Karl D – Climbing to the Top

Posted 30 Sep 2011 — by karl
Category Music

A bit of hard dance should brighten up the momentum of life.remixed. 

Hard house and hard trance used to be my bread and butter.  Now, compared to the dark trip-hop/breaks/general electronic style that dominates my style overall, this kind of release is somewhat anomalous.
I hope you find this one as exciting as I do.  This hard dance track is by far, the most “modern” one I ever remember producing.

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Karl D – Climbing to the Top

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Karl D – Like, Haunted

Posted 20 Sep 2011 — by karl
Category Music

The title is pronounced like Alicia Silverstone would in the movie Clueless.

Spacey breaks characterize this cinematic track.  Also, the “Shitty Strings” make a reappearance here, to great effect.  Two variations in the main melody maintain a feeling of dread throughout the song.

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Karl D – Like, Haunted

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Karl D – Rasta Breakfast

Posted 13 Aug 2011 — by karl
Category Music

Some may find the title a little silly, but the ideas behind it are plenty serious.  Allow me to explain:

Rastafarians, as part of their culture, adhere to a strict diet that includes no meat, and mostly fresh fruit and vegetables.  Having this kind of a diet in Rastafarian culture is referred to as “Ital“.  The primary goal of adhering to these kinds of dietary principles is to  increase the purity of the food they eat.

Although you won’t be seeing dreadlocks on my head anytime soon, the overall Jamaican influence of this track was inspired by my own dietary experiences lately.  The food I eat these days generally does not include processed food, high amounts of fat or sugar, and as few preservatives as possible.  Doing so has certainly benefited my well being overall.  I think that having learned about Rastafarian culture over the years has, to some degree, helped me understand why it is important to care about what you eat.

So, I’m returning the favor with some deep-dub reggae.

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Karl D – Rasta Breakfast

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Karl D – SCAR

Posted 17 Jul 2011 — by karl
Category Music

If you can figure out the acronym without any help from me, you deserve a prize.  Put it in the comments if you think you’re clever enough!

My goal was for “SCAR” to be somewhat of a hybrid of acid house, dub, and techno.  Like some of the previous entries, this track’s instrumentation is stripped down to the bare essentials.

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Karl D – SCAR

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Karl D – Solid Ground

Posted 15 Jul 2011 — by karl
Category Music

OK, trying to get back on track here…It’s been a while but I’ve got at least a couple things to share with you in the short term.

Today’s selection might be a bit unfriendly, depending on your perspective.  life.remixed is taking a rather minimal turn overall.

The beat was constructed using only one instrument(the bass drum).  Then, the sample was reversed, chopped, and repeated until it actually had a pretty diverse sound. That, mixed with some moody atmospherics makes a dissonant concoction with a very ominous presence.

This track reminds me of a similar “beautifully ugly” random beat(4_09).

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Karl D – Solid Ground

 

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Karl D – Reconstitution

Posted 24 Jun 2011 — by karl
Category Music

I think you’ll find this has a very different sound than the last offering.

“Reconstitution” straddles the line between dub and trance(Dub-trance?  Is that even a word?).  Earlier on, there was more focus on the trance elements, like the synth line(which has a rhythm I would consider very important to this track).  The dub influences didn’t come until the later stages of making the track.  I’m happier for it; the dub piano(with just a hint of glitch), along with the echoey drums and the big bassline, really help this track stand out.

 

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Karl D – Reconstitution

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Karl D – Collapse

Posted 28 May 2011 — by karl
Category Music

Check out the first track from life.remixed.  “Collapse” is a somber exercise in minimalism which still has room for some variety.  There’s a nice rave stab before the halfway point that breaks up the otherwise dead-serious tone of the song.

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Karl D – Collapse

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Announcing life.remixed

Posted 27 May 2011 — by karl
Category Music

It’s been a while in the making, but I’ve finally pulled together enough ideas that I feel comfortable starting to release my latest project, life.remixed into the wild.

“life.remixed” started several years ago as a general brand for the site(back when you probably weren’t the ardent listener you surely are now).  I’ve found a renewed interest in the ideas around it, and I’ve been developing some general ideas about making an album around the concept.  Much of the material will be based around everyday perceptions and our experience here on Earth.  This project is a back-to-basics approach to electronic music, with an intent on being approachable yet consistent with the “Karl D/randombeats.com Sound”.

It’s fairly uncommon that I release artwork with my albums, mostly because I personally don’t really have much talent in that regard.  However, a few times a year, my graphic design skills prime my creative capacity enough to sit down and crank out something mediocre. This time I had a concept in mind, and the artwork was simple enough that I could do it on my own.  So, as a special preview, here’s the artwork for life.remixed(click for larger size):

life.remixed

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the cover bears some resemblance to Existential Funk.  In some ways, this album is the “true sequel” to it(in a way that recent EP releases are not), and shares some of the same general concepts.

Stay on the lookout over the next several days for the first track from life.remixed. Lots more content will be on the way soon, and will be the focus of this site for the near future.  Please see below for a downloadable alternate cover you can use as your computer’s wallpaper.  See also the original life.remixed image from 2004!

 

life.remixed wallpaper(randombeats.com version)

original life.remixed image(approx. 2004)

 

 

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