The Remix Competition is Live

Chris Haas at Crystal Vortex Records has gone forward with the remix competition. It is currently live and active with a due date on the remixes being October 31 2019. I welcome all entries and look forward to hearing people's interpretations of the Yor Theng sound.

In his description of the music on that page, Chris describes the Yor Theng sound as straying away from the commercialized world of EDM. This is so true. When I set out to make music, I don't usually know what the end result is going to be like. But I do know that it's not going to sound like EDM. I grew up in Windsor, ON which is right across the border from techno stronghold Detroit. Detroit is a fortress of techno and the techno pioneers, newer waves of techno artists, and their following are strongly allied against the over-commercialized stream of EDM. 

Additionally, I want to talk about a little exchange between Chris and I a few months ago when we were talking about remix competitions as being part of the label. In an effort to tell Chris more about myself, I told him that I wasn't a competitive person. Music isn't my competitive sport. But I am participating in these competitions for the label. Well, I have come to see that what I truly don't like is a competitive society where people try to outdo each other in every way. I find that destructive. 

And I grew up with enough examples of it from Canada and the west in general. Let's come back to the idea of success being defined by subjective terms. For some success may mean that they have a good job, and get to come home every night enjoying the fruits of their labours. And it's great because that's what they defined as success. For others, their success is defined by the few hours they work and having enough to eat at the end of each day. For these two kinds of people to come together and argue and try to throw each other under the bus wouldn't make sense. It's like an orange telling an apple "You're not orange enough!" Or how about an apple telling an orange that it fails to meet the standards of appleness? 

However, there certainly is a place for competition. If somebody is a runner and they love training, then what good is training all year round without an opportunity to show your talent? For athletes, competition is a way to constantly improve yourself. They should let out all their competitiveness within the sport and leave it behind them when it's time to go home. It's a matter of channelling that energy into something useful. Sports are a great way for people to channel their competitive energy. But I would find it to be a sign of insecurity if a runner ever went up to a mountain cyclist and said "I'm faster than you on my own two feet!" That is a sign of overcompetitiveness. The runner hasn't expressed enough of their energy and now it's surfacing in the form of negativity. 

I certainly went on a tangent from the Remix Competition. But to wrap it up, I'd like to say that I don't feel that anybody is being overly competitive by partaking in this competition. I don't feel the need to compare and contrast myself with other artists either. On the contrary, I welcome their contributions. But more importantly, I really appreciate the fact that the Yor Theng release is being accentuated this way. The winning remix will be released as a premium release on Crystal Vortex Records - this music label is expanding.

Just Doin' Yor Theng is also available on Amazon.