Tech N9ne + MrDraMatic

I checked my SoundCloud stats this morning and found my blog post for today. Anyone who knows me knows that if you spend any bit of time with me, I can’t help but regurgitating the fact that I grew up with Tech N9ne. A few years back, when I first decided to get online with my music, I decided to do a remix of Caribou Lou. Well, “Caribou Lou – Tech N9ne (MrDraMatic’s Sotally Tober Remix)” has now reached 100 downloads on SoundCloud. In honor of that, I’m uploading it to ReverbNation.com so you can still download it (SoundCloud maxes out at 100 downloads for free). I’ll also give you a little bit of the background on this remix.

The History

Let me be clear, when I say I grew up with Tech N9ne, it doesn’t mean that I partied with him. Actually, my big brother and Tech were best friends and I was the little brother in their shadows looking up to everything that they did. I had the privilege of witnessing the birth of N9na and becoming fan #1 when he and my big bro practiced and performed a routine for a 6^th grade talent show using the song “Drag Rap” (I was in 2^nd grade then to put the age-gap in perspective).

What happened

There are a few reasons why MrDraMatic isn’t currently a producer in the Strange camp. The main reason is because of that age-gap that I mentioned above. What happened with my big bro and Tech is that; as that they got older, of course gangs started getting big in KC. Our block, 58^th St and Forest, was pretty much a red area and we spent the summers with my cousin, in blue territory. Needless to say they didn’t hang out so much after that. I have no crazy gangster beef stories because, again, the age-gap and my brother and I moved out closer to the burbs (-sigh-).

Now

I was forced to move away from the block that I loved, but a piece of my heart is still there along with a piece of Tech’s. I know this because I have been blessed enough to run in to him from time to time through-out the years, and he ALWAYS shows love and asks about THE FAMILY. I’ve always been reluctant to mention my connection with Tech N9ne in the past, because I’ve always tried to get away from that shadow that I grow up under and make a name for myself. But, I can’t contain my excitement!

I’ve personally talked to Tech N9ne and Krizz Kaliko and gotten their verbal permission to do some mix-tape projects with their tracks. So, what that means to MrDraMatic is MORE REMIXES! This is going to be a special project for me and my fear of “not doing it justice” is the only reason why it hasn’t been done sooner. So keep a look out for some Strange Remixes from your neighborhood unofficial/official TECHNICIAN #1 and download Caribou Lou – Tech N9ne (MrDraMatic’s Sotally Tober Remix) now.

If you’re a true believer bonus +50,000

Site Review – IndabaMusic.com

IndabaMusic.com is the best place on the internet for producers, not only for showcasing their skills through remix contests, but for learning, improving, and networking with other producers and artists.

If you have heard of IndabaMusic.com, then you probably know of it from the many remix contest entries that are posted across social media. If you haven’t heard of Indaba, then now you know that it is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) sites for remix competitions. Remix competitions are great for producers who don’t have access to artists and vocals to improve their skills. Indaba is more than remixes, though. This site hosts licensing opportunities and some really unique contest to get artists and producers as much exposure to opportunities as they possibly can.

The community

What makes IndabaMusic.com truly great is the community of producers, artists, and real-deal music lovers. Before the internet, producers couldn’t really trade tips with each other without fear of giving away the trade secrets that gives them whatever advantage they had in their local music scene. With Indaba, you get to network with producers of all kinds of sounds from across the globe. The community is all about supporting newcomers looking to get in the game and vets looking for new techniques alike. Enter any competition and you will get immediate, FREE, critiques and tips from your peers. Other sites actually charge quite a bit for that alone!

A staff that understands us!

The message boards are always alive with posts about remix competitions and general music stuff. We musicians may be the most sensitive, ego-driven, innovative, and passionate people on the planet. The staff does an EXCELLENT job of keeping us in-line. The staff is always on the boards making sure that we don’t take advantage of the spam engine, keeping passions at a reasonable level, and actually listening to our critiques and suggestions for the site. There is no denying that they are true music fanatics and understand the kind of emotions that are attached to our personal labors of love.

Indaba Music + MrDraMatic

Personally, IndabaMusic.com has had a direct part in re-sparking that inner-drive within myself that is definitely necessary to succeed in music. Life and my music career weren’t getting along at one point in time. When I was ready to get back in the game, Indaba was there to keep me going. I’ve made some really cool friends from Greece, the UK, and more. I thought that my skills were the best on the planet (a common delusion of most artists) until I got on Indaba and found out how far behind I was. The challenge of getting my skills up fast was more than enough to get me excited about music again.

Indaba isn’t perfect, but it’s one of the best

No site is perfect. IndabaMusic.com knows this and works hard at adding new features and removing features that don’t work. There are times that the site acts strange in certain browsers, which is annoying. Still, when it comes to their dedication to musicians, Indaba is my favorite site in the web. If you are serious about advancing you skills or if you just want to play around with some top industry vocals, then IndabaMusic.com is a most join. Join for free or grab your pro-membership. Just check it out and stop by my profile to say hi.

Till then, thanks for reading my first website review bonus +500

P.S. IndabaMusic is the place where these crazy bonus points came from. I’ll tell you that story later.

Reorganization

It’s time to reorganize. I’ve spent all day yesterday downloading Sonar X2 Producer and now it’s time to start getting it trained up for some serious production. I have a lot of music in me seeing that it’s been a few months since I’ve made my last track. I went through my Soundcloud profile and noticed that my last upload was about 10 months ago. The last track that I did was a remix of Linkin Park’s Lost in the Echo (MrDraMatic Remix).

I have a new remix project that I’m about to get crackin on, and it’s really been a long time coming. I don’t want to tell you exactly what it is but I will give you a hint, it was my first remix project posted on Soundcloud and it’s still getting regular plays with no promotion from me. Listen now!

While I’m working on this next remix project, which has nothing to do with any contests so you won’t have to worry about me begging for votes, I’ll be going through some of my sites and posting past works. There are a lot of them scattered around the internet with various play statistics associated with them. I was pretty surprised by the ones with the most plays.

Seeing that I lost my last computer with my tracks on them, I’ll have to download and come up with a system for tracking them better. I’ll keep you informed of the progress. Keep an eye out on Facebook to see which ones have the most plays so far.

Justin Nozuka – “How Low” Remix Contest on Indaba Music

Check out this submission in Justin Nozuka – “How Low” Remix Contest on Indaba Music.

I honestly have never heard of Justin Nozuka before this contest but, I was interested in the vocals when I first heard the song. This is one of the few contests where there is a direction for the remixes. Justin is looking for something that is deep ambient. I am a slave to the beat so I had to add a solid drum track with a couple of surprises. I also made MrWobble the center of attention and slap plenty of delay for that distant, dreamy ambient sound.

As I’m writing this my remix is sitting at 33/184. There are a lot of cool remixes in this one; mostly on the downtempo, super-chilled side. For the first time, someone left me a comment saying that my remix is too “clubby.”

I’m going to be starting a new thing with this contest. Along with the bonus points that everyone loves (I forget how cool it is to get points until someone tosses me a couple), I’m going to be sharing my favorite remixes from other artists. Here’s the list so far:

MrDraMatic’s Picks bonus +200

• Crashtv RMX – http://www.indabamusic.com/opportunities/justin-nozuka-how-low-remix-contest/submissions/94312

• David Creasman – http://www.indabamusic.com/opportunities/justin-nozuka-how-low-remix-contest/submissions/95344

There are still plenty of tracks for me to listen to so, keep checking the list for some really good down-tempo music.

Thanks for reading bonus +100