Dubstar ’s first album Disgraceful will be thirty years’ old next year. And in 1996, we released a different version of the album, a compilation of the best remixes commissioned for the singles from that album. It was a strange release, a combination of my fave remixes, two brand new ones I’d put together in our studio in the Newcastle Arts Centre and peculiar vignette peaces that I’d made to link the tunes together.

Much like KLF’s classic Chill Out album, the Disgraceful Remixed album was compiled live in one take, recorded straight to DAT, with each piece ‘flown in’ from ADAT digital cassette players. Yes it was completed in one take, but it took half a dozen attempts to get right. As usual I was under significant pressure to get it finished and couriered down to Food Records…so it was only after I’d returned from the post office that I noticed something disturbing: the panning settings on the Yamaha Promix 1 mixing desk were wrong. I don’t mean sub-optimal, I mean ‘wrong’, an unacceptable mistake that meant the master I’d sent off was unusable. And the compressor was set wrongly too. Gulp.

I don’t remember why I didn’t mention this to the label, it might have been something to do with the Goodbye To You sample debacle, but I decided to keep quiet. Maybe no one would notice?

Twenty eight years later it seems no one has noticed, so I’ll say no more about it. Except that if you listen to the remix album with headphones on, you might notice that… [redacted].

Dubstar’s Disgraceful Remixed album. It was acceptable in the 90s.

RISE TO THE TOP!

The remix album was sequenced for listening, like the Artificial Intelligence albums I obsessed over in the mid 90s. Maybe I should update the album and include mixes that were made for the later singles? And sequence it for dancing?

So here we have the Dubstar Remix MEGAMIX. This is a mixtape performed live by way of a tribute to the first remix album using TRAKTOR 4 in my studio in Brighton. I can assure you I checked the settings on the virtual mixing desk carefully.

This project gave me an opportunity to listen to remixes which I haven’t heard since the day they arrived in the offices of Food Records. A few things strike me. Firstly, my gosh do these remixes sound 90s! And I don’t just mean in style, I mean the actual sound. They reek of early digital audio systems, crunchy, grainy and grey. There is some charm to them, but it’s not like listening to old tape recordings. They don’t compete with modern productions, they really don’t.

The quality of the mixes varies widely too, both in terms of fidelity and musical impact. Mother and Way Out West supplied excellent mixes on both of the occasions they were employed, Jamie Myerson was at the top of his game. By way of contrast the D’Stilled mix of Elevator Song is barking mad and was hardly mixed at all.

And you can hear the records we were listening to permeating the mixes. DJ Shadow surely had a big influence on the Girlfriend remix, everyone was listening to Chemical Brothers, and Plump DJs had a big influence on my remix of Rise To The Top.

I pondered writing a review of each mix but I realised that wouldn’t be fair to the producers, to the readers or to myself. So instead I’ve included some notes here. Please bear in mind that the MEGAMIX only includes the mixes that I thought were good or interesting. So if your fave isn’t included, sorry about that. A big shout out must go to Steve Rodway and his Motiv8 mix of Stars. I would have included it but I couldn’t find my DAT with the extended mix. Next time…

STARS Way Out West remix

The king of all the Dubstar remixes, still played out to this day. Much admired, I would draw your attention to the similarities between this mix and Adam Ricket’s ‘ I Feel For You’ which was a minor hit four years later in 1999. Hmmm….

I (Friday Night) - Agent Sumo Remix

Very fond of this one, the groove is infectious. But its the sound of Sarah singin ‘It’s Friday night, go out for a good time’ with all the enthusiasm of a granny being dragged to a Slipknot gig that makes me laugh every time.

Elevator Song - Remix by Dillon and Dickens

I remember when we first heard this thinking ‘I don’t know what’s going on. I’m lost’. But it has such a dreamy vibe, the spoken word samples in Italian are terrific too.

No More Talk - Jamie Myerson Remix

This mix seems to have been forgotten over the years but I think it’s ace. The big pop chorus struggling to get out in the Dubstar version comes alive in Jamie’s version.

The Bad

I Friday Night - DJ Jurgen’s Remix

I mean, come on!? This chap had a massive hit as Alice Deejay the year before and THIS is what he turns out for us? Probably the worst of all the Dubstar remixes, and was such a disappointment as this was the only time my request for a remixer was followed.

THINKING BACK NOW

Remixes are mad aren’t they? We had so many in the 1990s, and pretty much everybody got paid too (that changed in the 2000s). There was a moment on the tour bus when we received a new remix package from Food and our tour manager Simon Griffin, sensing the mood in the vehicle and with his own level of sceptiscim set to eleven simply asked us ‘so, I wonder what you sound like today?’. Whatever we sounded like we didn’t like it.

Dubstar weren’t keen on remixes, although as a DJ I knew they were a necessary marketing tool and occasionally something great could happen. I’d requested a whole bunch of remixes but was ignored. I’m ok about it now (honestly, I am!) but if I could return to 1995 and have another go, here is the list of the people I’d insist that we get remixes done by:

But until I invent that Time Machine and address every mistake I’ve ever made, I hope you enjoy this updated Dubstar Remix MEGAMIX. PLAY LOUD!

Dubstar: Remix MEGAMIX!

RISE TO THE TOP!

THINKING BACK NOW