Heyooooo!

It was a White Hinterlandy weekend for yours truly. Had the great pleasure of seeing Sean and Casey play on Friday night at Glasslands with shred-goddess Marnie Stern. And on Saturday, had Casey over to the studio for a day of writing and recording for my new project! Lemme tell you, homegirl has some serious pipes.

On a related note, got a nice Stereogum mention for the WH remix I did a while back.

Holla holla holla,
A

Hey hey hey!

The response to my Phantogram remix has been ginormicous! So much love out there – really makes a guy feel special. For the fifth time this year, I hit #1 on Hypemachine, premiered on Entertainment Weekly, achieved “most blogged” status on The Independent, NME’s top ten of the week, and shout-outs on Prefix and Filter Magazines. Not too shabby!

Before I break it all down below, a few pieces of exciting news. Just put the finishing touches on a new remix, and been approached to do another for a pretty substantial artist. And most importantly, been chipping away at my next solo album! It’s a slow process, unfortunately, but making progress every day.

Anyhoo, here goes the review roundup:

Entertainment Weekly
The Independent
NME “A brilliant remix”
Prefix Magazine “The generally effervescent quality of this remix makes her sound like there’s some fun to be had with these Phantogram folks”
Filter Magazine
Better Propaganda
MBV Music “Another nice remix from Alan Wilkis”
Minneapolis Fucking Rocks “Great remix”
Boom Boom Chik “Another stellar remix… What amazes me about this Brooklyn producer is how his style is not limited to one genre or category”
The Burning Ear “Alan nails it on this one, grabbing the original and running with it straight to funky town… This the jam that I want to play while setting up for a party.”
Schallgrezen
Audio Muffin “Alan’s that dude that takes all the hot indie pop/rock songs, flips them on their ass, hits them with a synth bass whip, and then commands the world to dance.”
Cause=Time
Daily Beatz “I really dig the pop spin that Wilkis has given this song”
The New Montreal
Snob’s Music
Some Kind of Awesome “Yet another incredible remix for our listening pleasure… This guy is a genius!”
There Goes The Fear “Why not get into that weekend spirit a bit sooner with this brilliant remix… Part school disco cheese-tastic and part Ladytron-esque so-cool-it-hurts, this is one song you’ll have on repeat all weekend”
Pasta Primavera “Mr. Wilkis has outdone himself this time”
Kick Kick Snare
Indie Music Filter
Voltiando
Danger Danger “It’s fun and playful, and it makes you dance. Pure brilliance”
Durrty Rice
Music Like Dirt “The Hype Machine’s most prolific remixer”
Disco Demons “It would be insulting to call this masterpiece a ‘remix,’ as he only kept the catchy vocals… This rework has been my glimmer of light today after going through an endless flood of emails and music”
Surviving the Golden Age
Hello My Name is Kevin John Gomez
Nerdy Frames
Music for Perfect People “The remix makes Sarah Barthel’s vocals shine brighter than ever before with the addition of the uptempo pop beat!”
Parasites and Sycophants
Synthetic Rocks
SuperXOffical
Street Giant “One of his best remixes yet”
Untzological Society
JayeLAudio
The World in a Paper Cup “Take one of my favorite songs, give it to one of my favorite remix artists and what do you get? Brilliance!”
Les Enfants Terribles
Bloggertronix
Skipster
Subservient Experiment
Gumshoe Grove
The Sound of Indie “If you replaced Sarah’s voice with Madonna, I could easily see this along-side some of the greats from “True Blue.” Alan Wilkis pretty much nailed it”
Fit for a King
Me and All My Friends
The Blaaahg
Dumb Bass
This Music Wins
The Worst Beatle “Watch out for Alan Wilkis, he is a top-rate producer who doesn’t deserve to be lumped together with the majority of Web 2.0 bedroom remixers and mash up ‘artists’ clogging up Hype Machine. I would love to hear a full album produced by Wilkis”
Radio Deconstruction
Chi-Town Notes
Pop That Rocks
Etnobofin
Jumble Pusher
DJ Craig
Bizzy’s Hi-Fi Zone
Pasaje Alternativo
Music That Isn’t Bad
Gonzo’s Music-o-rama
Only Pieces
Music is My Porn
Fear the Weekend
Many Marvelous Moments
Dance Sauce
Justin Rhyme

DASSSSS IT!

-A

I had the distinct pleasure of seeing Phantogram the other night at Bowery Ballroom, and got to chat with Josh and Sarah for a brief but enjoyable hot minute. Man, they brought it HARD and tore the house down. They had so much energy, great stage presence, both their voices were on point, and they had great backround visuals. Though my mobile-phone-photography is less than award-winning, here’s a shot from the sold out show.

And while I’m on the subject, we had a HUGE week for my remix. After debuting on Entertainment Weekly, we got written up in NME as among the 10 best free MP3 downloads of the week – they called it “a brilliant remix!”

Also got another great shout-out in The Independent for being “most blogged about,” as well as coverage in Prefix Magazine and Filter Magazine!

Not too shabby… Full recap coming next week, and have a lovely weekend ’til then!

-A

Boom boom boooooom. Lemme hear you say way-o [way-oooooooo].

Extraordinarily pleased to announce my latest “official” remix, this time of the lovely Phantogram’s “Mouthful of Diamonds.” They released their debut album, “Eyelid Movies,” on Barsuk Records on 2/9/2010, and Barsuk (quite flatteringly) called my remix a “joyous new-wave inflected delight.” The remix also first premiered on Entertainment Weekly, which was AMAZING!

Phantogram is a duo, comprised of Sara Barthel and Josh Carter. They first caught my ear a few months ago when they were making the rounds on the blogosphere. Their production is really minimal and generally pretty dark – reminds me of an updated Massive Attack or Portishead, but a little more guitar and synth-driven. And I just LOVE the singer, Sara’s voice; she has this smoky, whispery beautiful thing going on… And on “Mouthful of Diamonds,” it really shines through and sits perfectly right in the middle of it, creating this dark and dreamy little world.

So, in my usual fashion, I turned the song completely on its head and produced it in the absolute opposite way – the only thing I kept from the original version is Sara’s vocals. I took it from minimal trip-hop to ultra-layered bubblegum pop, from dark to ultraviolet-bright. I loaded it up with synths and a dance beat, and recorded a whole bunch of guitars, percussion, squishes and squelches…

I highly encourage you to give the original a listen on the band’s myspace before checking out my version, as they’re SUPER different but somehow magically work great together… musical yin and yang!

You can listen to it and download below, and by all accounts please share it with any and everyone you know! Tweet the link, throw it on your facebook, send it to your grandma – everything’s fair game!

Many many thanks for listening, and happy Thursday!

Love,
A

Hello homies!

Got a truly wonderful response to my White Hinterland remix – I’m thrilled everyone came along for the ride!

A few things to report before I recap:

1) As many of you know, I’ve been co-producing the latest record for Project Jenny, Project Jan. We are so close to wrapping it up, I can taste it! Final mixes are complete, now in the middle of the mastering process. I seriously can’t wait!

2) Pleased to announce I’m working on MY next record – going to be a collaborative effort, working with a host of awesome special guests. Been sketching out ideas pretty regularly, very pumped to be working on my own stuff again. Lord knows where it’ll all end up, but it’s going to be awesome, I can tell you that…

3) Also been working a lot these days with my new friends, The Kickdrums. Doing some Postal-Service style email exchanges, trading ideas back and forth. Really fun stuff.

4) And lastly, my song “The Hustle” randomly wound up in yet ANOTHER extreme sports video. This time for some sort of Mountain Dew snowboarding event… Check it:

Moving right along, the White Hinterland remix picked up all sorts of steam over the past few weeks! Made it into Elbo.ws Hot Tracks after a nice thumbs up from WH’s record label, Dead Oceans.

Here’s the blog breakdown – thanks a bazillion to everyone that was kind enough to listen and write:

The Independent
Prefix Magazine “warm, lounge-ish electro-pop”
The Portland Mercury
Consequence of Sound
YK2 Daily
Better Propaganda
Killah Beez
The Music Slut
Killah Beez
Day ‘n Night Blog “I don’t have to tell anyone how good Alan Wilkis and Memory Tapes are.”
MBV Music
Arjan Writes “Alan Wilkis knows how to turn obscure indie gems into wildly unique pieces of atmospheric pop and electronica”
Boom Boom Chik “It sounds fantastic… Light one up to this”
Hypetrak “Restructured into a thumping, electro-pop tune. Very clean execution of the remix”
Cause Equals Time
The Fast Life “Wilkis drops his latest airy goody inside your speaker to conjure colorful flowering meadows into your livingroom… A pure and relaxed hymn for spring… Chilled, soulful music”
Plug In Music
Hot Biscuits
Mahogany Blog “There’s no doubt White Hinterland are chuffed”
Daily Beatz “A funky quasi-psychedelic remix… I would say he hit it out of the park”
Atari Cool Kids
Ickmusic “Wilkis is no slouch in the remix chair… Spinning it on its end with a musical drumbeat and his signature sense of funk”
Music Like Dirt “He’s become something of a hype machine fuelled phenomenon… A beautifully subtle reworking of White Hinterland”
Too Much Happiness “I like the original. It’s whip cream. But this Alan Wilkis’ remix is what I like to call a sure thing”
Short and Sweet NYC
Head Underwater
Too Many Sebastians “A rather lovely remix”
What to Wear During an Orange Alert
Super Official “Another solid remix from Alan Wilkis… transforms it into something head nodding and atmospheric.”
Music for Perfect People
Parasites and Sycophants
This Music Wins
No Modest Bear
Durrty Rice “Man, AW, this dude continues to impress with his ability to put his touch on a song… I honestly haven’t heard a horrible remix by Wilkis”
Indie Here
Subservient Experiment
Blastercase “a nice, ethereal remix… the perfect track to help you shake off that winter dust, and get ready for the nice warm weather to come”
The World in a Paper Cup “Wilkis is one of the most consistent artists out there. Perhaps it’s his ear for a beat or his ability to tweak and twist just right; whatever it is I always get a grin on my face when he drops me a tune”
Ears of the Beholder “a great remix from the talented re-thinker of songs”
The Weekly Feed
Their Bated Breath
Dumb Bass
Music is My Sunshine
Cater ATL
Above Second
Together in Digital Dreams
Sonic Dissonance
Gis Gis Gis
JP’s Blog
Radio Deconstruction
Tea n Muffin
Stay True
Pop That Rocks
Street Index
Everyday King
Cities of the Plain
Yvynyl
Joey Plays

Well, that about does it… Phewf :)

See you soon!

-A

Moving right along, my White Hinterland remix is pickin up all kinds of steam out there, wanted to share some juicy tidbits.

First off, got a lovely feature in Prefix Magazine: “[AW] pushes it out of its surroundings into a piece of warm, lounge-ish electro-pop, in which the song still finds it’s footing.”

Nice little shout-out in The Independent, as well, in which they state that I am a “Brooklyn DJ.” Sure, why not?

And lastly, got some KCRW radio airplay again. Amen to those DJs over there, always keepin their ears open to all things indie. Gotta love ‘em!

In other news, I’m seeing Mr. Jamie Lidell at the Bowery tonight, and I am supremely excited for it. If anyone’s gonna be there, come say hi! That is all…

Hope everyone’s good!

-A

Hello Fam-a-lam!

The reviews are in for my RJD2 remix, and the response was once again overwhelming! Time Out NY called me a “Brooklyn studio whiz,” The UK Independent noted that I’m “quickly becoming the go-to guy for remixes among the indie sector,” some more Sirius/XM satellite radio airplay, sat on Elbo.ws top ten list for well over a week, and for the 4th time this year hit #1 on the Hypemachine charts!

So… ttttthankkkkk yyyyyyouuuu a million times over to those of you out there that listened and/or had something kind to say!

Before I get down to business, I should tell y’all I’m hard at work on a few new remixes, two of which are quite different from my usual fare, in large part because there’s FEMALE SINGERS on both… Oooooooh

And now, down to bloggin’ bizzzness:

The Independent “Quickly becoming the go-to guy for remixes among the indie sector, Wilkis has a knack for retaining the integrity of the original track but adding just enough flavour to make the interpretation fresh and worth listening to.”
Time Out NY “This new version—reworked by Brooklyn studio whiz Alan Wilkis—is even better… A mix of between G-funk, classic soul and sunny California pop”
Altsounds “Be sure to take heed.”
Consequence of Sound
Better Propaganda
Pigeons and Planes
Killah Beez
Done Waiting
Day and Night “We cherish Alan Wilkis for his great remixes… This mix is pure funk, which mixes up sweetly with the song’s vocals.”
Hip Hop Press
Minneapolis Fucking Rocks “Wilkis draws the soulful, Wonder-esque vocals of the original and adds Parliament-thick synth-bass for a funky, taut remix.”
The Coolest Out “Another brilliant remix by the in vogue electronic singer/producer”
Rap Reviews
My Old Kentucky Blog
Above the Fold
Boom Boom Chik
Hip Hop Site
Cause = Time
Friday Mixtape
The Needle Drop
Daily Beatz “Alan Wilkis has done it yet again… This may be may favorite.”
Sheena Beaston “AW slows the track a bit, but not before adding some super funky keys and the magical dusting of his midas touch.”
Imageyenation “Wilkis gave the track some two-step-worthy ‘80s dancefloor thump and added a hefty dose of synthesized “Mothership” Funk.”
Green Shoelace
Hero Hill
TheMusic.FM
Katarokkar
Snob’s Music “Our favorite remixer, Alan Wilkis, is at it again.”
Silence is a Rhythm Too
The Daily Rind
Atari Cool Kids Forever
Skippers Chippers “His delightful take on RJD2’s ‘The Shining Path’ in my opinion is better than the original, and has that feel good groove coursing through it’s slap bass”
True to Sound “It’s fantastic, and better than the original in my opinion.”
S’il Vous Plait “AW’s remixes have a great variation in style, but one thing they do share is that they always come out the other end precision-made, smooth as silk, big fun and oh-so-cool.”
Subservient Experiment
No Modest Bear
Planeta Pop
Pop Stereo
LA is the new NY “Quickly becoming THE remixer of the moment.”
Some Kind of Awesome
Revenge of Rob Gordon
Blastercase
Static Television
Music for Perfect People
Attack Attack Attack “Another Alan Wilkis gem”
Stop.Play.Rewind
Billy Suede “The man has done it again… Simply can’t get enough… Keep them coming, Alan!”
JayeL Audio
Sonic Diet
Loren Wohl
Cater
Daft Who?
The World in a Paper Cup
Your Third Ear
Together in Digital Dreams
Sounds and Colors “Alan Wilkis remixes are too legit”
Nick’s Picks
How Can You Start a Movement…
Wright Stuff
Les Enfants Terribles

It’s been a few weeks since I put out my Yeasayer remix, and the response has been tremendous – by far the biggest I’ve ever received! From a mention in the UK’s Independent, to my very first Stereogum shout-out, to airplay on both KCRW and Sirius/XM Radio, to #1 on Hypemachine and “Hottest Track” on Elbo.ws, and lastly to [my favorite] soundtracking this girl’s how-to-make-balloon-animals video:

And to those of you that took the time to listen and/or post about it and/or help spread the word, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Here’s the blog recap:

Pigeons & Planes: “AW has taken my favorite song from Yeasayer’s recent album Odd Blood and installed some robot arms and dance shoes”
KillahBeez
The Music Slut
Arjan Writes: “Super fun and very well put together… This kid has his golden fingers on the soundboard again. Two thumbs up.”
Under The Radar Magazine
Earmilk
Minneapolis Fucking Rocks
The Audio Perv
Nialler 9: “Watch out for this guy’s remixes. He good.”
The Coolest Out
Boom Boom Chik
Kickin’ The Peanuts
JP’s Blog
The Fast Life
Winnie Cooper [unbelievably cute dog alert]
Brain Magazine [silver naked people alert]
Fluo Kids
Cause=Time
The Mahogany Blog
TheMusic.FM
Pasta Primavera
Indie Music Filter
We Are The Mascotte
Cassette Couture
Danger Danger: “I don’t hesitate when it’s an AW remix, it’s always good.”
Snob’s Music
The OCMD
Super Official!: “Gives it the ‘ol Alan Wilkis midis touch”
Sound Verite
Sheena Beaston: “The sexy subtlety that is an ‘Alan Wilkis remix’ has once again been bestowed upon Beastonia”
Cities of the Plain
Music Like Dirt
EkEk Promotions
Scene Not Heard
Kevin John Gomez
Atari Cool Kids
La.Ga.Sta.
Kapeep City
True To Sound: “The brilliant Alan Wilkis… seems to be getting even more awesomer with every remix that he produces. His latest is of Yeasayer’s ‘Ambling Amp,’ and as good as the original is, I can honestly say I enjoy Alan’s remix more.”
Bored and Beats
Owl and Bear
Thieves by Tuesday
Newdust
Skippers Chippers
Les Enfants Terribles
Muzjiks
The World in a Paper Cup: “as always, a spectacularly well done remix”
S’Il Vous Plait
unltd.at
No Modest Bear
The Color Awesome
Me And All My Friends
Together in Digital Dreams
I Really Love Music
Disco Naivete
Mojophenia
Revenge of Rob Gordon
Fuzzy Thoughts
Radio Deconstruction
Gis Gis Gis
611 Records
The Pro Show
Dots and Dashes
Dumb Bass
Rainy Tuesday
JayeL Audio
Sleep Never
Ce Soir J’ai Piscine
Standard Deviations
Hype Musik N Stuff
3 Days Before the Show
Musicphileosophy
Your Third Ear
The Chuckness
La 3e Heure
Radio DKO
Headphone Handicap
Audio Sovereignty
Music is my Sunshine
Juicy Fruit
Toy*Tune
FRVR Disco
Sounds Analytical
The Funky Folk

Phewf… that was a lot… 93 to be precise…

Love,
A

Yoyoyoyo!

I just did my very first radio interview for a show called “The Daily Feed” on WFPK 91.9 FM in Louisville, KY. The show will be re-broadcast on a few other stations nationally.

Past interviewees include OK GO, Spoon, Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros, Sonic Youth, and more! I’m feelin both proud and flattered to say the least… Although I’m totally cringing at the sound of my own voice.

Catch the interview, weirdo-voice and all, right here: On the Phone with… Alan Wilkis

And in closing, I think it’s only appropriate to post a few amazing radio-related songs, starting with my favorite of all time:

Love,
Alan

Before I jump to the blog recap, just want to share my utter excitement for the next few remixes I’ll be working on. Been in touch with some truly wonderful bands & artists whom many of you probably know quite well, and I’m SO pumped to work on their stuff!

Also, spent the majority of this weekend writing and recording with my talented friend, Rob. Here’s a little footage of me chunking along on the drums… I’m self-taught & only started playing 2 yrs ago, so hopefully not too crappy all things considered:

Here’s what peoples are saying about the Shwayze track:

Sheena Beaston “We are head over heels with Wilkis’ teched out, glitchy, grooving basslines”
The Coolest Out “Had me head nodding & hitting repeat over & over again”
Pasta Primavera
True to Sound
Pop Awesome
Ekek Promotions
We Like It Indie
The Young Kingz Daily
Atari Cool Kids
Pigeons and Planes “Badass”
Consequence of Sound
The Fast Life
Dr. Funkenberry
Rock the Dub
Earmilk
The Audio Perv
The World in a Paper Cup “Wilkis knows how to give a track a real spit & shine freshness… A must for your gym mix. It gets your pulse up and your energy pumping.”
91.9 WFPK Radio Louisville
Chic Moustache Club
Kapeepcity “It can’t get any hotter than this”
Super X Official
Etnobofin
¡Empower!
Boom Boom Chik
Blastercase
Ecoutez
Subservient Experiment
honkabitch
Attack!Attack!Attack!
Daily Beatz
Cassette Couture
No Modest Bear
Nosser Jammer
Bored and Beats
Sounds and Colors
Famous Sounding Words…
Nyne Dymondz
Drown Your Beliefs
Stallin the Man
Thieves by Tuesday
Slope Radio
Deconstruction
Revenge of Rob GordonWild Cub
Carpe Musica
Dilligent.Me
Nibootoo