Communication Through the Remix

Music can be design. Music tries to convey ideas or images through sounds and words which are then interpreted by the listener in their own way. As we go forth in this technological age, music is more abundant, more accessible, and more technologically influenced. But what about the listeners talking back to the musicians themselves? Surely this can be done literally through chats, emails, message boards, or even in person with physical expressions at a concert. But what if the listener was to actually take what they heard, physically change it, then give it back to the initial artist? This is done through the remix.

While anyone can create a remix, the world of the internet has made it so those mixes can be shared with everyone. This ability to connect has made some artists interested in what others would make of their music.Upon release of an album, some artists promote “remix contests” allowing listeners to take a certain song and remix it however they would like. This was most notably done by the band Radiohead on their last album “In Rainbows”. The concept was to allow users to download the separate recorded tracks (ie: bass, drums, guitars, vocals, etc) to facilitate the ease of remixing. The first song posted for the contest (“Nude”) received such a profound response that Radiohead later posted another song from the album (“Reckoner”),to allow for more remixes to be posted and voted upon. This concept has also been adapted by artists such as Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails), and Third Eye Blind. Although there are no real rewards for “winning” the contest, the top remixes get the bands recognition.

The idea of allowing fans to manipulate an artist's work is very intriguing. In the case of the band Third Eye Blind, the band released some of the song stems before they had released the album, allowing fans to influence the final result. Only in today's world would fans be able to actually have input on the outcome of an artist's next record. This is truly communication through design; by allowing a musician to create something, give it to their fans to alter, then have it given back in a new shape and form. I feel this will be a continuously increasing event that artists will take advantage of to get feedback upon their work. In the near future we may even see bands writing music with the help of those who listen to it, creating the ultimate form of communication in design.