Music Makers

announcing I Enjoy Remixes, vol. 1: Sun Kin x Styles Munson

I've been trying to pinpoint why I love the concept of remixes so much. Is it because I was a mid '00s mashup fiend, enamored with the idea that you could take pieces of music and put them together in new ways? Is it because I was indoctrinated as a child by constantly hearing Ja Rule bark WHAT'S MY MOTHERF*CKIN' NAME at the beginning of the Jennifer Lopez "I'm Real" remix? (R-U-L-E, of course). Did it stem from paying particular attention to the pop radio station of my youth, which at precisely 5pm on Fridays changed from normal programming to a steady stream of blood-quickening club remixes? Should I blame Soulwax, somehow?

Right now, the thing that is so compelling to me about remixes is how they relate to our current, and I'm so sorry to type this out, 'attention economy." Many things vie for our attention on a daily basis. Lots of them come straight through the smartphones glued to our palms. Services are created to filter, redirect, and economize our attention. Content is even created to adapt to our attention spans, molding them (and usually shortening them) in the process. You could argue there is nothing more valuable, and more unique, than your own attention.

"Artificial intelligence can generate abundance in creation, it can even create new currencies, but it cannot convert attention into currency," wrote Daisy Alioto in Dirt's "Attention is what makes us human." "Only human beings can do that...to truly pay attention requires a brain and a body."

So the thing I love about a remix is the same thing I love about blogging about music: it is proof that someone has truly, madly, deeply, listened. Someone has paid attention, with their brain and body! Someone has broken down the elements of a creation and reimagined them in a new way. If they didn't pay attention, if they didn't listen, the remix would not exist. And so a remix—like a music blog post—is a uniquely forged connection, a creative act of love. And an act of escalation too, like a politely competitive game of Horse (H-O-R-S-E). Hell yeah, the remix says, now check this out.

I am thrilled to present a new venture for the blog: I Enjoy Remixes.

That's right, I Enjoy Music is now technically a record label too. Yeehaw!! The project is simple: for each release ('volume') of I Enjoy Remixes, I tap someone who is cool, and then have THEM tap someone else cool, and then the two artists remix each others' songs. A dual remix situation. 🎵🎵 🔀 🎵🎵

this image is a hyperlink to the Bandcamp release, whoa

I Enjoy Remixes Vol 1. comprises two remixes by two fine artists, Sun Kin (that's Kabir Kumar, L.A.-based indie-pop musician / producer / multifaceted musical collaborator) remixing Styles Munson (Sacramento-based musician, audio engineer, producer, member of Soff Toss), and vice versa.

Sun Kin remixed Styles Munson's song "Bugg" and Styles remixed Sun Kin's song "Big Window." I want to leave you to draw your own conclusions about both of these remixes, but before I embed the originals and the remixes on this blog post, I'll link the originals and give you some Random Word Associations that each song inspired in my listening brain.

"Big Window" by Sun Kin: gasoline puddle shimmer / fanfare / extremely old tree with thick trunk / very mild sunburn / fruit punch / amateur tarot reading / in bed before sunset

"Big Window" (S Munson Remix): really big raindrops / bird's eye view of city lights / Midnight Blue Crayola crayon color / fogged up glasses / losing cell service in enclosed space / motion blur / quarter moon

"Bugg" by Styles Munson: paint palette / plant growth time lapse / spaghetti sauce on apron / conch shell / mock turtleneck / amateur whitewater rafting with experienced guide / high knees

"Bugg" (Sun Kin Remix): starting up family computer / irradiation / stretchy gemstone bracelet / dream logic / satellite dish / energy gel for long-distance runners / hotel notepad