU6 to be released?
RU6 will most
likely be a 3-CD set, released Christmas 2015. With a good reputation – as well
as promotion, RU6 will be solid and amazing.
Yes, I wanted to
thank you, Inco and Holiday Share, for promoting me all these years. As a way
to say thank you, I am providing you (and the fans) with never before released
tracks from RU5: 10 “radio edits” of songs from RU5. If you provide the fans
the link to download them, that would be appreciated.
I will. Thank you
very much for this interview Donny.
And we look forward to what the future of
RU provides us.
REMIXERS UNITED 5 (EDITS)
4 Minutes (Donny's Outta Time Radio Edit)
2. Beautiful Killer (DJ Chillerz Short Version)
3. Devil Wouldn't Recognize You (Chillerz Sinful Soul Edit)
4. Die Another Day (Christian C. Edit)
5. Each Time You Break My Heart (Pulse Demo Edit)
6. Get Together (Donny's Love At First Sight Radio Edit)
7. Live To Tell (Crack Pop Edit)
8. Miles Away (Nick's Remix Edit)
10. Rain (RetroSonic Raindrop Radio Edit)
