The Current

Great Music Lives Here ®
Listener-Supported Music
Donate Now
Local Current Blog

Last chance to impress Shredders with your sick remix

L-r: Paper Tiger, Lazerbeak, P.O.S, and Sims of Shredders. Photo by Graham Gardner.
L-r: Paper Tiger, Lazerbeak, P.O.S, and Sims of Shredders. Photo by Graham Gardner.

by Cecilia Johnson

February 28, 2018

If you’ve ever listened to a track and thought, “I’d crush this beat,” this is for you. Same goes for “This could use more bass,” “You know what’d slap? My favorite percussion sample pack plus these rhymes,” and even, “What if you just looped accordion under Sims?”

Shredders (Paper Tiger, Lazerbeak, P.O.S, and Sims) have opened a remix contest to anyone with an email address, and whether you’re a producer or rapper/vocalist, you’ve got a shot at the grand prize. Download a capella or instrumental tracks from Dangerous Jumps, write your own beat or verses, and send the bounced file to remixcontest@doomtree.net. But make sure to do it before the deadline: March 2.

Chatting about the remix contest, Lazerbeak and I recently emailed back and forth. “I’ve talked to Paper Tiger a bit about remixes,” I said, “but I’m curious to hear what you like about them.” He replied, “I grew up on the idea of sampling and creating brand new music out of previous works. Remixes are the perfect opportunity to breathe new life into something, and I love that the song can just continue to evolve and morph in a million different ways.” He mentions Justice’s version of “Human After All” by Daft Punk as a favorite — one that was so good it basically returned the "D.A.N.C.E." duo to relevance.

Remixes have been a pretty big deal for every Shredders member. Lazerbeak reimagined a few songs from bluegrass band Trampled by Turtles’ Wild Animals. P.O.S reworked TV on the Radio and Minus the Bear tunes a while back, and his WDELH/MDS/RMX is Marijuana Deathsquads’ take on We Don’t Even Live Here. Sims’s friendship and collaboration with Air Credits was just illustrated by the release of “OneHundred (Air Credits Remix)”; Paper Tiger has so many remix credits (Poliça, Astronautalis) it’s hard to find them all.

Lazerbeak hasn’t listened to any of the submitted remixes so far, hoping to avoid getting attached to anything before the deadline. But, he says, “Can’t wait til this weekend to dig into it all. It’s gonna be like Christmas morning.”

Find all the contest info here. Public voting will be open from March 5-12.

Clean Water Land & Legacy Amendment
This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.