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By Devlin Smith, Contributing Editor
2005.06
On June 6th, the fourth single from U2's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," "City of Blinding Lights," will hit shelves in many parts of the world. In addition to hearing the Vertigo tour mainstay, fans will also be treated to a nearly seven minute remix of “All Because of You" by British DJ duo Killahurtz.
In addition to creating this new U2 B-side, the duo is also preparing for the release of its second album, "Kiss for the Dying," available from Audio Therapy in June.
Mick Park, one-half of Killahurtz (with Lea Kenny), recently answered the following questions for Interference.com, talking about DJing, mixing and what it's like for a couple of fans to work with the biggest band in the world.
How did you first get interested in DJing and producing?
We both grew up in and around Coventry in the '70s. School days were consumed by the ska explosion that started in the late '70s early '80s by bands like The Specials, The Beat, etc., so you can guess we had a bit of a rebellious upbringing. I started DJing at the first legal all-night venue in Coventry back in 1990 and I met Lea through a close friend of ours. We kinda kept in touch and really got together a few years ago just through our passion for the same styles of music. Lea has real drive for new sounds and production techniques, that's why I think we really hit it off from day one.
Did you have any formal music training? Was that a benefit or challenge?
Lea attended college, got all the certs, etc., and has been involved in making music for about 10 years. I've been making music for 14 years. The jury's still out for us on the formal training side of things. I think if you learn the basics, that's cool, but, really, most of the people we're involved with have had no "certified" training, as such, but you tend to find those guys are the most talented. I'm afraid you can say the rule book went out of the window a long time ago for us/
How did Killahurtz come together?
I started Killahurtz back in 2000 with two other close friends, Nic Britton and Lee Fredericks. Nic went onto set up studio computer systems for Jamiroqui and Hans Zimmer, Lee is still producing stuff as and when he can. So last year I asked Lea to come on board and start writing with me, believe it or not our first target was getting a U2 remix.
Where did the name come from?
Really the "Killa" part comes from an idea I had of a rogue sound that would tear apart sound systems, the "hurtz" is the bass lines we put into our tracks. Put them together and you get "Killahurtz," which, in case you didn't know, is a word used in sound terminology.
You've had your own hit singles so how did you decide to start doing remixes for other artists?
We've been very fortunate enough to remix very diverse artists such as Malcolm McClaren, Dido, even Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds." When you get people like this asking for a remix you don't generally turn them down. Imagine getting hold of a great vocal, guitar hook or even a moment you like in a particular track, then making it into something which sound totally new and fresh, that's a massive buzz you just can't beat.
How does the remixing process generally work (what are the steps)?
Obviously each track is different and so needs a different approach in most cases. We tend to go with a good BPM (tempo of the track) and work out how the vocal is going to sound over various backing ideas. For us, the vocal needs to be treated with the greatest respect (especially if it's Bono) we wouldn't dream of, say, pitching it down and messing with it too much as most vocalists tend to get very upset when you do this. The next stage is building the backing track around the melody and hooks. We always replay the bass lines (live) and drums so that kinda takes up a lot of time, but it's always worth doing a great job on that as we like to think all are mixes have to have "balls," Club sound systems are very unforgiving. Then it's about putting all these pieces together with some cool production ideas and giving the remix life. This can be a long process, you could find yourself mixing and rearranging the mix possibly up to 20 times. You think it's there, then you hear something which may need looking at. Luckily I DJ most weekends so I can road test everything we do, all we do then is keep tweaking it until we're happy.
Why do you think singles need to have remixes? What are the benefits to artists and fans?
There's still a massive demand for remixes in clubs, especially for bands like U2, right now, you only have to look at what Oakenfold and Osbourne achieved for the band in the '90s. It opens so many doors for artists who wouldn't normally be heard on club dance floors. The kids always checkout other stuff they've been [hearing] just in case they may have missed something, this is what we call "Trainspotting." Then for the artist that can lead into another new legion of fans who'll always be checking out what's coming next on the release.
When were you approached by U2 for the "All Because of You" remix?
We weren't at first. We heard through the grapevine that ABOY could well be the next release in the UK so we took it upon ourselves to do an unofficial remix. We're very good friend with Andy Holt who did the "Redanka" remix of Vertigo so, taking a few ideas from his Guerilla Tactics Handbook, we went for it. You have to remember we've been fans since 1984 and since 1994 we've bombarded Island and Principle with show reels and phone calls that had drawn us a blank every time. Undeterred, full of determination and bravado, we set out to remix U2 and, as lady luck would have it, we pulled it off.
What was your reaction to be chosen to do the remix?
Could not believe it, I think the whole street heard me shout with joy. I remember ringing Lea and saying, "We've done it mate, we've done it," and still not believing what I was saying, it was crazy. Lea is Irish so you can imagine we were celebrating even a week after we were told the news. It really is a dream come true for people like ourselves and Andy Holt, U2 have been an inspiration for us for so many years.
Was it always intended to be the B-side for "City of Blinding Lights"?
To be honest we didn't know until a week ago where it was going to feature, we found out when everyone else found out. I think a big help was people like Paul Oakenfold and Radio 1's Pete Tong getting behind our mix and really supporting it.
How long did it take to create the mix? How many different mixes did you come up with?
On and off four weeks as we had to recreate the original mix the band had okayed. The original mix was created from chopped-up parts of the original track but felt we needed the original vocals and Edge parts to make the mix work better, we could only do this if the band would give us the green light. They did. Doing a remix without the separate parts limits yourself to what you can actually do but sometimes, sometimes, that is a good thing. If you take into consideration you can only really use clean(ish) parts that you can lift off the original mix, it often leads you down a road which, a lot of the times, is easier to work with. You can be a kid in a sweet shop when it comes to mixes, having boundaries helps.
From the sounds of the "Fly" mix you created, you're fond of Edge's guitar track on ABOY. How did you choose that as the departure point for the rest of the track?
We have watched the documentary about the making of "The Joshua Tree" a million times and there's a part in that where Daniel Lanois is at the mixing desk with Bono and he's talking about Edge, I think the track in question is "Exit." While he's auditioning the various tracks he puts up a guitar part and says, "Ah, Edge power." He's got an overwhelmed look in his eye we'll never forget. That's what we wanted to do that with this remix, have those Bono moments and, in the chorus, have those Edge power moments that we knew would work great in the clubs.
Where did you get the name "Fly" mix from?
It came from the track, really. We kinda liked the double meaning that "fly" also meant "cool."
How involved was the band involved in the creation of this remix?
Well, if the band don't like it, it ain't gonna happen, it's that simple. But we had faith in the Big Man upstairs and we knew this mix was really starting to gather momentum in the clubs and on radio, which we felt couldn't be ignored. Still, we were walking on eggshells for weeks waiting for feedback from the band as they were on the Vertigo Tour by then.
What was the band's reaction to the finished product?
We've heard they really like it, suppose it wouldn't be on the B-side otherwise. We have to say Cheryl Engles, who mastered and edited the mix, has done an amazing job, really brought it to life. I hope one day we can get the opportunity to meet the band and ask them ourselves.
What do you hope fans get from this remix?
As much fun and enjoyment dancing to it as we got from creating it.
Would you like to work with U2 again? Do you have your designs on any other U2 songs?
We would love to DJ for them. I know Paul Oakenfold very well and the stories he told us about playing for the band on the ZooTV tour are unreal. We've done a lot of cool things as I've been DJing for 15 years but doing something like that would really make our lives. To be honest, we wouldn't mind remixing anything off the album, there isn't one weak track on there as far as we're concerned. We particularly like "Original of the Species," "Miracle Drug" and "Yahweh," I think we could do something special with any of them.
Many thanks to Mick Park for everything. For more information about Killahurtz visit www.therapymusic.co.uk or contact scott@therapymusic.co.uk.
By Devlin Smith, Contributing Editor
2005.06
On June 6th, the fourth single from U2's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," "City of Blinding Lights," will hit shelves in many parts of the world. In addition to hearing the Vertigo tour mainstay, fans will also be treated to a nearly seven minute remix of “All Because of You" by British DJ duo Killahurtz.
In addition to creating this new U2 B-side, the duo is also preparing for the release of its second album, "Kiss for the Dying," available from Audio Therapy in June.
Mick Park, one-half of Killahurtz (with Lea Kenny), recently answered the following questions for Interference.com, talking about DJing, mixing and what it's like for a couple of fans to work with the biggest band in the world.
How did you first get interested in DJing and producing?
We both grew up in and around Coventry in the '70s. School days were consumed by the ska explosion that started in the late '70s early '80s by bands like The Specials, The Beat, etc., so you can guess we had a bit of a rebellious upbringing. I started DJing at the first legal all-night venue in Coventry back in 1990 and I met Lea through a close friend of ours. We kinda kept in touch and really got together a few years ago just through our passion for the same styles of music. Lea has real drive for new sounds and production techniques, that's why I think we really hit it off from day one.
Did you have any formal music training? Was that a benefit or challenge?
Lea attended college, got all the certs, etc., and has been involved in making music for about 10 years. I've been making music for 14 years. The jury's still out for us on the formal training side of things. I think if you learn the basics, that's cool, but, really, most of the people we're involved with have had no "certified" training, as such, but you tend to find those guys are the most talented. I'm afraid you can say the rule book went out of the window a long time ago for us/
How did Killahurtz come together?
I started Killahurtz back in 2000 with two other close friends, Nic Britton and Lee Fredericks. Nic went onto set up studio computer systems for Jamiroqui and Hans Zimmer, Lee is still producing stuff as and when he can. So last year I asked Lea to come on board and start writing with me, believe it or not our first target was getting a U2 remix.
Where did the name come from?
Really the "Killa" part comes from an idea I had of a rogue sound that would tear apart sound systems, the "hurtz" is the bass lines we put into our tracks. Put them together and you get "Killahurtz," which, in case you didn't know, is a word used in sound terminology.
You've had your own hit singles so how did you decide to start doing remixes for other artists?
We've been very fortunate enough to remix very diverse artists such as Malcolm McClaren, Dido, even Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds." When you get people like this asking for a remix you don't generally turn them down. Imagine getting hold of a great vocal, guitar hook or even a moment you like in a particular track, then making it into something which sound totally new and fresh, that's a massive buzz you just can't beat.
How does the remixing process generally work (what are the steps)?
Obviously each track is different and so needs a different approach in most cases. We tend to go with a good BPM (tempo of the track) and work out how the vocal is going to sound over various backing ideas. For us, the vocal needs to be treated with the greatest respect (especially if it's Bono) we wouldn't dream of, say, pitching it down and messing with it too much as most vocalists tend to get very upset when you do this. The next stage is building the backing track around the melody and hooks. We always replay the bass lines (live) and drums so that kinda takes up a lot of time, but it's always worth doing a great job on that as we like to think all are mixes have to have "balls," Club sound systems are very unforgiving. Then it's about putting all these pieces together with some cool production ideas and giving the remix life. This can be a long process, you could find yourself mixing and rearranging the mix possibly up to 20 times. You think it's there, then you hear something which may need looking at. Luckily I DJ most weekends so I can road test everything we do, all we do then is keep tweaking it until we're happy.
Why do you think singles need to have remixes? What are the benefits to artists and fans?
There's still a massive demand for remixes in clubs, especially for bands like U2, right now, you only have to look at what Oakenfold and Osbourne achieved for the band in the '90s. It opens so many doors for artists who wouldn't normally be heard on club dance floors. The kids always checkout other stuff they've been [hearing] just in case they may have missed something, this is what we call "Trainspotting." Then for the artist that can lead into another new legion of fans who'll always be checking out what's coming next on the release.
When were you approached by U2 for the "All Because of You" remix?
We weren't at first. We heard through the grapevine that ABOY could well be the next release in the UK so we took it upon ourselves to do an unofficial remix. We're very good friend with Andy Holt who did the "Redanka" remix of Vertigo so, taking a few ideas from his Guerilla Tactics Handbook, we went for it. You have to remember we've been fans since 1984 and since 1994 we've bombarded Island and Principle with show reels and phone calls that had drawn us a blank every time. Undeterred, full of determination and bravado, we set out to remix U2 and, as lady luck would have it, we pulled it off.
What was your reaction to be chosen to do the remix?
Could not believe it, I think the whole street heard me shout with joy. I remember ringing Lea and saying, "We've done it mate, we've done it," and still not believing what I was saying, it was crazy. Lea is Irish so you can imagine we were celebrating even a week after we were told the news. It really is a dream come true for people like ourselves and Andy Holt, U2 have been an inspiration for us for so many years.
Was it always intended to be the B-side for "City of Blinding Lights"?
To be honest we didn't know until a week ago where it was going to feature, we found out when everyone else found out. I think a big help was people like Paul Oakenfold and Radio 1's Pete Tong getting behind our mix and really supporting it.
How long did it take to create the mix? How many different mixes did you come up with?
On and off four weeks as we had to recreate the original mix the band had okayed. The original mix was created from chopped-up parts of the original track but felt we needed the original vocals and Edge parts to make the mix work better, we could only do this if the band would give us the green light. They did. Doing a remix without the separate parts limits yourself to what you can actually do but sometimes, sometimes, that is a good thing. If you take into consideration you can only really use clean(ish) parts that you can lift off the original mix, it often leads you down a road which, a lot of the times, is easier to work with. You can be a kid in a sweet shop when it comes to mixes, having boundaries helps.
From the sounds of the "Fly" mix you created, you're fond of Edge's guitar track on ABOY. How did you choose that as the departure point for the rest of the track?
We have watched the documentary about the making of "The Joshua Tree" a million times and there's a part in that where Daniel Lanois is at the mixing desk with Bono and he's talking about Edge, I think the track in question is "Exit." While he's auditioning the various tracks he puts up a guitar part and says, "Ah, Edge power." He's got an overwhelmed look in his eye we'll never forget. That's what we wanted to do that with this remix, have those Bono moments and, in the chorus, have those Edge power moments that we knew would work great in the clubs.
Where did you get the name "Fly" mix from?
It came from the track, really. We kinda liked the double meaning that "fly" also meant "cool."
How involved was the band involved in the creation of this remix?
Well, if the band don't like it, it ain't gonna happen, it's that simple. But we had faith in the Big Man upstairs and we knew this mix was really starting to gather momentum in the clubs and on radio, which we felt couldn't be ignored. Still, we were walking on eggshells for weeks waiting for feedback from the band as they were on the Vertigo Tour by then.
What was the band's reaction to the finished product?
We've heard they really like it, suppose it wouldn't be on the B-side otherwise. We have to say Cheryl Engles, who mastered and edited the mix, has done an amazing job, really brought it to life. I hope one day we can get the opportunity to meet the band and ask them ourselves.
What do you hope fans get from this remix?
As much fun and enjoyment dancing to it as we got from creating it.
Would you like to work with U2 again? Do you have your designs on any other U2 songs?
We would love to DJ for them. I know Paul Oakenfold very well and the stories he told us about playing for the band on the ZooTV tour are unreal. We've done a lot of cool things as I've been DJing for 15 years but doing something like that would really make our lives. To be honest, we wouldn't mind remixing anything off the album, there isn't one weak track on there as far as we're concerned. We particularly like "Original of the Species," "Miracle Drug" and "Yahweh," I think we could do something special with any of them.
Many thanks to Mick Park for everything. For more information about Killahurtz visit www.therapymusic.co.uk or contact scott@therapymusic.co.uk.
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