Practice Makes Astounding Work
The Astounding Mix - The Definitive BigHose Set
After the completion of The Greatest Risk, I had what felt like an eternity in between projects, but in reality only a month had passed before I attempted to put together a new set. The Astounding Mix, which gets it name from the Neil Degrasse Tyson introduction on the origins of life, is the most complete mix, and most up to date comprehensive mix, dating The Greatest Risk ever so slightly.
The intro of Neil Degrasse Tyson marks the second time I created an intro for a set using an influential speaker with a custom made backing track that segways into the actual set, something I take great pride in. The Greatest Risk was the first to feature this type of intro, as it had an intro by Alan Watts, and each set since has been introduced by some sort of custom intro. This set also features the return of Charlie, my British speaker whom narrates and MC's my sets. Charlie is completely digital, being nothing more than a speak program run through a few filters to give him his distinct sound.
Anyway, the set opens with a traditional and oddly enough, a very commercial artist in NERVO. Besides offering a good initial setting for the set, the track "Like Home" also features great vocal work, something I wanted to incorporate to start the set. I kept with 128 BPM's through the first 12 minutes of the set to allow the listener to get comfortable with the sounds, and adapt to the mix. However at around the 13 minute mark I made a conscious decision to make the switch from 128 BPM to 140 BPM and bring Trap into the mix early. The progression here went smooth, and the transitional moves are not perfect but to the untrained ear flow smooth.
The base track that revolves within the set over the next five minutes is "Make Some Noise" by Chuckie & Junxterjack, as I transition in and out of it multiple times, jumping BPM's the entire time. From here, the set goes all over the board with some of the best transitional and mixing work I have ever done. One of my personal favorite parts of the entire set occurs around the 20 minute mark, when we have a Bruno Mars Solidisco Remix mixing with a Toro Toro remix, which sounds amazing, and is one of the highlights for me.
Even though the set is jumping many genres, I tend to listen to it and hear some distinct parts. It starts Progressive, then after the 25 minute mark the set gets caught in the Trap, but around 38 minutes I do something I have never done in a set before, and that is to focus on Trance. It felt right due to the repetitiveness that can come with dropping too many songs in the same genre back-to-back. It comes out of nowhere, and is a pleasant curveball to the overall body of work, giving the listener a break from 808's and hi-hats.
Just like in all the previous other mixes, Spectrum by Zedd makes another appearance in a BigHose set. This time, it comes in the form of an Arty remix, my personal favorite version of the song. This also sets up the final act of the set, jumping mainly between Progressive House and Trap. The Astounding Mix is also my first to feature a top 40 rap song in Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake's "Holy Grail," a song I was very keen on at the time, but where it goes from here is easily the most vast difference in sounds ever put together by myself.
Cue Animal by Bro Safari, a tribal sounding Trap piece that is easily the oddest tune I have ever used. However it also is a personal favorite of mine for that exact reason, it is very unique, and has a sound that is incomparable, definitely glad I was able to throw it in at the end. We end out using a little mix I put together of a couple Major Lazer remixes, and I slowly remove the elements of the song to end The Astounding Mix.
Overall, The Astounding Mix is still the industry standard mix for me personally. Considering it is now 3 months old and still holds up in a musical world in which a songs shelf life is between 1-6 months if it is lucky, is impressive, at least to myself. While I've had two more projects completed since The Astounding Mix's release, another comprehensive mix will soon be on the way to hopefully trump The Astounding Mix just as it did to The Greatest Risk. In the meantime, enjoy!
The intro of Neil Degrasse Tyson marks the second time I created an intro for a set using an influential speaker with a custom made backing track that segways into the actual set, something I take great pride in. The Greatest Risk was the first to feature this type of intro, as it had an intro by Alan Watts, and each set since has been introduced by some sort of custom intro. This set also features the return of Charlie, my British speaker whom narrates and MC's my sets. Charlie is completely digital, being nothing more than a speak program run through a few filters to give him his distinct sound.
A Dramatic Video Using the Neil Degrasse Tyson Soundbite
Anyway, the set opens with a traditional and oddly enough, a very commercial artist in NERVO. Besides offering a good initial setting for the set, the track "Like Home" also features great vocal work, something I wanted to incorporate to start the set. I kept with 128 BPM's through the first 12 minutes of the set to allow the listener to get comfortable with the sounds, and adapt to the mix. However at around the 13 minute mark I made a conscious decision to make the switch from 128 BPM to 140 BPM and bring Trap into the mix early. The progression here went smooth, and the transitional moves are not perfect but to the untrained ear flow smooth.
The base track that revolves within the set over the next five minutes is "Make Some Noise" by Chuckie & Junxterjack, as I transition in and out of it multiple times, jumping BPM's the entire time. From here, the set goes all over the board with some of the best transitional and mixing work I have ever done. One of my personal favorite parts of the entire set occurs around the 20 minute mark, when we have a Bruno Mars Solidisco Remix mixing with a Toro Toro remix, which sounds amazing, and is one of the highlights for me.
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| Hercules MX-4 Console |
Just like in all the previous other mixes, Spectrum by Zedd makes another appearance in a BigHose set. This time, it comes in the form of an Arty remix, my personal favorite version of the song. This also sets up the final act of the set, jumping mainly between Progressive House and Trap. The Astounding Mix is also my first to feature a top 40 rap song in Jay-Z & Justin Timberlake's "Holy Grail," a song I was very keen on at the time, but where it goes from here is easily the most vast difference in sounds ever put together by myself.
Cue Animal by Bro Safari, a tribal sounding Trap piece that is easily the oddest tune I have ever used. However it also is a personal favorite of mine for that exact reason, it is very unique, and has a sound that is incomparable, definitely glad I was able to throw it in at the end. We end out using a little mix I put together of a couple Major Lazer remixes, and I slowly remove the elements of the song to end The Astounding Mix.
Overall, The Astounding Mix is still the industry standard mix for me personally. Considering it is now 3 months old and still holds up in a musical world in which a songs shelf life is between 1-6 months if it is lucky, is impressive, at least to myself. While I've had two more projects completed since The Astounding Mix's release, another comprehensive mix will soon be on the way to hopefully trump The Astounding Mix just as it did to The Greatest Risk. In the meantime, enjoy!
Fun Fact:
The Astounding Mix was the first set produced that did not incorporate the word "Risk" in any form, and is in no way related to those initial sets.
Pictures From:
-http://promobiledj.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Hercules-DJ-Console-4Mx-closeup1.jpg
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