Steven Wilson - Personal Shopper (SuperCool-Guy Remix)
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The great Steven Wilson held a remix contest at http://thefuturebites.com/remix/ to promote his new single “Personal Shopper”.
I’m a big fan of Steven Wilson. He’s eclectic, original, and consistently delivers on melody, mood and energy. The new track doesn’t disappoint, and you can hear its original version here: https://youtu.be/O_H0NO-Cyew. We are talking about a 9’49” epic of a song, a blend of alt rock and electronica, a very non-standard structure with ups, downs, and a 2’30” breakdown featuring spoken words from Elton John. The lyric points out the absurdities of consumerism and the title was inspired by the movie of the same name.
I found out about the contest on the late (Tuesday night!) so had only two days to scramble a remix. I hit pause on my other projects and had a blast with this project!
It’s the first time I’ve done anything like this and I’m very happy with the result. It’d be silly for me to say it’s “better” than the original, but I have to admit that I do prefer my remix. I find it very satisfying. I guess it’s aligned with my personal sensibility. How cool that potentially every listener could make their own personal version of the song, fine-tuned to match their personal sensibility!
These are the main changes that I brought to the track:
- New chords: I have changed the chorus chords the 3rd & 4th time around to C – Dm – Bb. This progression feels very natural and satisfying to me. From the moment I first heard the song, I wanted it to go there! So, it’s a great satisfaction for me that I could make this change.
- Additional instrument layers: mostly a very prominent pulsating pad on the intro, chorus and bridge, as well as an additional string pad on the bridge, and power chords on the final chorus. It definitely gives the track a different feel and some might like it, some might not. To me, it sounds fuller and more satisfying.
- Streamlined structure: with a reduced running time of 7’15”. I was still able to retain all the key elements from the original track, but IMHO, the streamlined structure is punchier, more effective, and to me, more satisfying.
So, there you go. I hope you like the remix. Let me know in the comments!