We Love our DJ Mag Remix Winners and You Will Too

We caught up with the incredible winners from our first contest: The Machinist, Nik Ros and Monoline to get the lowdown on how they approach remixing.

Nik Ros

Nik Ros resides in Campo Grande, Brazil, deep in the heart of one of the most musically vibrant countries on Earth. His take on Luciano aka Lucein ‘Origins’ brought his talented productions to our attention.

Tell us how you worked on your remix.

I used Ableton live, approximately 3 days to finish the remix, all digital.

What’s the music scene like in Campo Grande, Brasil?

The electronic scene in my city is in still developing, but it has so many references, and great artists. There are so many regional music highlights, and within the country overall.

What advice can you give to other producers entering remix contests on how to stand out from the crowd?

I think my first tip would be to make what you want, not only for the prize. Give it your best, taking into consideration the original characteristics of the song. Put your own identity in it.  My remix came from just a pure feeling on the music, I am a big fan of Lucien. Winning the contest was incredible and unbelievable!

The Machinist

The Machinist aka Tyler Gay hails from Hampton, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. His flip of Adventure Club’s ‘Gold’ locked him top spot in that remix category. He gave us some inside tips on how he tackles reworking another artist’s vision.

What’s the music scene like in Hampton, Georgia?

Besides country music, rock, and whatever is playing on the radio, the music scene out here is pretty grim. Luckily for me, I’m 30 minutes from the musically diverse and amazing city of Atlanta. From Trap to Happy Hardcore, you can find it in ATL.

What advice do you have for other producers looking to have their remixes stand out from the crowd?

The most important thing to remember is that you are remixing. The general ideas have already been sketched out, and keeping in line with them is the key ingredient to the remix process. Thinking outside of the box is always a serious plus, but jumping completely out can cause some painstaking problems. Every time I run up against a remix, I always take notes from the stems or the original song. Find your niche and do it well.

Monoline

Monoline is the production moniker for Kevin Rutten and Marnix Bruinsma from Gennep, The Netherlands. Their rework of Pfirter & Chris Leibing’s ‘420’ made a lot of noise.

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Walk us through your process on the remix: for example, what gear did you use, how long did you work on it for, any other info 

We’ve only used Logic software for this one. When working on remixes, we barely use hardware/synths, because we like working with the samples from the remix pack. First, we made a kick with the kick and bass samples, and added a sub of our own. As in the original, we used the bells as a main sound and added an occasional lower & higher layer. The percussion was added to give it our own touch and lastly we put in the cymbals, rises & filters.

What’s the music scene like in Gennep?

Generally, there’s a lot of EDM / House / Trance / Hardstyle things going on in The Netherlands. Techno & deep house are starting to get a little bigger than before, but in our opinion there’s still a lack of ‘heavier’ techno parties. Luckily we’ve got some great organizations like Schönes Wochenende, Ti-Ta-Techno, Planet Rose & Bauhauz around Nijmegen, which are doing some nice things.

What advice can you give to other producers entering remix contests on how to stand out from the crowd?

Try adding an element of yourself. This is not a must, but we like to work that way most of the time.

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Tasha is a DJ and radio host in Montreal.

@Tasha Anestopoulos