Matt Middleton (New Zealand)
"I was approached by Kamal Sabran a few months back via the ubiquitous Facebook utility and have been a good friend of his ever since. Our remixing relationship started with his jazzy additions to one of my loose improv numbers, and then it was my turn to add something to his beautiful Oud project. The main motif here on the raw original track is, of course, the Oud, a beautiful theme plucked throughout the piece. Over top kamal added electronics, trumpet, drums and other playful bits and pieces..in true 'crude' form I took the piece, threw it into my favourite editing software (audacity), and began to hack. Well, maybe more cut/paste/splice and dice. Taking a small Oud section at the beginning I reversed it, slowed it right down, and detuned it. This added a dream-like atmosphere to the piece (well - i hope it did!) I also copied and transfered an extra Oud track here and there - the pitch an octave higher. I deliberatley made some parts 'out of sink', for a curious destabilizing effect. I looped a small section of Kamals trumpet, and bring it up and down throughout the track. My musical contribution was a wild section of synth rumble and crazed sax blather that mirrored the free-jazz trumpet and xylophone (that right kamal) kamal uses in the piece. The Oud theme is lost for a while only to come back louder than ever...all in all the effect i was looking for with my remix was to 'psychedelicize' it a little, to make the piece more ambient, spaced-out, yet to enhance the gorgeous traditional Oud notes by repeating, tweaking and generally moulding them into new and strange textures...."
- Matt Middleton
* Gambus/oud sound by Zulkifli Ramli
crude.co.nz
myspace/crude2009
http://crude2009.blogspot.com/
http://crudemerch.blogspot.com/
listen here
