The popularity of mashups have been quickly dying off since 2012, mostly due to major label pressures on SoundCloud and other music services. I miss ’em, so I finally decided to put together a list of my most favorite ones.
I split mashups into two categories. The first takes samples from many pop songs all compiled into one. The first few on our playlist are good examples. The other is a vocal track mixed in with an instrumental. It might not have as many moving parts as the other, but I bet it’s just as difficult to make it sound right, if not more. Putting two sounds together and making them sound like one is hard for any producer, let alone one working with sounds people are so familiar with.
Judge for yourself, but it’s important to keep in mind that mashups are for fun and don’t always sound the most polished.
A solid mix to give tribute to The Queen of Pop, Freddie Mercury, whose been gone for just over 20 years now. It’s a good run through some of Queen’s best, but I wish I could’ve seen more of that clear cut sampling Robin does best. Still, it’s good to get back to him with a quick ten minute mix.
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I categorize mashups in two ways. First is the “supermash,” where you take a grip of samples and lace em all together. The other is just two or so tracks twisted into each other to make one. Either way, it’s to bring vocalists into a new style & genre.
So in this Best Mashups of 2011, we’ve got about five of each. With styles ranging from rap to nu-disco, the only thing consistent in this mix is the amount of soul… basically, they’re not inspired by Glee ;)
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Moving on from the Best Ghetto Funk of 2011 (whatever that is), we get 12 mixes & mashes that will pump you up from 2011 all the way into 2012. Most of these are mashups of Progressive House // Raver type music with a bit of something else sprinkled on top. A few have their flaws, but the’re all the best to go buck wild to and ring in the New Year, baby!
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I try to stay away from too much pop on here, this is a site dedicated to independent music, but I’ve also gotta weakness for the mashup. Robin Skouteris is one of the few mashers who has a strong focus on pop and still catches my interest. She does, however, for the most part pick artists I actually have some respect for – Gaga & Madonna. If you’re not into pop, these are still fun as hell to dance to, just make sure to get your dancin shoes on ;)
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