Off The Beaten Meter

New OTBM Compilation Videos

2010-05-09T16:54:00.000-07:00

Ultra-prolific video artist GonzoJam, who specializes in anime music videos (AMVs) and off-the-wall material, has produced two new videos for tracks off the Off The Beaten Meter compilation. Good stuff!

G3RSt: The Impossible Son of Bolero (OTBM track 1)

DJ not-I: One Love Plunge (OTBM track 13)

Videos by GonzoJam. Go give him some love on Youtube and/or check out his blog.

UPDATE: And here's an older one by Overdub (OTBM track 15)

Compilation: First Reviews & Dissemination

2010-05-04T10:02:00.000-07:00

In only three weeks, the Off The Beaten Meter compilation has received kudos from several music blogs, despite (or perhaps because of) its non-mainstream character. Here are some selections:

...a wonderfully insane collection of mashups from an international assortment of dj/producers that have one thing in common - none of the tracks are in 4/4 time. Now this old-skool punk-rocker can have highly allergic reactions to prog, especially the Rush/Yes variety, but I found this collection to be more fun then a barrel of metronomes. It's quite a break from the usual stuff, and makes me realize how formulaic so much music is (even "strange" music).
Music for Maniacs

...the finestkind new compilation of bootlegs/mash-ups employing time signatures other than 4/4. This is where you step outside the club scene music. It's true, this collection goes to all the 'other' beat patterns. [...] These great bootleggers know them too & prove it with tunes you'll love!
Bartcop Entertainment

Picking out the crowning gem of April’s output from the mashup community was very easy thanks to the release of the incredible Off the Beaten Meter compilation. The 20-track album [...]brings together an eclectic range of mashups with one common thread - they all use unusual time signatures. What could easily have been a gimmicky collection has turned out to be one of the smartest and best produced mashup albums of recent years.
The Reborn Identity, "Best Mashups of 2010"

Thanks for these great reviews!

Also featured on Le Mix de ToToM #63 : Odd French Mixture radio show.

For more reviews and reactions, including by contributing artists, see the GYBO thread.

Off The Beaten Meter has also been listed at Mashup Hits and Mashup Charts.

And here are two new compilation pages:

last.fm
&
Myspace

Love, ~I

The Compilation

2010-04-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

Off The Beaten Meter is a CD-length compilation of bootlegs/mash-ups in time signatures other than 4/4, which pushes the envelopes of both bootleg/mash-up-making and rhythmic perceptions in general.

Showcasing 20 odd-metered tracks by 11 noted bootleggers/mash-up-artists (including several gems from the past and 9 new exclusive mash-ups), which span a wide range of genres, from contemporary classical and jazz to electronica, hip-hop, and pop to progressive rock and metal, Off The Beaten Meter will appeal to and engage both the chin-stroking muso-nerd niche as well as the much broader spectrum of people who enjoy and appreciate excellent and interesting music, liberated from genre constraints and the ubiquitous 4/4 straitjacket.

This compilation will definitely challenge you, if not blow your mind. Yet it will also get your foot tapping, your head nodding, and your body rocking, in time signatures off the beaten meter.

So choose a free download option and venture beyond 4/4. Enjoy!

Love, ~I

Album Downloads (including printable covers):

Mediafire

Divshare

Rapidshare

DJ not-I presents:

Off The Beaten Meter: MashUps Beyond 4/4

1. G3RSt - The Impossible Son of Bolero (6/8)*
(The Future Sound Of London vs. Maurice Ravel vs. "Theme from Mission Impossible")
http://www.g3rst.com

2. Eternal Khaos - The Time Collector (mostly 13/4)*
(Foo Fighters vs. Nine Inch Nails)
http://eternalkhaos.wordpress.com/

3. Lee Spoons - Hey Brian (mostly 22/4)
(Outkast vs. Arctic Monkeys)
http://meearsarealight.wordpress.com/

4. ToToM - Should Pigs Stay or Should They March? (mostly 7/8)
(The Clash vs. Nine Inch Nails)
http://www.totom.dj/

5. Overdub - Five Step (5/4)
(Radiohead vs. Dave Brubeck)
http://overdubsound.free.fr/bootleg/

6. DJ not-I - ToxicToxicity (mostly 12/8)
(Britney Spears vs. System of a Down)
http://www.not-i.com/remixes

7. Andrewherring - Avril's Nu Gnu (3/4 - 4/4 polyrhythm)
(Avril Lavigne vs. Leftfield vs. Flanders and Swann vs. The Boss)
http://www.thejuxtaposition.co.uk/andrewherring.html

8. Overdub - Lucky Right Dead (7/4)*
(UK vs. Joan Osborne vs. Chris Squire vs. Primus vs. Pink Floyd)
http://overdubsound.free.fr/bootleg/

9. Lee Spoons - The Loneliness of a Nude Tower Crane Driver (6/4)
(Radiohead vs. Elbow)
http://meearsarealight.wordpress.com/

10. Virtual DJ - Watcher of Facades (6/4 or 12/8)*
(Genesis vs. Philip Glass vs. William S. Burroughs)
http://masheduniverse.blogspot.com/

11. Overdub - Beautiful Baby (9/8)*
(Bobby McFerrin vs. Porcupine Tree)
http://overdubsound.free.fr/bootleg/

12. Lee Spoons - The Cassette Dissector (3/4)
(Blur vs. Blur - 8 songs)
http://meearsarealight.wordpress.com/

13. DJ not-I - One Love Plunge (6/8 - 4/4 polyrhythm)*
(Morcheeba feat. Cool Calm Pete vs. Nirvana vs. Talib Kweli vs. The Herbaliser vs. DJ Food & feat. Arnold Schwarzenegger)
http://www.not-i.com/remixes

14. ToToM - Dirty Fang (parts in 15/8)
(Them Crooked Vultures vs. Gorillaz)
http://www.totom.dj/

15. Overdub - Silent Bell (5/4)
(Radiohead vs. KT Tunstall)
http://overdubsound.free.fr/bootleg/

16. DJ not-I - My Favorite Allez (Nothing Else Matters) (12/8)*
(Metallica vs. The Supremes vs. Eastenders)
http://www.not-i.com/remixes

17. RIAA - What a Wonderful Sidewalk (3/4)*
(Louis Armstrong vs. a fairground organ version of "The Sidewalks of New York" and HAL9000 from "2001")
http://www.m-1.us/

18. Andrewherring - Saviour's Day Remix (3/4)
(Cliff Richard vs. a hardfloor track vs. 4Hero)
http://www.thejuxtaposition.co.uk/andrewherring.html

19. Voicedude - Everybody's Free On Brokeback Mountain (3/4)
(Quindon Tarver Vs. Gustavo Santaolalla)
http://fairtilizer.com/users/Voicedude

20. Pirate Soundsystem - Lullaby for not-I (~I tinker) (polyrhythmic)*
(Pirate Soundsystem vs. Shunryu Suzuki Roshi)
http://www.myspace.com/piratesoundsystem

*exclusive compilation tracks

Conceived and Compiled by DJ not-I, Mexikotrax, April, 2010

Cover art by Klaudia Gottwald

*******

Off The Beaten Meter: video promo #3

2010-04-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

In 12/8 (except for the 4/4 thrash bridge & coda), here's Britney vs. System of a Down: "ToxicToxicity" by DJ not-I, vividly representing the mainstream pop/rock side of the Off The Beaten Meter compilation, coming April 12th.

Stay Tuned!

Off The Beaten Meter: video promo #2

2010-04-01T17:45:00.000-07:00

Representing the off-the-beaten-meter-beat side of the compilation, here's a well-established mash-up (and video - Radiohead vs. Dave Brubeck) in 5/4 (another feature on the Off The Beaten Meter compilation), by Overdub, whose new exclusive contributions are even more complex (7/4 & 9/8), yet still utterly accessible.

Off The Beaten Meter: video promo #1

2010-04-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

The Off The Beaten Meter compilation will rock you, engage your mind, and even make you dance in odd time signatures.

This brilliantly radiant mash-up (and video) of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis vs. a poly-rhythmic composition by Philip Glass, produced by Virtual DJ, epitomizes the artistic and progressive side of the Off The Beaten Meter compilation.

Count the pulses as either 123456/123456 (6/4), or in 12/8 double-time, as Glass's sheet music specifies, or just sit back and appreciate it...

Alternative higher-quality video here.

Off The Beaten Meter mash-up compilation

2010-03-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

Off The Beaten Meter: MashUps Beyond 4/4 is a compilation of new exclusive (as well as a few previously released) mash-ups in time signatures other than 4/4.

Off the Beaten Meter features tracks by a range of noted bootleg remixers/mashup artists, including Andrewherring, DJ not-I, Eternal Khaos, G3RSt, Lee Spoons, Overdub, RIAA (Mr. Fab), ToTom, Virtual DJ, and Voicedude, who mash up and regenerate odd-metered tunes by the likes of 4Hero, Chris Squire, Dave Brubeck, Foo Fighters, Genesis, Joan Osborne, Louis Armstrong, Metallica, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Outkast, Philip Glass, Pink Floyd, Primus, Queens of the Stone Age, Quindon Tarver, Radiohead, Ravel, Slayer, System of a Down, The Commodores, The Future Sound of London, The Supremes, Tool, UK, and many more.

The resulting compilation is a heady brew of progressive bootleg remixing that pushes the envelopes of both mash-up-making and rhythmic perceptions in general.

Off The Beaten Meter will appeal to and satisfy the chin-stroking muso-nerds as well as the much broader spectrum of people who enjoy and appreciate excellent and interesting music, liberated from genre constraints and the ubiquitous 4/4 straitjacket.

This compilation will blow your mind, yet also have your foot tapping and head nodding in time signatures off the beaten path. So get ready to "Sit back and have some fun / and tap your foot in 21!" (Tony Levin/King Crimson)

Off The Beaten Meter: MashUps Beyond 4/4 release date:
April 12th, 2010.

Further info (incl. on non-4/4 time signatures) on the project forum: Odd Meter Mashups