a week of beauty and synchronicity

OK. Time to ratchet things down to a normal pace for a moment. I haven't had the chance to blog much music lately as I've been creating music for boys of the Pet Shop variety. Everything sort of got sidetracked over the last five days.

I had been chatting with PSB's management for a few months regarding the opportunity to produce a remix of the third single from their current, brilliant longplayer, "Yes". There was some silence after it was agreed I would twiddle a few knobs for them. And then, all at once, it was decided that "Beautiful People" would be lifted from the album for singular consumption. Within days, there were discussions about files, delivery methods, concepts and deadlines. Of course, the tightest of schedules was implemented and off we went. Whoooosh!

Firstly, the single will be released in Germany on September 25. Apparently, the tracklisting isn't 100% confirmed because EMI were waiting for delivery of my finished mixes. As it stands, the single will feature the album version and demo of "Beautiful People" plus one or both of my mixes. The final track on the single will be the previously unreleased 7 inch version of "Fugitive", a song featured in it's full length form on the deluxe edition of "Fundamental", PSB's album from 2006.

I can confirm that I produced two mixes. They are:

Beautiful People (Vinny Vero Single Mix) (3.48)
Beautiful People (Vinny Vero Club Mix) (6.51)

Not sure if both will be included on the new single. If only one is featured, perhaps the other will find a home on the forthcoming UK single slated for release this autumn. I wanted to pull together a dub, but there simply wasn't enough time to pull it off. I'm immensely proud of these mixes and honored I was selected to produce them.

I should point out that the single mix is not an edit of the club mix. Typically, I would produce the club track and edit the single mix out of that. For some reason, I started on the single mix first. This probably happened because I received the entire multitrack of the original which was conveniently delivered to me in a full, ProTools session. During the production, I snapped a photo of what it looked like on the monitor. I wanted to capture it for posterity!

Essentially, I could have used anything I wanted from the album version. It was an embarrassment of riches! I have to thank the lovely folks over at the Xenomania complex in the UK for supplying me with everything I needed.

With that in mind, I incorporated most of the guitars from the original. All of the vocals from the album version have been included - Neil's lead, his ad libs and all of the backing vocals. Also, I used some of the live string parts. The end result is a glorious, hands in the air, dance anthem. For DJs and beat freaks, please note the album track clocks in at 122 bpm and my productions gallop along at a sprightly 132 bpm.

The drum loops and percussion in the single mix are different than the ones used in the club mix. For the single mix, I wanted the sound to have the density of an album track that would sound at home on "Yes" somewhere between "Did You See Me Coming?" and "The Way It Used To Be". With the club mix, I stripped out the thicker loops and kicks and replaced them with ones that have more punch for maximum dancefloor excitement. Additionally, I added in some keyboard parts that don't appear in the single mix. While the club mix is, essentially, an extended version of the single mix, they are different productions when given under close scrutiny. It's as if we've been transported back to the 80s!

I was very conscious of keeping the integrity of the original version. I think I achieved that. To my amazement and good fortune, there was a sub mix of the strings, guitars and bass in the original ProTools session of "Beautiful People". Upon stumbling over that, I decide to use that in the mix and cut off some of the bottom end in order to make it sit better in the entire production. Once I put my own keyboard parts over that, the mixes started taking on a shape of their own rather quickly.

Listening to the album track as it appears on "Yes", you can hear the distinct influences without it ever sounding like a pastiche. The live strings are reminiscent of "Wichita Lineman" by Glen Campbell. The guitars have a similar feel to some of America's singles from the early 70s like "Ventura Highway", "A Horse With No Name" and "Tin Man". The song has a very Bacharach and David feel to it. Overall, it reminds me of something by the 5th Dimension.

In the midst of all the mixing madness, I managed to see Pet Shop Boys twice on their "Pandemonium" tour. I had purchased my tickets months before the topic of remixes had even been discussed. It was pure synchronicity that put the production schedule directly in the path of the tour dates.

On Tuesday, after a full day in the studio, I drove into NYC to see PSB at Hammerstein Ballroom which is not one of my favorite venues. I detailed my review of the show in a previous entry. On Thursday, after another full on day of productivity in the studio, I drove down to Washington DC for PSB's performance at the imperial Constitution Hall. The sound was magnificent and the show was tighter and ran more smoothly.

The highlight for me, of which there were many, was a gorgeous and moving rendition of "Jealousy", a single from their album, "Behaviour". With Neil dressed in formal, black tie couture, he delivered the song tenderly while a male and female couple dressed in red loosely acted out the song's lyrics through interpretive dance. Goosebump inducing brilliance! Hopefully, this tour will make it's way to DVD next year.