You hear old-time music fans complaining about it all the time. “DJs aren’t musicians”, they say. “Real music comes from instruments, not computers”. It’s an argument that seems more poignant by the day, as electronic artists continually breakthrough to the main stream. Well, rather than choose sides in this ongoing debate, the new documentary RE:GENERATION sought to bring both sides together.
In the film, 5 DJs - Skrillex, Mark Ronson, Pretty Lights, DJ Premier, and The Crystal Method - are each given a unique music type unlike their own. Taking on jazz, R&B, rock, country, and classical, these electronic artists are then tasked with creating fresh new songs that capture the spirit of both their dance music, and the new genre they were assigned.
Watching the process unfold is entertaining and fascinating. Mark Ronson seems to effortlessly blend his style with the jazz sounds of Erykah Badu and the Dap Kings. Their song “A La Modeliste” is easy the most uplifting and funky of the group. At the other end of the spectrum, Pretty Lights struggles to deal with country music - and the egos that some of its brightest stars have. Watching him deal with the stubborn mind of Dr. Ralph Stanley is one of the most awkward moments in the film.
Skrillex seemed the most excited to work with his collaborators - the remaining members of the classic rock group The Doors. While the old-timers appeared reluctant at first, the energy of the young DJ quickly won them over.
Bonus points go to DJ Premier and The Crystal Method. Both stepped drastically out of their element, taking on classical music and R&B respectively. (The sight of seeing Premier conducting an orchestra is easily the most endearing image in the film)
All the artists involved should be commended for their work. Though difficult at times, you can tell how much love and passion each and every one of them has for music. The resulting songs reflect the time and commitment put in and we highly suggest going to the film’s official website to download the soundtrack for free - http://www.regenerationmusicproject.com/
While these songs may not put an end to the argument over electronic music’s place, they’ll at least make a cool addition to your iTunes playlist.
4 Responses to RE:GENERATION – DJs and Classic Genres Collide
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salutations from across the world. Great post I will return for more.
Out of all the songs that came out of this project. This one did the scoend best job of what it was supposed to be doing.Which is blending two styles of music, and being able to feel like it’s something new.pretty lights and skrillex failed (especially pretty lights), they didn’t necessarily make a bad song, but the blend wasn’t there, they just covered the guitars in effects making it shitty. Mark Ronson’s song wasn’t anything Mark ronson hasn’t done before.
Oxia was great back in the days when he released his souulfl stringladen tribal techno and rawer cuts, and although i understand a producer has to go along with the zeitgeist, it sounds like he tries too hard to be appreciated nowadays, following trends that the beatport top10 s preaches. (Not to mention his unacceptable Sky was pink ripoff called Domino)
Domino sounded more like Patrick Chardronnet’s Eve By Day to me, exact same baslnise anyway.Oxia also had a track that sounded almost identical to Stephan Bodzin’s Ferdinand . Seems he has a habit of ripping other producers off.Saying that, Domino is a cracking tune regardless.