Author Archives: instamatic

Bad Holiday Goes On And On (Ed Sheeran vs Madonna vs The Whispers)

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Instamatic Bad Holiday Goes On And On (Ed Sheeran vs Madonna vs Madonna vs The Whispers) mashup

As premiered (accidentally) on Bootie Mashup Listening stream because Adriana thought it was a festive holidays mash…it sort of is, sort of isn’t, it started as a festive mash and became an entry for the Disco Challenge. I’ve tightened it up since, so this is a new version as I wanted it to be perfect.

Looking to see if the combo had been done before I found that Holiday vs The Whispers – And The Beat Goes On had (DIsco Purrfection represent!), but the others have not, surprisingly given the current ever-present 80’s references – Bad Habits vs Holiday hasn’t been done either.

And then found that Madonna pretty much sampled herself with a Hard Candy era track called Beat Goes On with backing vocals by Pharrell which makes reference to her previous work and Whispers tangentially (I didn’t use the bits from a certain rapper who is cancelled in my world – thankfully so given recent evenrs) so it’s also a Madge vs Madge mashup as well!

It should have been made for the Confidence Challenge – I do that a lot, make the perfect track for the previous week’s challenge in the new one – as Will Powers said, ‘Dancing For Mental Health’ – Ed’s song about the devils of nightlife, drugs and partying paired with he messages between the four tracks do mesh – about being positive and confronting adversity vs bad habits and old behaviours. It’s like a couch session in mashup form! Freud is IN and on the dancefloor!

I tried to bolster that with the juxtapositions. I actually find multi-mashes really hard as I focus on narrative flow A LOT and it’s hard to get that flow right the more tracks you add. I think this one works really well, but took a lot of fiddling and dropping things in and out and sequencing. It’s supposed to be like an old disco medley….and I felt there was enough of the backing vocals and other Madonna not to bring the original vocals in.

Have to say – not a massive Ed fan but like T-Swift his tracks are really fun to mash and his pop songs are good.

And not a single MC Miker G & DJ Sven in sight! I tried to delete that from my memory with my mashup – didn’t work.

Again thanks to Ian Fondue for the feedback on this – Madge is a nightmare to tune, all that auto-tune and studio trickery – and added the 80’s OOK synthage I have tended to feel her early work is cursed for me…hopefully I’ve broken that curse?

Instamatic – Bad Holiday Goes On And On (Disco Medley version) (Ed Sheeran vs Madonna vs Madonna vs The Whispers)

Mama Cass vs Fleetwood Mac – Don’t Stop Making Your Kind Of Music

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Given the sad death of Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac, I thought I’d post this old mashup here, with a positive message – yes don’t stop making your kind of music!

Instamatic Don't Stop Making Your Kind Of Music Mama Cass vs Fleetwood Mac Christine McVie mashup

An unusual thing – a mashup that isn’t related to a challenge!

A friend told me the title (in not exact words) because I was unhappy with where my mashups were going and also the tumbleweed reception some of them get. So when I was messing with Fleetwood Mac instrumentals (quelle surprise) I realised another one worked with one of my favourite songs – Mama Cass’s Make Your Own Kind Of Music and that Don’t Stop would be a perfect musical and thematic fit.

So this is a message to you all – make your own kind of mashups, music, remixes – and screw the algorithm and the viral ‘fame’ – as long as you’re happy, then anything else is an extra.

Instamatic – Don’t Stop Making Your Kind Of Music (Mama Cass vs Fleetwood Mac)

Disco Mashups – Gossip vs Gloria Gaynor & Lady Gaga vs Chic & Dua Lipa

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Since Sowndhaus has gone done a few times recently including last night, it’s reminded me of the massive backlog of tunes I never posted here – mostly challenge tunes, but all good pieces including these two queer disco mashups for Crumplbangers Discord challenge.

Disco mashups - We Are Physically Born This Way (Lady Gaga vs Dua Lipa vs Sister Sledge) Standing In The Way of Survival (Gossip vs Gloria Gaynor) mashups

I think have got better and better in the last year or so of challenges – tempted to make an album, but first I need to post around 6-8 months (!) worth of work here. Not everything, but all the good or interesting ones….they need to have a home if Sowndhaus goes down for good. It’s a chore to post them here…but luckily they do have artwork and blurbs, so that’s not too bad.

And these were my first mashups on the new laptop….

Our barricades are our dancefloors, our resistance is queer joy.

Surprised no-one in the challenge used these tracks – nor has made this mashup (AFAIK – did a quick Google and YT and Bootie Mashup DB search, but didn’t spend hours looking…so apologies if it’s an accidental reboot) but this is an obvious quick Av sB joining new and old queer anthems – I Will Survive from the pre-AIDS disco era and until today, and Gossip’s Standing In The Way of Control which is the same theme for my generation.

Captain Obvious – Standing In The Way of Survival (Gossip vs Gloria Gaynor)

Created for the recent Crumplbangers Challenge from DJ Firth and oki who wanted us to create a confidence inspiring song with pride – well Pride came early, as I wanted to create a defiantly queer banger to resist what’s going on in Qatar and the sad shooting at Club Q in Colorado, echoes of Pulse – and it was Trans Day of Remembrance yesterday.

So here is my first ever Born This Way mashup – including Dua Lipa cos she said HELL NAW to playing Qatar and made clear she only would if they improved their human rights – sadly many others have taken the blood money, shame on them. And Sister Sledge as a nod to my roots and it featuring in The Birdcage movie – which I desperately wanted to use Gloria Gaynor’s I Am What I Am but couldn’t get it to work with anything, so this will have to do.

And yes despite the title, it is a collab between Instamatic and Captain Obvious! I am not totally sure about the Gaga vocal, it needs fixing in places, but it was such a faff to do, not sure when or if II’ll go back to it. Maybe nearer Pride next year.

Thanks to Ian Fondue for the Deelay recommendation, used that to good effect on both tracks

Instamatic vs Captain Obvious – We Are Physically Born This Way (Lady Gaga vs Dua Lipa vs Sister Sledge)

Instamtic - R.I.N.A. / This YMCA Hell (Rina Sawayama vs Village People) mashup cover disco pop

Also a bonus for another challenge – a Rina vs YMCA mash!

Well I started making this for Pride / my Crumplstock set, then while working on it I realised Pride is an emotion so fits this week’s Crumplbanger Discord challenge as pride is an emotion! And also the song includes a variety of emotions, defiance, resistance, anger, camp – is camp an emotion? This is the most proudly camp mashup I’ve done since Madonna vs Junior Vasquez or Scissor Sisters vs Madonna!

Thanks to Cecile DeMilla for introducing me to the Rina track.

Instamatic – R.I.N.A. / This YMCA Hell (Rina Sawayama vs Village People)

Something About The Wikka Cat (Evasions vs Doja Cat vs Daft Punk)

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Something About The Wikka Cat (Evasions vs Doja Cat vs Daft Punk) something about the wikka cat

A finally one I’m really proud of and was the only real ‘exclusive’ in my Crumplstock set (the others being unreleased things a few people had heard). I’ve always wanted to make a Chic vs DP bootleg, so I did it via the back door! I heard Doja Cat while dancing at one of the last Duckie clubs and started singing Wikka Wrap by the Evasions over it (shout out to Rhythm Scholar whose remix of Coolio’s 1,2,3,4 reminded me of it recently).

When I got home, I tried it and it worked! And of course it directly references Good Times, and then I found that Something About Us vocals worked with that, so it’s the most funkiest and smoothest summeriest mashup I’ve ever done.

Instamatic – Something About The Wikka Cat (Evasions vs Doja Cat vs Daft Punk)

Whitesnake vs H.E.R. / Joji vs P!NK revolutionary mashups

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I am getting more and more political in my old age with current events. Here are two revolutionary mashups – well they might not be musically revolutionary but they have a revolutionary message. H.E.R. goes all Whitesnake and Joji’s sadbanger goes all P!NK.

Instamatic - Fight For Your Love (H.E.R. vs Whitesnake)

Created for last week’s Hair Metal Challenge on the Crumplbangers Discord, a groovy slow soulful take on Is This Love? Turns out, you take the guitars and synths off you can hear that David Coverdale was a blues and soul man at heart.

And yes, the lyrics of Fight For Your Love talking about resistance and coming from the Fred Hampton movie, ‘Judas and the Black Messiah’, present and correct like my last X mashups including stealth politics in my mashups supporting resistance and revolution. 

We desperately need one. Now.

Instamatic – Fight For Your Love (H.E.R. vs Whitesnake)

Whitesnake vs H.E.R. / Joji vs P!NK revolutionary mashups what glimpse of us

Created for the Crumplbangers ‘Fresh’ Challenge where you had to use a very new track, I was obssesed by this Joji track released in May…mixed with 2017’s very timely ‘What About Us’ by P!NK. Can you say emotional banger? Emobanger? Tried to interplay the vocals to make up for the rather repetitive backing and basically restructured the P!NK song from scratch partly cos my instrumental sounds different – remake?

The challenge was double for me, because the reason for ‘2 ear mix’ is my right ear has been blocked for nearly two weeks and my first mix of this only my left ear was functional, and I couldn’t hear hardly anything from the left (30-35% if that). It turns out it’s REALLY hard to mix mashups without stereo hearing…

Today it cleared, so I could finish this mashup and post it, although the ‘1 ear mix’ wasn’t far off in fact, although it turns out it’s hard to judge vocal volume on one ear…I added a bit more layering, the idea was to have these spooky background vocals, with Joji backing Pink, and Pink backing Joji, like a round or circular mashup. 

And yes in this ’emobanger’ the political subtext is 100% intentional:

“Sticks and stones they may break these bones 
But then I’ll be ready, are you ready? 
It’s the start of us, waking up, come on”

Instamatic – What Glimpse Of Us (Joji vs P!nk) (2 Ear Mix)

Everything But The Girl vs Kylie / Eurythmics Shame megamix

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Instamatic - Missing Head (Everything But The Girl vs Kylie) mashup cover

A side product of trying to do an instrumental vs instrumental mashup for this week’s crumplbanger challenge – it’s a mix like it’s 2002 all over again! Bastard Pop rules! Everything But The Girl’s Missing and Kylie’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head are basically the same song, but from different angles, I think.

(Pretty sure this hasn’t been done as there wasn’t a Missing acapella in the past, but it sounds so obvious it should have been done.)

Instamatic – Missing Head (Everything But The Girl vs Kylie)

Instamatic - Eurythmics - Shame (Switching Channels Minimix - Two Door Cinema Club vs Disposable Heroes of Hiphopcrisy vs Chic vs Vybz Kartel vs Beatles vs Maria Callas vs Nu Shooz vs Rolling Stones) mashup cover

This is closer to a remix/megamix/minimix mashup medley than my normal AvsB – based around Eurythmics – Shame. It was done fo Last Week’s Crumplbangers Challenge where you had to use songs that referenced others songs or bands.

Shame mentions two bands and references two songs directly in the lyrics- Rolling Stones – We Love You and Beatles – All You Need Is Love. Unfortunately those are both in the wrong key, so could only use drop ins and not the whole track.

So I wanted to include more as it talks about various other subjects so I included various bands and track titles referencing that (had to play fairly loose with those). Getting the mix was fun (!) as was extracting or finding all the bits needed. It’s also probably the only entry that has both opera (Puccini) AND Dancehall!

Instamatic – Eurythmics – Shame (Switching Channels Minimix – Two Door Cinema Club vs Disposable Heroes of Hiphopcrisy vs Chic vs Vybz Kartel vs Beatles vs Maria Callas vs Nu Shooz vs Rolling Stones)

New mashup videos on YouTube

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Following the post of the tbc mashup videos to Youtube, here’s two Instamatic videos that are rather more upbeat – well sorta, the next one is more of a tbc track in all but name, but like a lot of recent mashups has not been posted here but has been posted over at Sowndhaus,

Joji vs P!NK What Glimpse Of Us – ostensibly about a empty relationship vs the same but also a cry for justice, becomes a song about the planet and climate change as the animals in the video look at us accusingly and say ‘what about us?’. With COP27 on the way and last night reading a great interview with Bjork and Greta Thunberg it was on my mind.

The allgator eye was the image from the Joji single so was the starting point, but I couldn’t find enough croc clips – so I diversified and it became something else.

More upbeat is this video for Something About The Wikka Cat (Evasions vs Doja Cat vs Daft Punk which is one of my favourite recent tracks, finally successfully making a Daft Punk track that works 100% and mixing in Evasions novelty funk tune, Wikka Wrap which is a fave of mine. Doja Cat was unknown to me until fairly recently, but ‘Say So’ is TOTAL disco so works with the Chic Good Times nods.

And the video? Well it’s just a tropical good time party, where I wish I was rather than damp cold grey England…

Bootie Top 10 – Genesis vs U2 vs Negativland

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Instamatic Still Haven't Thrown It All Away (Genesis vs U2 vs Negativland) mashup cover Bootie Top 10

I am seriously behind posting my mashups to my site and here – check my Sowndhaus page for the up-to-date latest releases, but this recent mashup made the Bootie Top 10 for June – surprised because it features Negativland, not the usually most ‘pop’ of artists (although they are popstars in my heart…) but the rest is very radio friendly.

It mixes Genesis with more memories of 1986 with ‘Throwing It All Away’ – one of my first albums was Invisible Touch and I still stand by that album – mixed with U2’s stadium-bothering I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For and the lawyer-bothering ‘The Letter U and the Numeral 2’ acapella and ‘radio edit’ which U2 famously nuked and is a part of mashup/copyright history.

I even did a ‘booper’ radio version – I asked The Weatherman if I could use some of his booper and he said yes, so I took some bits to edit out the rudeness, still think those bits are too strange for radio, but Stranger Things have happened (see what I did there?)

Download: Still Haven’t Thrown It All Away (Genesis vs U2 vs Negativland) and Still Haven’t Thrown It All Away (Boopered Version)

Pride Mashups: Relax And Take The Easy Cure (Aurora vs MIKA) & Lizzo vs Patrick Cowley & Sylvester

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Instamatic - Relax And Take The Easy Cure (Aurora vs MIKA) Pride mashups

As it’s Pride month (well in the States/the Stonewall anniversary, our Pride is the start of July in London, Brighton is in August.) so here’s two new mashups/ First is a mashup and video of not one but TWO queer artists – MIKA and Aurora .

Her song ‘Cure for Me’ is about conversion therapy, so it’s sadly very apt for these times. No Cure for Me! MIKA – who recently presented Eurovision, his Relax, Take It Easy song which contrast the Aurora vocal, like a call and answer, and has some quite alarming lyrics to contrast the chorus. It’s intentionally bittersweet pop vs pop with a deeper message.

It got it’s exclusive first play on DJSQWRL’s Bootie stream early this morning, and went down well, so here’s to many more! And it has a video – had a lot of fun with effects and layering, it’s one of my best.

Download: Instamatic – Relax And Take The Easy Cure (Aurora vs MIKA)

And also this is the second mashup I made for Pride this time from Captain Obvious – my Lizzo vs Patrick Cowley ft Sylvester – Do Ya Wanna Funk mashup, very 1978 disco like the Lizzo song – About Damn Time – in two versions, extended and shorter ‘radio’ edit (as if I’d ever be played on the radio!)

Captain Obvious Damn Ya Wanna Funk (Lizzo vs Patrick Cowley Featuring Sylvester) mashup cover Pride

Download: Captain Obvious – Damn Ya Wanna Funk (Extended Version) (Lizzo vs Patrick Cowley Featuring Sylvester

Download: Captain Obvious – Damn Ya Wanna Funk (Lizzo vs Patrick Cowley Featuring Sylvester)

And BONUS: here’s a quick mashup I did of Lizzo vs Daft Punk, Lose Yourself To Dance with About Damn Time.

Captain Obvious - About Damn Punk (Lizzo vs Daft Punk) aka About Damn Time To Lose Yourself To Dance mashup bootleg cover

Download: Captain Obvious – About Damn Punk (Lizzo vs Daft Punk) aka About Damn Time To Lose Yourself To Dance

I hope these two get played at various Pride celebrations for my queer family 🙂

Stranger Things – Kate Bush vs Depeche Mode

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Instamatic - Policy of Running Depeche Mode Running Up That Hill Policy of Truth Kate Bush Stranger Things

Edit – and now with video! Spoilers if you haven’t watched Stranger Things 4, so be warned.

Those of you who are watching ST4 will know what this is about…a very emotional scene (no spoilers!) using Kate Bush- Running Up That Hill (and further used in the series frequenty). The choice of Depeche Mode is because the lyrics fitting that episode perfectly – other songs were not a thematic match.

I debated whether to post this, as its NOT a tribute mashup but it just happened that Depeche Mode works best with Running Up That Hill – and it’s such an obvious mash it’s probably been done before (I couldn’t find one though) and as Running Up That Hill is shooting up the charts and this moment will be gone shortly,

And seems a bit unfair on the surviving members of a band to basically ban them cos one member had died? I don’t like or feature mashups that are posted immediately after a death, in the first day or so…it’s been longer than that since Andy Fletcher sadly died.

Anyway, Depeche Mode fans seem OK with it, and it’s been received very well on Sowndhaus and Bootie’s mashup page, so unlike a lot of random stuff that’s hiding over at the Sowndhaus page I thought I’d post this first. I need to update the highlights here – got a lot of things to post and a big Pride-related post tomorrow.

Instamatic – Policy of Running (Depeche Mode vs Kate Bush from Stranger Things)