In case you didn’t know, I occasionally release mashups under the pseudonym, WTA JRK. In light of this fact, I thought it might be a good idea to write a little something about the course I take when it comes to making mashups, and the philosophy that goes behind it, both conscious and unconscious. This isn’t a step-by-step guide, this is just me looking at my own process.

Generally, with mashups I try and maintain an upbeat and fun vibe. Loud, bombastic, and heavy. I live for the aptly named “Oh Shit Moment”, where people go cross-eyed, throw up all over themselves, and then go right back to partying. Aesthetically, my pursuit of this funky, heavy groove affects my sample choices and overall sound in a way that I don’t really want to go into, for fear that I may ruin it.

The part I will talk about, though, is recognizability. When I am listening to other people’s mashups, there is nothing like that feeling of identifying a sample, recognizing that it is in a completely new context, and liking it better that way. That feeling alone is one of the big reasons I wanted to try my hand at this mashup thing. With that in mind, I’ve noticed that I have a certain way I tend to organize what samples I choose. It’s not set in stone, but essentially, there are three types of sounds that make up the finished product.

1. Vocals: Because of a large remix community, the vast majority of vocal samples are from rap, R&B, and pop songs. As such, they tend to be the easiest element in a mashup to recognize. Even if the listener doesn’t know the exact song, many are savvy enough to recognize the artist, or at the very least, simply recognize the genre. Depending on what’s sitting under it, that can often be enough.
2. Music: This is just really broad way of identifying non-vocal, melodic content. It can be anything from a single instrument, to a full band. In terms of recognizability, this is a close second. I generally pull samples that are a little more niche, while making sure it’s something that I could reasonably expect someone to identify. I try and only pair a pop vocal with pop music if the styles are totally divergent. Or, you know, if it just sounds rad.
3. Rhythm: That beat, son. These are almost never identifiable, unless it’s something super popular like “When The Levee Breaks” or “Empire State of Mind”. Keeping that in mind, I’m free to pull rhythm stuff from whatever I want, no matter it’s obscurity. I’m also free to completely chop and change up a beat, often reducing it to individual hits and completely re-sequencing it.

That’s it. Those are the basic building blocks. A section of any given mashup is usually built from at least one of each of these elements. Next comes arranging these pieces into something that resembles a song.

Instead of basing arrangements around a traditional song structure (verse, chorus, bridge), I instead think of my mashups as a progression through different sets of vocal, music, and rhythm, like little mini-songs, moving quickly from one to the next. Doing arrangements like this gives the the whole track keeps the listener on their toes, and also gives the tracks a more diverse overall sound.

The problem is, if done wrong, these sudden transitions can sound jarring. Recently, I’ve been trying to fix this by keeping some part of a previous section going into the next, such as repurposing the previous rhythm part for a new context, or keeping a rap verse going while the music around it changes. I’m finding that implementing these transitions keeps the arrangement flowing a little smoother, and leaves the track sounding like a more unified whole, while still maintaining that frenetic pace that I like so much.

That’s it! This is how my process currently stands, but it will almost certainly change as I work on more and more things of this nature. Speaking of which, I am currently working on new WTA JRK stuff! The plan is that the end result will be a single 10-15 minute track, called The Worst Tape, By The Dumbest Guy. Wish me luck. If you want, you can download, for free, my two previous mashup releases at http://www.wtajrk.com/.