Cam Colston has gained a name for himself with his unique productions, especially his emphatic remixes.
His remix of Morgan Page’s ‘Beautiful Disaster’ is yet another example of his ability to combine powerful Dance anthems and evocative melodies to create a track suitable for anyone and everyone. We caught up with the Las Vegas based producer to learn a bit more about how he made the remix!
T.H.E – So Cam, what made you decide to remix this song?
Cam Colston – I was looking for a new project to remix, so I turned to Splice. They often run remix contests (like this one), and it’s a great way to find new material to work with. It’s usually the first place I check for remix opportunities.
T.H.E – It’s a really emotional, powerful piece of music. Do you think you captured the emotion and feelings you wanted to in your remix?
Cam Colston – I believe I captured what I was aiming for with my remix. I certainly hope it translates well for the listeners! Like you mentioned, it’s already an emotional piece of music, and I really just wanted to add some more energy and drama to it.
T.H.E – Do you have any particular influences you think are behind any elements of the track, or is it all unique?
Cam Colston – I’ve always drawn inspiration from melodic progressive tunes in general, and I like to include those types of elements in my music. That’s how the idea for the plucks during the buildup developed, and having that idea really ended up guiding me through the development of the rest of the track!
T.H.E – How long did it take to complete the track after starting it?
Cam Colston – It was about a week from the time I downloaded the stems until I had the project where I wanted it to be. This one came together pretty smoothly for me. The majority of the time was spent on minor tweaks; that last 5-10% of polish that’s needed on a track to really bring it all together! Having a deadline on remix contests can sometimes be really helpful for your workflow.
T.H.E – This is a great way to start the New Year, are you ready to get working on more music for us? And can we have any hints of what to look forward to?
Cam Colston – Yes! I actually just released another remix, of ‘Bom Diggy’ by Zack Knight & Jasmin Walia. It’s definitely a bit of a different vibe than this remix, but something you should still check out for sure!
I’m also finishing up a handful of tracks that will be released a little later on in 2018. There are a few different styles of tunes currently, but you can absolutely expect more progressive from me soon!
T.H.E – Sometimes producers find it hard to finish off a track – did you struggle or did it flow nicely?
Cam Colston – Like everyone else, I have those tracks where it just seems impossible to finish it or get it where you want to be. For this remix though, everything flowed very nicely. I had a really good idea of the melody and type of sound I wanted to work with for the buildup and the drop right away, so it was really a matter of just developing those sounds and getting the arrangement to a point I was happy with.
T.H.E – Do you have a method to starting each track, and did this one differ?
Cam Colston – I don’t have a specific method or go-to formula when it comes to starting a track. It really just depends on how I’m feeling at the time! For this remix, I got the stems imported into my DAW and got the tempo up to where I wanted it, I added in some basic percussion just to get the idea together, and then I began working on the plucky buildup melody. From there I worked on the rest of the arrangement, cleaned up the percussion, and then made my way to the drop. After that, there’s a lot of fine-tuning on things like automation that make a huge difference.
T.H.E – How would you describe your remix to Morgan Page?
Cam Colston – I would probably say that it’s an uplifting progressive remix with a bit more energy than the original. I certainly hope it retains enough of the original track’s essence while still being unique!
T.H.E – Finally, where can we get our hands on the track?
Cam Colston – You can pick it up right on SoundCloud at the link below. There is a ‘Free Download’ button directly under the track!
