Fancy a schooling from one of the UK’s most respected producers Zed Bias?
That’s exactly what you can get this Saturday – September 13 2014 – between 12.30 – 3.30pm GMT as the UK garage don and tutor at the Manchester Midi School live-streams his lecture for the Music Production Diploma course students. He’ll be holding a discussion on remixes (of which he’s officially done well over 100) before showcasing his own take on the dark art of remixing. If we’re lucky, we’ll get to see an entire track created from start to finish within the short three-hour window.
“The bones of it will certainly go down in two hours,” he explains. “They never used to, though. I’d be lucky if I made one remix in a week! But I want to show the class, and anyone watching via live stream, what you can achieve if you have a process and a prepared way of working…”
Sounds cool, right? Anyone can check the live stream over on the Manchester MIDI School’s site and this is how Zed sees it going down…
“I’ll be turning up to the class with a choice of acapellas and giving the class the choice on what they want to hear. I dare say one will be Neighbourhood! Then I’ll give the class a bit of background on remixes, their importance and their role within the industry. Then I’ll take a straw-poll vote on the type of remix the class wants me to do. It’s a democracy… I just hope they don’t ask for a drum & bass or gabba remix! If they want a house or garage remix I rate I’ll be able to do something decent.”
What I want people to take away is simply this: it’s fun. The only reason I’m still doing it is because it puts a big smile on my face.
Admitting that the live stream will add a little pressure, Bias (real name Dave Jones) wants to make sure the full emphasis isn’t on the final product but more the process, how he’s learnt to develop his efficiency and, above all, how making music is fun.
“After 20 years of pushing buttons and twisting knobs and knackering my hearing, I still absolutely LOVE what I do,” explains the man who didn’t study music at college and was first introduced to electronic music was as a bouncer at legendary UK raves Dreamscape and Helter Skelter during the early 90s.
“I think it’s important to really emphasis the enjoyment over anything else. Some people might apply for courses like this because they think it guarantees a life of fame. The TV shows and reality shows perpetuate that myth of being famous for famous sake and, being my age and having to work so hard over the years, I have to tell people how it is. They’re listening to me for guidance. They get it straight. What I want people to take away is simply this: it’s fun. The only reason I’m still doing it is because it puts a big smile on my face.”
With an attitude like that, and the chance to watch something unique getting built from scratch, that’s three hours on a Saturday afternoon incredibly well invested.
Saturday 13 2014: 12.30 – 15.30 GMT: Do not miss it.
Interested in learning music production in a more hands-on way? The Manchester Midi School also run monthly free music production taster courses. Get involved!
About MMS Sessions…
MMS Sessions, hosted by the Manchester Midi School, is series of workshops, interviews, mixes and masterclasses with producers, label bosses, publicists, promoters, DJs, and all the other wonderful combinations of people doing their thing in the music industry.
The aim of MMS Sessions is to bring musical discussion and interaction to the forefront, to educate, inspire and encourage the relationship people have with music, and have some fun whilst doing it!
Access to music is an important ethos of MMS Sessions, as with the Manchester Midi School. As such, we stream these sessions so that the online community can watch and re-watch, and where possible we offer up 50% of the seats available for MMS Sessions for the public to attend. MMS Sessions are always free.
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