And finally this gets released – my other Xmas track -the Taylor Swift one got chosen for Bootie Xmas but I think this one is a classic festive sadbanger (well it’s euphoric as well, oddly)
This was one of the other tracks under consideration for the Bootie Christmas 7 compilation….but I think it’s the best Wham LC Mash EVER but then I would, but I have heard a lot of meh ones and I wanted to do something epic and yes a little bittersweet with it -what’s more epic than Heroes by David Bowie? Answer: NOTHING.
And yes I will probably be drinking alcohol and/or being mean over Xmas, hence why I left that in….like a lot of my recent work, there’s a lot of personal stuff encoded in it, in between the silly and soulful.
Really digging Midnights, the new-ish album by Taylor Swift atm and obsessed by the songs Anti-Hero, You’re On Your Own, Kid, and Snow On The Beach. I’m only on track 11 cos I keep stopping to make mashups of the album. Even DJNoNo got in on the act! At this rate I’ll have an album….
I first heard Anti-Hero via a mashup by Aggro1 – which I played on the latest podcast, it’s my favourite mashup of this year so far. The whole bit about midnights being your afternoon and depression resonated so much, I named the latest podcast after it.
Almost….so I had a go myself with Radiohead’s High And Dry – I started this late Wednesday night after the Bootie Mashup Talk ended, but spent far too long fiddling with the echoes and vocal production that LeeDM101 beat me to it. Great minds, etc. It did feel rather obvious, I almost released this as a Captain Obvious track but he doesn’t do downtempo….more of him later.
As I said DJNoNo wanted a go at the Taylor Swift mashathon so he chose ‘You’re On Your Own, Kid’ with Englebert Humperdinck’s The Last Waltz as a sort of palette cleanser to the serious nature of the other mashes, and was actually released first. The theme of being singularly alone and reliant on yourself appeals to DJNoNo, it’s very him, and it made him smile. A lot of nostalgia in this one.
And finally given that I was beaten by Lee on the other one, I rush released my Christmas Festive Sadbanger, which was waiting for December but Xmas has come early this year! It almost had Elvis in it – Silver Bells works quite well, but given the possible legal nightmare of an Eagles mash, I didn’t want to make it worse by adding Elvis to it (both are very litigious copyright-wise, Don Henley copystriked one of my mashups, he hates them).
It was partly inspired by Adriana’s excellent Dorothea Goes Home For The Holidays but I personally could never do a Coldplay mashup…so Cold Patrol / Snowplay is the next best thing! My first Snow Patrol mashup, actually.
I’ve talked many times about how bittersweet But for a sad festive mashup, it’s weirdly hopeful and magical….I did not intend that, honest. I wanted to make the best Xmas roll credits mashup ever, but the longing and loss is in there most from Please Come Home This Christmas – ‘I will be happy…once again’ and ‘there’ll be no more sorrow, no grief and pain’ – big hopes for many this Christmas, but sadly I know it probably won’t be true. For many, will have the blues this Christmas.
And yes, a collab between tbc and Captain Obvious!
Thanks to Ian Fondue and ToTom for advice for this and the Radiohead one. It’s a bit rough, and I might put out a V2 before Xmas, we’ll see if I spot anything major with it.
And BONUS! Yes I did a fourth mashup of that album – Taylor Swift Mastermind vs Rolling Stones – Sympathy for the Devil – I had fun making Taylor the devil! Also total feels on the ‘no-one would play with me’ line.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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!)
This was made back in May for another project but never finished, so I tidied it up for the newly resurrected Captain Obvious.
I didn’t release it then cos I hate the Biebster but like the instrumental of ‘Peaches’ and love the Sam Smith song, so another dark uptempo happy/sad bittersweet groover with cheesy pop – with extra Donnie Darko spoken word, cos that’s where Sam Smith got those bits.
This almost became a Captain Obvious track, because to me, the new one from Lil Nas X – Sun Goes Down is basically Wonderwall by Oasis? It was either this or the Verve’s Lucky Man, there’s a real Britpop vibe with this song about struggling as a queer teen in the closet – I can totally relate. Maybe because when I was a struggling queer teen, Britpop was my soundrack.
This is a real lighter in the air track! I made it with the first night of clubbing in mind in June….as a sort of drunken ‘everyone come together’ closer. And also a first – I have never done a Wonderwall mashup in nearly 20 years. Came together really quickly because I suspect someone will do it very shortly…like other Lil Nas X tracks I put it out there and just hope it’s in key 😛 I think this one is….
And appropriately for the 4th of May, here’s the 4th volume of my best-of series ‘Kodiak Moment’ taking us up to the modern day – 2012-2020. Includes tracks from my last retirement which lasted a lot longer than this one, and even includes a Star Wars mashup as well (Star Wars Gurlz from 2015).
We even have three mashups from what I call ‘How To Mash In An Apocalypse’ series, about the lockdown and pandemic – and the first track that lead into the Black Block album.
For the first time we have the few of my viral hits in lossless quality and remastered – ‘Her Breath Is The Wind’ and the Captain Obvious swansong ‘Madonna Has A Kiki’ which still crops up in the oddest places still (a dance class video was my favourite). Most bar the newer tracks have been remastered, and there are three bonus tracks.
The Rise of The Aliases! I wasn’t exactly a stranger to aliases before but something about the second explosion of work around 2008-2010 meant I was wanting to branch out and not get bogged down with past failures while I was learning…many of which I had to fix on Volume 2!
instamatic, Captain Obvious, Dj cONTaMInAtioNs, Mashbusters, timbearland, Buyrite Soundsystem, they are all here, including never released originals for the first 72 which got hacked around in the final mix -and the receipts on what happened there – and various album projects I was part of like APC’s ‘We All Kissed A Girl’ or ones organised like the Joe Strummmer one This One’s For Joe and Fleetwood Mix.
Surprised at how uptempo this is, very much aimed at Bootie at this point, and how difficult some of it was to master – I was learning Ableton which strangely made it harder to mix and tweak since although I still use that software, I moved platforms since so many plugins don’t work on my Mac – and I was struggling with using electro house – Daft Punk, Justice etc which has all these mid-range frequencies that clash with vocals.
Also I set T-Racks not only to stun but quite often it’s ‘Kill’ setting – this was the middle of the loudness wars! Hence why I remastered gentler versions here – I don’t like my work to be that bricked, even if it does ‘cut through’ dancefloors.
36 tracks, mostly remastered and for the first time in lossless high quality – 25 album tracks and 11 bonuses with demos, alternate versions and extra tracks that didn’t make the album cut.
Download Kodiak Moment 3: Best of Instamatic & Captain Obvious 2008 – 2011 on my Bandcamp or over at the Bootleg Archive
Tracklist
Instamatic – Willesden Blue (The Orb vs Mescaleros vs Bonzo Dog Band – 2007 from MP3 source, 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – English Ghost (Dillinja & Lemon D vs The Clash – 2007 – 2020 remaster)
Dj cONTaMInAtioNs – Genesis of the Rascals (Dizzee Rascal vs Justice – 2009)
Instamatic – Blue Robot Love (Candi Staton vs New Order vs Röyksopp featuring Robyn – 2008, released 2011 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Neon Sex People (Neon Neon vs Depeche Mode and Latour – 2008 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – I Kissed a Monster (Katy Perry vs L7 vs Lesbians on Ecstasy – 2008 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – White Witch Dub (Dubmatic version – Fleetwood Mac vs Skream – 2008 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Ground Shelter (Fear) (Stereo MC’s vs Rolling Stones vs Benga vs Fun Boy 3 – 2008)
timbearland aka Instamatic – Justice Is Blind In This Land of Confusion (72 Pt 9 original entry – Lady Sovereign vs Justice vs is vs Hercules & Love Affair – 2009 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Florida Ghost Tour (Flo-Rida vs Deadmau5 – 2009 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Go Your Own Steinway (Eric Prydz vs Fleetwood Mac – 2009 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Shut Up And Ting (Ting Tings vs Shut Up And Dance – 2009 – 2020 remaster)
timbearland aka Instamatic – Last Night A DJ Tied Up Madonna (72 Pt 17 rejected entry – Madonna vs LFO vs Indeep – 2009, 2020 ter)
Instamatic – Standing in the Way of Jack White (The Gossip vs White Stripes – 2009 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Stalker Fever (Fever Ray vs Aphrodite – 2009 – 2020 remaster)
timbearland aka Instamatic – Wee Acid Space Woman (72 Pt 17 2nd entry (Charlie vs The Juan Maclean vs Wee Papa Girl Rappers – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Dubble Blow Job (Bruce Haack vs RAH Band vs Disrupt – 2009 – 2020 remaster)
Captain Obvious – Right Gaga (Flo Rida ft Ke$ha vs Lady Gaga – 2010, 2020 tweak-remaster)
Captain Obvious – The Light of Pleasure (Dionysus vs Apollo full mix – Scissor Sisters vs Frankie Goes To Hollywood – 2010)
Captain Obvious – Self Couleur (Laura Branigan vs Crookers ft Yelle – 2010 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Nasty Chewing Girls (12″ Bubblicious Genius mix) (Vanity 6 vs Annie vs Tom Tom Club – 2010, 2020 remaster) – MP3 e
Instamatic – Fela Down the Chippy (Swears He’s Hot) (Fela Kuti vs Hot Chip – 2010 – 2020 remaster)
Captain Obvious – Ravril (What The SL2) (SL2 vs Avril Lavigne – 2011 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Electric Loop (Pendulum vs Judas Priest vs Ulysses 31 vs Willy Wonka – 2011 – 2020 ‘Turn It To 11’ remaster)
Mashbusters – I Was Made For Barbra Streisand But She Gave Love A Bad Name aka Duck Kiss (Duck Sauce vs Kiss vs Bon Jovi – 2011 – remaster)
Buyrite Soundsystem – Dem Girls Stealing My Rolex (Zig and Zag vs Wiley – 2008 – 2020 remaster)
Instamatic – Blue Robot Love demo (Candi Staton vs New Order vs Röyksopp featuring Robyn – 2009)
Dj cONTaMInAtioNs – BonkersJustice (Dizzee Rascal vs Justice – 2009)
Instamatic – S.W.A.T – Sugar Cube With Attitude (Compton Hit) (Sugarcubes vs N.W.A.- 2010)
Captain Obvious – The Light of Pleasure (Silenus in Shorts mix – 2010)
Instamatic – Ground Shelter (Hope) (Stereo MC’s ‘vs Rolling Stones ‘Gimme Shelter’ vs Benga – 2008)
Instamatic – Make My Pjanoo Feel That Way (demo – Eric Prydz vs Blackalicious – 2009 – 2020 master)
Instamatic – Nasty Chewing Girls (7″ Juicy Fruit mix – Vanity 6 vs Annie – 2010) – MP3 source
Instamatic – Blue Robot Love Dub (New Order vs Röyksopp featuring Robyn – 2009)
Instamatic – White Witch Dub (Fleetwood Mac vs Skream – 2008 – 2020 remaster)
Captain Obvious Strikes Again! His latest mashup is so unapologetically gay it would spontaneously set a Chick-Fil-A on fire with it’s glamourous flamboyant hot mess campness!
It’s Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ vs Scissor Sisters ‘Let’s Have A Kiki’ – I so LOVE the Kiki track still, it’s not true so when I found the acapella I had to make it even camper. In fact camp as a row of tents but then so am I when at a Kiki 😉 BIG AIR MWAHS to Ronald Koenders and CjR for various *gorgeous* accessories.
