Friday, October 16, 2009

Making the MegaMix

When passing by our musical director's office, we usually hear the sounds of a familiar broadway tune playing on the speakers or perhaps a song from an upcoming pre-Broadway premier. In weeks past, however, it's felt a little like stepping into the twilight zone when walking by, when noticing that it's hip-hop and reggae music bumping out of the stereo system.

For the past few weeks, Ian Eisendrath (Resident Musical Director/Music Coordinator) and Albert Evans (Artistic Associate) and have been collaborating with local musicians for the Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat MEGAMIX!

The MegaMix is an energetic mini-retelling of the entire Joseph production at the end of the show and can range from 7 to 20 minutes, depending on production. The interesting
aspect of this piece is that that no music can be found for the MegaMix, which gives our Music
department a creative challenge.

Eisendrath writes “Our goal was to update the MegaMix so that it sounds like something current, fresh and hip that you would hear in a club in downtown Seattle. We hired Dave Pascal, a local musician who is fluent in all styles of contemporary/pop music and DJ Million,a local deejay and drummer who is active in the Seattle hip-hop club scene.”

Evans and Eisendrath created new vocal arrangements, DJ Million created the basic beat patterns and transitions, and Pascal created the instrumental tracks and produced the
recording of the MegaMix in his home studio.

Seen the show? Let us know what you think of the MegaMix!

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