nettime The Three Basic Forms of Remix, by Eduardo Navas
To read this text with all the proper links, visit: http://remixtheory.net/?p=174 The Three Basic Forms of Remix: a Point of Entry, by Eduardo Navas Image source: Turbulence.org Layout by Ludmil Trenkov Duchamp source: Art History Birmington Levine source: Artnet (This text has been recently added to the section titled Remix Defined to expand my general definition of Remix.) The following summary is a copy and paste collage (a type of literary remix) of my lectures and preliminary writings since 2005. My definition of Remix was first introduced in one of my most recent texts: Turbulence: Remixes + Bonus Beats, commissioned by Turbulence.org: http://transition.turbulence.org/texts/nmf/Navas_EN.html . Many of the ideas I entertain in the text for Turbulence were first discussed in various presentations during the Summer of 2006. (See the list of places here plus an earlier version of my definition of Remix http://navasse.net/remixCCEBA/). Below, the section titled ³remixes² takes parts from the section by the same name in the Turbulence text, and the section titled ³remix defined² consists of excerpts of my definitions which have been revised for an upcoming text soon to be released in English and Spanish by Telefonica in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The full text will be released online once it is officially published. REMIX DEFINED To understand Remix as a cultural phenomenon, we must first define it in music. A music remix, in general, is a reinterpretation of a pre-existing song, meaning that the ³aura² of the original will be dominant in the remixed version. Of course some of the most challenging remixes can question this generalization. But based on its history, it can be stated that there are three types of remixes. The first remix is extended, that is a longer version of the original song containing long instrumental sections making it more mixable for the club DJ. The first known disco song to be extended to ten minutes is ³Ten Percent,² by Double Exposure, remixed by Walter Gibbons in 1976.[1] Image source: Vinyl Masterpiece The second remix is selective; it consists of adding or subtracting material from the original song. This is the type of remix which made DJs popular producers in the music mainstream. One of the most successful selective remixes is Eric B. Rakim¹s ³Paid in Full,² remixed by Coldcut in 1987. [2] In this case Coldcut produced two remixes, the most popular version not only extended the original recording, following the tradition of the club mix (like Gibbons), but it also contained new sections as well as new sounds, while others were subtracted, always keeping the ³essence² of the song intact. Image source: Rate Your Music The third remix is reflexive; it allegorizes and extends the aesthetic of sampling, where the remixed version challenges the aura of the original and claims autonomy even when it carries the name of the original; material is added or deleted, but the original tracks are largely left intact to be recognizable. An example of this is Mad Professor¹s famous dub/trip hop album No Protection, which is a remix of Massive Attack¹s Protection. In this case both albums, the original and the remixed versions, are considered works on their own, yet the remixed version is completely dependent on Massive¹s original production for validation.[3] The fact that both albums were released at the same time in 1994 further complicates Mad Professor¹s allegory. This complexity lies in the fact that Mad Professor¹s production is part of the tradition of Jamaica¹s dub, where the term ³version² was often used to refer to ³remixes² which due to their extensive manipulation in the studio pushed for allegorical autonomy.[4] Image source: Last FM Allegory is often deconstructed in more advanced remixes following this third form, and quickly moves to be a reflexive exercise that at times leads to a ³remix² in which the only thing that is recognizable from the original is the title. But, to be clearno matter whatthe remix will always rely on the authority of the original song. When this activity is extended to culture at large, the remix is in the end a re-mixthat is a rearrangement of something already recognizable; it functions at a second level: a meta-level. This implies that the originality of the remix is non-existent, therefore it must acknowledge its source of validation self-reflexively. In brief, the remix when extended as a cultural practice is a second mix of something pre-existent; the material that is mixed at least for a second time must be recognized otherwise it could be misunderstood as something new, and it would become plagiarism. Without a history, the remix cannot be Remix.[5] The extended, selective and reflexive remixes can quickly crossover and blur their own definitions. Based on a materialist historical analysis, it can be noted that DJs became invested in remixes which inherited a rich practice of appropriation that had been at play in culture at
nettime en) Ukraine, No border camp
amatorka a [EMAIL PROTECTED]to g8-int show details Apr 29 (1 day ago) Call out for No Border Camp in Ukraine 2007 The camp will take place from the 11th to the 20th of August 2007 in the main region of transit and labor migration in Ukraine: Transcarpathia. The eastward expansion of the European Union has resulted in moving the walls of Fortress Europe to the Western border of Ukraine. The Ukrainian region of Transcarpatia, of which the biggest cities are Uzhgorod and Mukachevo, has become a new borderline, with increasing militarization and major concentration of detention camps for refugees from the countries of Global South and former USSR, who try to escape war, totalitarianism or misery to the European Union countries. It is hard to find any open information about the conditions in the majority of these camps. The condition of the refugees in Ukraine is very unstable: freedom of movement is restricted; it is hard to get a job or medical care, and no social security is provided. When one gets refugee status, the only support they get from the state is a single payment of a petty 3 euros. In recent years Ukraine has even extradited asylum seekers to places like Uzbekistan, where they were imprisoned for years in the notorious authoritarian regime's gulags. The increase of border controls makes a big impact on lives of local people in the depressed region of Transcarpathia. The region is situated on the intersection of borders of five countries: Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, and Romania. Four of them are now in the European Union, but Ukraine will not be its member in the near future. So Fortress Europe strengthens its Eastern frontiers on the borderline of Western Ukraine. Still, up to half of the working population of Transcarpathia works abroad. Ukraine cancelled the visa regime for EU nationals, but the EU has not made the access of Ukrainians to the European labor market (or even European countries' territory) any easier, although it would be hard to imagine for example agriculture in the EU today without Ukrainian guest workers. At the same time, Transcarpathia has been for a long time a very special region with its unique blend of local cultures and traditions, and now it turned out to be one of the main routes for international migration. Therefore, local border guards, security services and media, using xenophobic language, help to spread prejudices towards migrants among local population, which resulted in rising tensions in the region. We demand the right of free movement for everyone, asylum for all the persecuted people and the right of people to migrate from depressed areas to work in other countries, if it can make their lives better. We demand abolishing all visa regimes. We want to tear down Fortress Europe contemporary border regime, which has lead to the state-sanctioned murder of thousands of people in its borders during recent years. The Global Apartheid policy should be stopped! We continue the tradition of No Border camps on Eastern borders of the Fortress Europe, which were organized 1998-2000 on the border of Germany and Poland, in 2000-2003 on the Eastern border of Poland, in 2001 in Slovenia, in 2003 in Romania, in 2003 and 2005 on the border between Greece and Bulgaria and in Finland in 2004. The camps have also been organized on the Southern borders of Europe (on Sicily 2000 and on Tarifa of Spain 2001), inside Europe at airports and main sites of European surveillance and decision-making system (such as in Strasbourg 2002), on the border between Mexico and USA and in Australia. This year our international movement makes a major step forward, as the camp in Ukraine will be first ever organized on the territory of the former Soviet Union. Some of the aims of this camp are: 1) To create a ground for communication between activists from Eastern and Western Europe and from everywhere else: meeting, establishing contacts, sharing skills, knowledge and experience, etc. (workshops, discussions, practical trainings, concerts and much more). 2) To attract the attention of the people in Ukraine (but also in Russia and in the world) to the racist policy on migration; to address the questions of contemporary forms of racism and xenophobia. 3) To create contact with local people in the region of Transcarpathia: anti-racist education, open public events, film screenings, exhibitions, concerts and discussions, with an aim to improve local people's attitude towards migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. 4) To exchange information between us: how the authorities in different countries criminalize migration, what are the situations with deportation prisons, and to share the experiences of resistance in different countries. One of the practical results of the camp is going to be the publication of a brochure with the information from different countries on all these issues to reinforce our struggle (call-out with approximate questions is coming!). 5) To get more people
