Phonocratic Records

There are now 15 days left to finish your remix and send it to us if you want to be on the promotional single released before the remix album, scheduled for a September release. If you just want to be on the album, the deadline is still the 15th of August 2011, which in other words is within one month. We’ve got some really nice mixes already, but we’re eagerly awaiting the last tracks for the contest. For stems and rules, click here.

In other news, we note that there is a nice mix tape containing one Lost Shadow song remixed by !PAUS3, and one Lost Shadow remix released here. Also, note that there is another remix contest running on Project Nothing Productions, for more info, click here.

Time to get mixing again! Project Nothing Productions is hosting a remix contest with the objective to turn ambient tracks into trance tracks. Original tracks are provided by Lost Shadow, !PAUS3 and Richard Sänder. This release is going to be really cool, be sure to check it out and make the best remix you can! Lost Shadow participates with the completely new and original track Farewell and Beyond. The original Farewell and Beyond track can be heard here.

The first prize is $250 and a spot on the upcoming Project Nothing 12” to be releases, featuring ambient and trance remixes by Lost Shadow, !PAUS3 and Richard Sänder. There’s only one rule: Turn ambient into trance. Go to the contest page, fill in the form and download the stems. E-mail the resulting remix to projectnowhere@me.com. The deadline is the first of August!

Also, add !PAUS3 (@PAUSE_MUSIC) on Twitter and Like !PAUS3 on Facebook to get updates about the contest! All info on the contest can be found here.

Phonocratic Records and Lost Shadow are happy to announce the start of another remix contest starting today! We believe that this will one of the big Lost Shadow events of the year, and hope that as many of you as possible will participate.

The mission:
Remix one of the songs from the recent Quandaries and Panaceas album. You may choose any of the songs and do a remix in any style. You can find the original album here:
Spotify: [Long] [Short]
Deezer: [Long] [Short]
iTunes: [Long] [Short]
Amazon MP3: [Long] [Short]
CDON: [Long] [Short]
7digital: [Long] [Short]
Bandcamp: [Long] [Short]

The deadline:
We need your remix by the 15th of August 2011.

The prizes:

• A number of winners (dependent on the number of remixes we like) will be included on the Lost Shadow remix album released this autumn. It may be one, it may be five, maybe even more. The album will be released on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and other music services.
• One remix will be chosen to be the lead track on the single preceding and promoting the remix album.
• One remixer will be rewarded $25, which will be payed out via Paypal.
• Some remixes might be considered for a forthcoming Lost Shadow compilation.

The rules:

1. Download the remix pack(s) of your choice (see the bottom of this post). Each remix pack contains a MIDI-file, and a number of audio files (vocals, guitar solos etc.).
2. Create your remix, using your favourite tools.
3. If you would like to obtain a particular audio sample, chords or something else, feel free to mail us at phonocratic (at sign) gmail (dot) com, and we’ll send you what you need (given that we can provide it).
4. Send you creation to: phonocratic (at sign) gmail (dot) com
5. We prefer that you send you file via some kind of sharing service, in as high quality as possible (maximum quality should be CD-quality: 44.1 kHz, Stereo, 16 bit). Any normally used format is okay, but AIFF, WAV, or FLAC is preferred. If you send the file attached to an e-mail, be sure to compress the file to be no larger than 10 MB, and we will get back to you so we can agree on how to send an uncompressed version of the remix.
6. In your mail, please state how you want to be credited in the liner notes, your complete name and artist name, the complete name of the remix, and whether you’d like to be considered for being selected for the promotional single.
7. If you want to be included on the single, you must prepare a radio version of your remix (3-4 minutes long), which we will ask for if you are selected. In addition, we need your remix by the first of August to have it included on the single.
8. You may send in any number of remixes, of any number of the songs from Quandaries and Panaceas.

Remix packs

1. Once you actually understand something you cannot deunderstand it
2. The problem with democracy
3. And all the time it’s a changing
4. One man a car
5. The last love affair
6. Wheels
7. The turning point
8. There
9. Returning to the Crystal Garden
10. Into the forest
11. The blind watchmaker
12. The last song we will sing

Note that the remix packs for track 1 and 2 are the same.

Additional terms and conditions:

- By sending in the remix to Phonocratic Records, you agree to give us non-exclusive rights to distribute and sell your remix, worldwide. These rights cannot be taken back without renegotiating these terms with Phonocratic Records.
- The remixer(s) will not receive any payments or compensation for sales through Phonocratic Records related to their remixes, except for the eventual prize of the remix contest.
- All rights for the original songs, and the vocal samples remain the property of Phonocratic Records and/or Johan Bengtsson. You will not get the right to sell or redistribute the original songs or the vocal samples.
- The remixer(s) retain the rights to distribute their own remix of the song. When the remix is distributed, credit for song writing, recording, and original production must be given as stated by Phonocratic Records.
- Given that all the requirements above are fulfilled, Phonocratic Records and/or Johan Bengtsson will not ask for compensation for earnings made by the remixer(s) for the remixes submitted for this contest.

The new Lost Shadow single “A Nuance of Future” has been released. A Nuance of Future is the second single taken from the Lost Shadow ten year anniversary album “Age and Time“. This time, we have put together a maxi-single of over 70 minutes, consisting of 11 tracks. On top of long and short modern versions of A Nuance of Future, the single also includes the five winners of the Lost Shadow remix contest (Jason & Sander, DJ Alann Morse, Shane Wittig, stróm, and The Argyle Raver), as well as remixes by The Trance Line Project and Lost Shadow himself. We think this single is terrific, and suggest immediate downloading or ordering of it!

You can listen to the single at either Last.fm or Bandcamp. At Bandcamp you can also order a physical copy of the single, as well as downloading it. You could also use the player at the bottom of this post.

We also sadly announce that this will be the last single (at least for a long time) that is made available in physical format for ordering. In the future, Phonocratic Records’ singles will be released only in digital format, with printable booklets for those of you who want a physical copy in the shelf. We think of this as a necessary move to keep costs down, and hope that our reasoning is understandable. The whole store is going through some changes in the near future, which you will see soon. Stay tuned!

As I got the question of how we picked the winners for the remix contest, I will publicly disclose the reasoning behind our choices. First of all, we have judged on three main criteria: originality, creative use of the song material, and whether we liked the remix so much that we wanted to listen to it also outside of the actual listening for the contest purposes. We have, however, not focused very much on the quality of the remixes in terms of mixing, mastering, etc. We wanted something we wouldn’t have done ourselves. When the new single is released on Monday you will be able to listen for the details I specify in this post…

The Argyle Raver: In this remix, we really enjoyed the big contrasts created between the verses and the chorus, which are much bigger than in the original version of The Man Without A Shadow. Also, we liked the hard electronic part of the verses. And when the build-up comes at 0.24, it is totally unexpected… Overall, we would not have been able to come up with this idea, or creating something that sounded like this remix.

DJ Alann Morse: This remix creatively focuses on transforming the whole mood of A Nuance of Future into a completely different song. The setting is different, gone is the hope for the future, instead a whole lot of electronic mysticism comes in and disturbs this dream anthem. Very interesting take on the song.

Jason & Sander: We really liked this remix from the first time we listened to it. It sort of takes the best from A Nuance of Future and places it in a slightly different context, keeping the dreamy feeling of it, but also added in chords and melodies that send shivers down at least my spine. What also strikes me is that the sound of this song resembles what I currently is working on for my next album. Once again, taking a remix taking the original song and making something truly new with it.

Shane Wittig: The thing we really like with this remix is that it combines the sound of the original 2006 version of A Nuance of Future with the sound of the new version made in 2009. Also, it puts it all into a sound context that sounds quite much like the sound that the first Lost Shadow records tried to achieve back in the early 2000’s. However, Shane succeeds much better with that sound than I ever did. Still not convinced? Listen to the rising synth part at 5.25, and you will understand the greatness of this thing.

stróm: Well, this remix is truly different. We like that the tempo is sort of halved, and also we really like the instrumentation. I think the wasteland feeling I get from this very much aligns with the feeling of the original version of The man without a shadow, meaning that they really complement each other in a very nice way. What stróm deos with the vocals towards the end (at 5.37 ->) is fantastic. I would never have thought of this use of my vocals! In addition, taking more than two minutes before the vocals come in is a bald move, and should be highly encouraged!

I hope this sorts out some uncertainties about our remix picking. As you can see, we have been highly subjective, and mostly judged from taste. The common denominator between the five is that they all became frequent playlist entries in my iPod during the last month, even at the times I did not listen for the context purposes, which I think indicates that I liked them the most…