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Top 10 Mixing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

October 18, 2024

Mixing is an art form that requires not only technical skill but also a keen ear and attention to detail. Many producers and engineers fall into common traps...

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Choosing the Best CPU for Music Production

October 18, 2024

When upgrading your CPU for music production, whether you're composing orchestral scores, producing electronic music, or working with intricate multi-track projects, selecting the right processor...

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How to Create Epic Risers and Transition Effects for Electronic Music

October 11, 2024

Creating epic risers and transition effects is essential for electronic music producers to build tension and anticipation before a drop or shift in their tracks. Here’s how you can do it...

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Automating a Drum Bus in Reaper to Create Dynamic Room Effects

October 6, 2024

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EQ in Practice: How to Use Subtractive EQ to Clean Up Muddy Mixes

October 6, 2024

ixing music is an art, and one of the most essential tools for achieving clarity in a mix is the equalizer (EQ). One technique, in particular, known as subtractive EQ, can work wonders for cleaning...

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How to Manage Static Noise in High Frequencies When Compressing Vocals

October 6, 2024

One common frustration in vocal production, especially for home studio and bedroom producers, is encountering static noise in the high frequencies after compressing and brightening vocals...

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Sampling Like a Pro: How to Flip Samples and Avoid Legal Issues

October 6, 2024

Sampling has been a cornerstone of modern music production, allowing producers to reimagine and breathe new life into old tracks. Whether you're producing hip-hop, EDM, or any genre, knowing how to...

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What Makes an EQ or Compressor VST High-Quality: Insights and Examples from Pros

October 6, 2024

When selecting EQ and compressor plugins, musicians and producers look for more than just a shiny interface or brand recognition. It's all about how these tools perform in real-world scenarios...

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Sound Design 101: Crafting Killer Drum Sounds Using Synthesizers

October 6, 2024

Drum sounds form the backbone of many music genres, and while sample packs are popular, designing your own drum sounds from scratch can elevate your production to a whole new level. Crafting custom...

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Mastering Multiband Compression Sidechaining: A Solution to Clashing Frequencies

October 6, 2024

In modern music production, one of the most common challenges is the clash of frequencies between instruments. For example, bass guitars and drum kits often compete for space in the lower end of...

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Studio One Workflow Tips for Faster Music Production

October 1, 2024

Studio One by PreSonus is an incredibly powerful DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) that offers a variety of tools to streamline your music production workflow. However, like many DAWs, getting the...

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Solving the Issue of Buried Crash Cymbals in the Mix

October 1, 2024

Crash cymbals often get buried in the mix, especially when using complex miking techniques like Glyn Johns, which balances close mics with overheads. While re-recording with higher cymbals may be a...

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Legendary Musical Collaborations That Push Beyond Genre

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Photo Source: Kevin Winter (Getty Images)

There is a vast amount of variety when it comes to genres, sub-genres, and styles of music. Normally, when two musical artists collaborate to create a new song, the individual artists both produce the same type of music. Occasionally, however, two groups or artists, whose music is markedly distinct from one another’s, work together and produce a masterpiece that is entirely new and groundbreaking. This article will discuss three such examples; Aerosmith and Run-DMC, Queen and David Bowie, and Eminem and Elton John. 

Aerosmith, a rock band, and Run-DMC, a hip-hop/rap band, worked together in 1986 to create a remix of Aeromsith’s “Walk This Way”, which was originally released in 1975. The song combined the intricate guitar work characteristic to rock with the lyrical verses associated with rap. Never before had there been a mash-up of rock and rap in the same song, making this collaboration very innovative. Because of this, many people who had previously only listened to one of these genres got a taste of the other one, which helped to expand their musical horizons. Aside from the music itself, the collaboration also assisted in the effort to decrease racial inequality. Rock music had primarily white listeners, while the majority of hip-hop fans were black, and the song helped to bring these two groups of people together. 

Another iconic collaboration between artists was “Under Pressure” by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie and the rock band Queen in 1981, which was the result of a jam session between the artists while Queen was touring in Switzerland. The song incorporates and contrasts David Bowie and Freddy Mercury’s (singer of Queen) unique singing styles, accompanied by the driving rock music that Queen is known for. The result was an energetic, dynamic, and passionate piece of music that focuses on the human struggle and the difficulty of forming meaningful relationships with others. “Under Pressure” became very popular for these reasons, and remains a classic to this day. 

The last collaboration that will be discussed is the special performance of “Stan” by Elton John with Eminem, which occurred at the 2001 Grammy Awards show. Prior to the collaboration, Eminem had been criticized for his controversial lyrics in some of his songs, and was accused of being homophobic. It was for this reason that he decided to perform with Elton John, who is openly gay, to make a stand against sexuality-based discrimination. This aided in the destruction of restraints that held back gay people in the music industry and brought to light the harmful nature of prejudice. Their collaboration was widely well-received and is a performance that will be remembered for many years. 

In conclusion, these collaborations illustrate how artists known for different styles of music can work together to create excellent songs, and how powerful music can be in bringing people together and bridging the gap between disparate communities.