[caption id="attachment_115530" align="aligncenter" width="370" caption="Re-mashed 2NE1 will still set your speakers on fire."]
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Write it, cut it, paste it, save it // Load it, check it, quick – rewrite it// - Daft Punk, "Technologic"
These lyrics from Daft Punk couldn't have described the up-and-coming genre for K-pop any better. Professional and hobbyist DJs are grabbing popular K-pop tracks, flipping them, rehashing them, and introducing their reinventions onto the net.
The fan reception to the remixes has been nothing short of explosive.
"I love the originals, but sometimes I play them out. So when I get to hear these remixes, I love the songs all over again!," gushes a poster, "It's pretty amazing."
What are mash-ups? Take only the crème de la crème from the charts, the most popular and identifiable singles; snip and extract specific lyrics or harmonies; then weave these parts into a central track, which provides the main arrangement and beat.
With an infectious rhythm and smoothly interjecting vocals surprising the listener at every literal second, even those new to K-pop have voiced their approval for the mashups - especially when a remixer uses a beloved American pop song as the foundational melody.
A particular remixer is brought to mind when K-pop digital samplers are discussed: DJ Masa, a self-professed K-pop lover from Brazil, has consistently delivered crisp mash-ups for even the most jaded K-pop fan. With over a million views for his most popular tracks and almost 10,000 hits overall on his Youtube page, DJ Masa's projects are showing the world that K-pop is more sophisticated and pleasing than they're given credit for.
So go ahead, click on those links after the jump. Plug it, play it, and then "turn it up". You'll be glad you did.
Sources: Daft Punk, masamixes.com
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