Hey there!  Here's something to warm up your ears a little in this cold December weather.  These are my reworked versions of Jazzanova's "I Can See."  If you haven't yet heard their new album "Of All The Things," here's a taste, from the video of I Can See.
 
I love the raw soulful sound of the original and picked out my favorite bits for these versions. Enjoy and happy holidays!
 
Jazzanova - I Can See - Kaushik M. Edit
http://...com/66kxrs
 
Jazzanova - I Can See - Kaushik M. Instrumental
http://...com/5geue8

--
Kaushik | Washington DC
Web/Blog: Music is Variable | http://vrble.com

Just wrapped up an AR Rahman remix...a breakbeat type rework of the track "Gulfisha" from the movie "Ada - A Way of Life", featuring vocals by Bollywood heavyweights Sonu Nigam and Sunidhi Chauhan.. please listen in my player and enjoy!

Kaushik

Greets folks, check out an old remix I did for Ryukyu Underground back in the day from the "Ryukyu Remixed" release... the track is "Kanasando."  Up now on ye olde Myspace player. Peace and tandoori chicken grease.... Kaushik

I like doing remixes. I especially like remix contests, although I have no interest in entering them to win a t-shirt or free software. Instead, remix contests are a great way to get raw working material to inspire me. Using just the vocal track, I like to recreate the entire song into something new. The act of reinventing and reimagining someone else's creation is interesting. It gives me a chance to experiment with different styles, and to get to know my production tools better. It also keeps my musical skills sharp, especially after long quiet periods when I don't have much time to work on music.

Thinking about all this leads to this attempt to define my philosophy on remixes. In part this is also due to the time I'm spending working on a couple of remixes of Karsh Kale's "Manifest." I've been wondering why I do remixes, and this is an attempt to define my approach.

1. To work on a remix, there has to be something in the original song that inspires me. I have to feel moved in some way. The inspiration could come from something specific, like the lyrical content. Or, it could be something general like the 'vibe' of the song or the sound of the singer's voice. Without that connection to the source material, I won't do a remix. So in a sense, the decision to do a remix is inherently personal and selfish. Which isnt a bad thing, because without that personal connection the remix would probably be crap.

2. I approach a remix as a complete reinvention of the original song. Thinking that I can somehow improve on someone else's creation would be conceited. But, doing a remix gives me an opportunity to put a personal stamp on the original song. I suppose this is one reason I enjoy doing remixes -- I never know where inspiration is going to take me. Because the only limitation is my own imagination, I am free to go wherever I want with the remix. In fact, there are times I won't listen to the original song -- I might focus just on the vocals alone and see what it inspires me to do. In reality, I will listen to the original track as a reference point to understand what's happening with the melody and arrangement. But this serves just as a departure point for my own take on it. In most of the remixes I've done, the only remaining artifact from the source material is the vocal. In other words, I like to strip the song down to its most basic element -- the voice -- and rebuild it from scratch with my own melodies, rhythms, structure, textures and atmosphere. I like to think of this as a radical reimagining of a song's potential.

3. I also like to think of a remix as a way of capturing the different personalities that often lurk in the original song. If I find enough layers of meaning and emotion in the song, it can move me to create different versions of the original. For instance, in the "Manifest" remixes I am working on, I hear two very different personalities: strident social commentary (thanks to MC Napoleon) and emotional longing (found in the Indian classical vocals). The two personalities are interwoven in the original song. I thought it might be interesting to unravel the threads and create two different versions that highlight the different aspects of the song. So, one of my versions brings Napoleon to the forefront, and has a rough and raw edge to it. The other version is softer, more contemplative, and prominently features the Indian vocals. I'm also thinking of a similar approach to some remixes I'm working on for Sharaab.

4. I don't think of remixes in terms of genres. For a long time, remixes have been a way of extending the market appeal of a song by expanding into market niches and audience environments where the song might not be heard. For instance, house remixes of Top 40 artists give underground credibility to mainstream artists, and ensure that their tracks are heard by a broader swath of the general public than just commercial radio audiences. This explains why remixes are market-specific the latest Janet Jackson single will have a house mix, rap mix, R&B mix, dancehall version etc, etc. The same goes for all forms of underground electronic music, where remixes are genre-specific, but are also more tuned to DJs needs for different mixes to suit different environments, times of night, etc. Thus you see floor-filler house and trance remixes of an original track on the A side, and dubby/chilled versions on the B side. All this makes marketing sense. The down side, though, is that the remix genre has gotten a bad reputation. A "remix" is often seen as the original song laid on top of a different beat. (I won't even discuss the whole terribly cheesy remix industry in Bollywood; 99% of those remixes are utterly craptastic.) So I guess what I am saying is, when I do a remix, my goal is not to produce something that will work within a certain dance genre. I think if I started off the remix thinking "This is going to be a main room breaks mix with a trance feel" then the remix will be doomed from the start.

5. A remix is not a mash up. Im tired of this word; its time to retire it from the English language. (I reserve the right to use it when I cant think of a better word.) A mash-up is taking MIAs Pull Up the People a capella vocal and laying it over the instrumental version of Ameries One Thing. Thats technically a mash-up, and that mash-up in particular is a pretty good one. Another mash-up overlays Nelly Furtados Im Like a Bird with Asha Bhosles Dil Cheez Kya Hai from Umrao Jaan. The result is pretty horrifying, as you might imagine. In any case, you cant label the mixing up of disparate audio elements into a new track a remix. At least not the way I define a remix: a radical, highly personal transformation of an existing. Specifically, a remix that consists of 100% new instrumentation, beats, melodies, arrangement and so forth is, really and truly, a bonafide remix. Thats the standard that I strive for in my remixes.

6. The last element of my remix philosophy is simple: if I get the source tracks for free, then I give away my remix to anyone and everyone interested, to freely share, copy and distribute. It usually takes me several hours or days to do a remix, with no financial gain when it's done. I do all the production in my home studio, including the audio mastering. My time and effort is more than recouped by getting my sounds out there and hopefully gaining a bigger audience over time. After all, giving stuff away for free is the drug pusher's pricing strategy: I'll get you on the "comeback", as Chris Rock said. You've been warned -- I sincerely hope my remixes are addictive enough that youll gladly shell out the green when I start to charge for my tunes. :-)

Ill have my Karsh Kale remixes posted on MySpace so please check them out and send feedback. DJs, if you want hi-res versions for playing out, let me know. In the meantime, I'm thinking about more remixes: Bugz in the Attic, Coldcut, David Byrne / Brian Eno, and Peter Gabriel. No, as much I would love to brag about it, I haven't gotten remix offers from any of these esteemed artists. But theyve all made source tracks available for remix adventurers like me. More soon...

Kaushik

So it's been a while. Funny how life gets so busy that you don't even notice that two or three months have passed by. In an effort to keep this blog rolling, here's a couple of bite size updates.
 
The EP:  I've been working sporadically on a set of 4-5 tracks for a possible online only EP release. It's a pretty experimental collection, mostly dance oriented.  I'm thinking of calling it "So Far."
 
The album:  This has been in the works for almost 2 years now... phew. Up to 10 tracks or so, a full set of songs, everything from slow moody stuff to bassbin shakers. Releasing some time after the EP.
 
Remixes:  One or two remixes in the works for Sharaab's new album. Still debating whether to do a few freebie bootleg type reworks of artists I respect and admire. I might just do my own versions of tracks by Coldcut and David Byrne / Brian Eno (from the "Bush of Ghosts" album). Also Peter Gabriel just put up a bunch of source tracks online. And there's also Karsh Kale's "Manifest" remix contest for the masses.  Free stuff is fun to do but my own material has got to come first! Focus, focus....
 
DJing:  Just got an interesting offer from a Baltimore venue for a monthly spot, still pondering this one.
 
Other than that, I'm intrigued by The Long Tail and might read it for inspiration.

Check out some previous releases and remixes, and stay tuned for new tunes soon!

PANCHGANI
from the 2003 release "Suno", headnodding beats with a bollywood appeal

SONG OF THE VALLEY
unreleased track, very chilled

KANASANDO (remix)
remix of Ryukyu Underground's track, from the "Ryukyu Remixed" release, Okinawan folk blended with laidback chunky beats

-- Kaushik

DC peeps, come on down to Bossa in Adams Morgan to check out this cool new night of global electronic beats. I'm doing a guest spot from 9:30-11 or so. $5 cover. Bossa is in the heart of Adams Morgan. See you there!

The Dollar bootie remix is on this week's "Basic Soul" radio show hosted by Simon Harrison... thanks Simon! Playlist below. The show is heard in Italy, Turkey, France, UK, US, Germany and Greece. Check out Simon's site for more info.

Basic Soul playlist: week commencing 02/04/06
 
daisuke tanabe - gas - fluid ounce
dudley perkins - funky dudley - stones throw
roger robinson - dream keepa (lizzies children re-fix) - altered vibes
steve spacek - dollar (kaushik remix) - white
marc mac presents beats from the motion picture: it's right to be civil - tell me now - white
break reform - neptune (live from maida vale) - abstract blue
jung collective - disappear (richard e remix) - nanny tango
kista feat. tableek - talk with god - art/goes/pop
mister who - oceans - dual amp
dogdaze - raise your fist - flyin' high
broke 'n' english - take it low - white
cousin cockroach - nah backside - 2000 black
mark de clive-lowe feat. lady alma - twilight - especial
joash feat. laura c- something about you - white
ok_ma feat. leanne - goflow (bennson remix) - r2
omar - never to late (jaycee in da mix) - white
atjazz feat. ernesto - put it on (osunlade remix) - white
the invisible sessions - 'til the end - schema
johnny hammond - shifting gears - fantasy
hot rs - slow blow - cosmic dancer
guy called gerald - voodoo ray (paradise ballrom mix) - warlock
manny corchado - pow wow - jazzman
dee dee warwick - suspicious minds - atlantic
the bamboos - golden rough - tru thoughts
alessandro oliviero - walk on that thing - perfect toy
n-side - 20 year class reunion - shalamar
---

Also Michael Rutten of Compost Radio featured the Dollar remix on the 2nd consecutive Compost show... danke Michael.

--
soulsearching - the compost radioshow
30.march2006   radio x frankfurt 91.8fm

tracklisting 23.3.06
the spring editions part 2

artist-title-label/lp
..>..>
Leroy & Darnell - No Tentacles - Sonarkollektiv White
Ann Young - Speak Low - Columbia Japan
Felix Laband - Whistling In Tongues/Todd Terje Remix - Compost Test
Jorge Ben - Sou Da Pesada/7 Samurai's Afroraduno Remix - Deja Vu
ISoul8 - Free/Just One Remix - Sonarkollektiv Test
Zero db - Bongos, Bleeps & Basslines - Ninja White
Nova Dream Sequence - Dream 14 - Compost Test
Joe Gibbs - Chapter Three - Nuphonic Loft 10inch
Isley Brothers - Take An Inventory - White
Lena Horne - Feels So Good - Buddah
INNOCENT SORCERERS SOULSEARCHING RADIO MIX
Hanna Banaszak - W Moim Magicznym Domu - EMI Music Poland
Agnieszka Skrzypek - I Hear Music - Not Two
Muzykoterapia - Roman 2 - Asfalt Records Advance
Stanislaw Sojka - I'm Just A Lucky So And So/Edit - Polskie Nagrania
Diplo - Golddigger/edit - Hollertronix
Ukokos - Lil' Baby - CDR Exclusive
Fred Wesley & The JBs - I'm Payin Taxes What Am I Buyin - People
Tangoterje - High Jack - Supreme
Visioneers - Funk Box feat. Capital A - BBE Advance
Jay Dee - Stepson Of The Clapper - Stones Throw
Big Band Katowice - Sorcery - Polskie Nagrania
Miles Davis & John Coltrane - Budo/Edit - Exclusive
with excerpts from
Alicja W Krainie Czarow - Polskie Nagrania
Hearin' Aid - Whatchuwant Instr. / Edit - Jugglin
Linkwood Family - Whats Up With The Underground - Firecracker
Henryk Miskiewicz & Simple Acoustic Trio - Gate Of The Happiness - Grami
with Vocals from
Marcus Enochson & E-Man - Musical Prayer - N/A
Sistars - My Music/Innocent Sorcerers Chocolate Moose Remix - CDR
Exclusive
Martiangang - Got Skills Galore/Instr. Groovemanspot Remix - Jazzy Sport
END OF MIX
Spacek - Dollar/Kaushik Remix - Test
War - L.A. Sunshine - Blue Note Platinum Jazz
END OF SHOW

soulsearching - the compost radioshow around the globe
weekly...stations included are:
radio x frankfurt, j-wave, tokyo japan, radio alchemy/sbs australia,
..>..>radio oxi-gen istanbul, radio active new zealand, radio b92 belgrade,
radio sis sicily, stadtradio gttingen, radio sudio reporter italia,
IASTAR - 24 campus radio stations in france!...soon: FM4 austria.

internet airwaves: milkaudio.com podcast !!! (can) ,
radiomagnetic.com (scotland uk), samurai.fm (london/tokyo),
monofunk.net (D),
straightup.com.au (australia), righton-fm.com (F), radio42.com
(hamburg), clubbity.com (italia), beyondjazz.net (belgium), ...

Check it out, just wrapped up this track over the weekend, and got it on Adil Ray's show today on BBC Asian Network, as an exclusive... and also did an on-air interview with Adil. It was supposed to happen on Thursday but they bumped me to Tuesday. No worries....

Enjoy the track, more coming soon!

Just got contacted by BBC's Asian Network to be interviewed LIVE on air on the Adil Ray show... yes my 5 minutes of fame are here!

If you have 10 minutes to kill this Thursday, March 30 around 5:30 PM EST (10:30 PM in the UK) , head over to http://www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork/adil_ray/ and click on "Listen Live."

They'll be featuring my bootleg remix of Steve Spacek's "Dollar" and will ask me scintillating questions about the meaning of life, why I do music, my favorite color... all that jazz!

And oh, a brand new original track is coming soon to my audio player, if I can just get MySpace to work... something or another is always broken.

Kaushik

The Kaushik unofficial remix of Steve Spacek's almighty DOLLAR is available for download... check it out.

It will be featured on COMPOST RADIO hosted by Mr. Soulsearching himself, Michael Rutten. It goes out to 38 radio shows around the world.... tracklisting follows.

Also the Dollar remix is in rotation on RADIO NOVA, the most popular radio station in Oslo, Norway... see the tracklisting further down.

-----------------------------------------
COMPOST RADIO - SOULSEARCHING (Germany)
hosted by Michael Rutten
www.soulpatrol.de

tracklisting show 104
the spring editions vol.1

artist-title-label/lp

The Jazz Crusaders - Little Rabbit - BBE
Peven Everett - Stuck - Soul Heaven
Jazzanova - Boom Clicky Boom Klack/Mr. Scruff Remix - Sonarkollektiv
Test
Ok-Ma - Go-Flow/Bennson Mix - R2 Records
Sistars - Inspirations/Innocent Sorcerers Birthday Mix - Test
Nekta & Native - What Nature Brings - Infracom Test
Yannah - Blue Skies - Exclusive
Elsie Bianchi - Little Bird - Saba
Patsy Gallant - It'll All Come Around - Song Recordings/Fat City
The Visioneers - Ike's Mood - BBE
SPACEK - DOLLAR/KAUSHIK REMIX- Test
A Musical Encounter with Luciano Cantone / The Invisible Session
Adele Sebastian - Desert Fairy Princess - Nimbus
Andy Bey - River Man - Argo
Carl Stoke With Oliver Nelson's Orchestra - Precious Love/Seat/Mother
To Son - Flying Dutchman
The Invisible Session - Teacher - Schema
Odetta - Pasteur Of Plenty - Vadem
The Invisible Session - To The Powerful - Schema
Billy Paul - East - CBS
Richard "Groove" Holmes - No Trouble On The Mountain - P-Vine Records
Earth Wind & Fire - Power - Columbia
Duke Pearson feat. Bobby Hutcherson - The Phantom - Blue Note
Carl Stoke With Oliver Nelson's Orchestra - Paint It Black - Flying
Dutchman
Alice Coltrane - A Love Supreme - Impulse
Sarah Vaughn - Slow Hot Wind - Mercury
END OF MIX
Pathless - Goddess (Jobim Mix) - Dubplate
END OF SHOW

-----------------------------------------
RADIO NOVA - SNADDER (Norway)
http://www.radionova.no/snadder/index.php

Bilal Hands Of Time (Interscope)
Torun Eriksen Way To Go (Jazzland/Sonet/Universal)
Goapele Catch 22 (Skyblaze/Columbia)
Musiq Onenight (Def Soul)
Ghostface feat Ne-Yo Back Like That
Madlib Friends (Foes) (Stones Throw/VME)
Remy Ma feat Big Pun Thug Love (SRC/Universal)
Al Green Love And Happiness (Hi)
Prince - Satisfied (NPG/Universal)
Prince Little Red Corvette (Warner)
Prince Lolita (NPG/Universal)
STEVE SPACEK DOLLAR (KAUSHIK REMIX) (white label)
Nate James The Message (One Two)
Mink DeVille Help Me To Make It (Power Of A Woman's Love) (Atlantic)

The weather's warming up in Washington DC and so is the music. Here's the latest news.

The highly unofficial but very listenable Kaushik remix of Steve Spacek's "Dollar" is doing the rounds through well-known DJs' digital crates. Ears are perking up!

You can download the remix now from the MySpace player so go get it!!

"DOLLAR" REMIX ON FRIDAY NIGHT SESSIONS
The Kaushik remix of Steve Spacek's "Dollar" was featured in the February 17 show of Friday Night Sessions on KUSF 90.3 in San Francisco. The show is hosted by Andrew Jervis, head of the mighty Ubiquity Records. Full playlist below.

FEBRUARY 17, 2006
Hosted by: Andrew Jervis (Ubiquity)
Featuring Special Guest Mix by Shawn Lee

Masa Collective - Love is Everywhere (Especial)
Ray Barretto - Acid (Fania)
3 na Massa - Thalma (cd-r)
Shawn Lee - Gerrard Street (Ubiquity)
STEVE SPACEK - DOLLAR (KAUSHIK REMIX) (CD-R)
Nino Moschella - Better Off (Ubiquity)
Shawn J Period - The Come Back (Rude)
Dudley Perkins - Title Unknown (Stones Throw)
Dena Deadly - 1608 (cd-r)
Bluemind - Stay Alive (cd-r)
Jazztronik - Cannibal Rock (Especial)
Incognito - Show Me Love (Yam Who mix) (Dome)
Radio City - Voices (Ubiquity)
MJ - Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough (AJ remix) (Rebtuz)

"DOLLAR" REMIX GETS 4 OUT OF 5 STARS IN EASTERN EYE UK
The Kaushik white label remix of "Dollar" received 4 out of 5 stars in the "Future Classics" section of Eastern Eye UK.

Eastern Eye is the UK's most popular and best-known Asian newspaper, with more than 72,000 readers. The review is by Sharnita Athwal of the Shaanti UK club collective, who is also the head of the Shaanti Play record label. Check out their latest release "Fused Rocking Beats Vol. 1."

"DOLLAR" REMIX ON GALAXY RADIO, UK
Kaushik's remix is in regular rotation on the UK's Galaxy Network, on "Desi Dance Beats" hosted by Manga from Shaanti UK. With over 2.5 million listeners, Galaxy is the UK's number one young adult commercial radio brand.

Greetings all, this is a plug for a remix I just did. It's streaming now at http://myspace.com/kaushikm. Details below. Enjoy and send me your comments! -- Kaushik

--

STEVE SPACEK "DOLLAR" -- CHECK OUT THE KAUSHIK REMIX NOW

If you've heard Steve Spacek's "Dollar" from the Space Shift album, you know this J. Dilla / Jay Dee produced track is hot. "Dollar" won the No. 2 slot in the Worldwide Track of The Year category of the Radio 1 Gilles Peterson Worldwide Music Awards 2005. The original "Dollar" track is available for download at: www.soundincolor.com/dollar.mp3

The KAUSHIK remix is an entirely new track. Using only Steve Spacek's haunting vocals, the remix is a slab of epic future funk with an Indian twist, featuring live bass, Rhodes, strings and more. Kaushik handles all production, mix and arrangement duties on this exclusive remix.

Thanks for listening, and stay tuned for more!

--

ABOUT KAUSHIK:
KAUSHIK (Kaushik Mukerjee) is a producer/musician based in Washington DC known for his unique take on electronic music with Indian and Asian overtones. Following the release of his critically-acclaimed EP Suno in 2002 under the name Brown Sounds, Kaushik has been working on his debut album Hybrid Soul and had an international release of his remix of Ryukyu Undergrounds Kanasando, alongside stellar remixers such as Junkie XL, Kid Loco, Da Lata, Karsh Kale, Bill Laswell and others.

LINKS:
http://aishanimusic.com
http://myspace.com/kaushikm
http://stevespacek.com
http://myspace.com/stevespacek
http://stonesthrow.com/jdilla

Note: This is a promotional remix and is not affiliated with or officially endorsed by Steve Spacek or Sound In Color Inc.