Remixing Lady Gaga & Beyoncé: Ming Gets the Call for "Telephone"

March 29th, 2010 by Trenton

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CHELSEA, MANHATTAN: Ming does not wing it. No way could the composer/producer/remixer AKA Aaron Albano be making up a high-powered career path like this by moving from minute to minute.

But maybe that’s exactly his game plan. Ming’s talent has been getting him the call to do everything musical – and fun – under the sun. As half of Ming + FS, his breakbeats opened shows for Sting, Moby, and Run DMC. As a composer his sounds have shown up on “CSI: Miami“, Weeds, and games for EA Sports. As an entrepreneur, his perpetual motion keeps things moving at film/TV/commercial house Habitat Music, which he co-runs with Harold Stephan (who’s also the brains behind the successful 20dot20 industry mixers).

Ming

Our interest with this multiman today, however, is his (s)election as the remixer for Lady Gaga’s #1 charting single “Telephone” featuring Beyoncé. He already has remixes for the Black Eyed Peas, Kelis, Katie Perry and Puffy already under his belt – now freshly returned from Miami and the Winter Music Conference, Ming met our massive missives on remixing the Lady G.

Q: What gets you excited about remixing – how do you take on a new project?

A: I approach each remix as if I tracked the vocals myself and I’m producing the track for a new audience.  I try not to let the weight of the original track influence my musical direction — instead, I create a groove that supports the vocals in a new way, making the songs fresh.

Q: That sounds like a good start. What does a good remixer need to be thinking about from the outset, in your humble opinion?

A: You have to acknowledge who the audience of the remix is and then create the best song for that audience.  For example, if the remix is a big room dance mix then it had better be booming!  If it’s for hip hop radio, then you need to keep the song in radio format and stay true to the culture.

Q: Besides having the right attitude, why else do you think people tap Ming to remix? We hereby give permission for you to praise thyself.

A: People know me as a pretty diverse producer/re-mixer.  I do big club electro mixes, hip hop mixes, rock mixes, indie rock mixes, pop mixes, everything.  You’ll always get a remix from me that gives the original a run for its money.  I like to use organic instruments to humanize the song, like live guitar and bass, and I don’t hand a mix in until I know its money.

Plus, I’ve been a touring DJ and writer producer for over 14 years, so I know how to rock a party and how an audience will react to a mix — speaking from experience, no one can tell you how good a remix is like an audience of 5000 fans.  When you’re on point with a mix the crowd lets you know — yes, I often try out my mixes on tour before I hand them in.

Most importantly, I don’t say “yes” to every remix opportunity.  If I don’t have any ideas or don’t like the music, I’ll pass until something great comes my way.

Q: Working with Lady Gaga obviously qualified. How did you end up working on the “Telephone” remix – what made you a good match for her and this song?

A: My manager Stephanie LaFera brought the mix in through Dave Rene at Interscope.  Lady Gaga is pop/punk in some ways,  I dig that.  My mix is a combination of indie guitar and bass that opens up into a big club electro thing.  Her personality is a bit “fuck you”, and so is mine, at times.  Great minds think alike, I guess!

Ming drove "Telephone" all the way home.

Q: We’re so glad you’ve never said “fuck you” to us! Gosh, that would sting. So what were your objectives for the remix, sonically speaking? How did you approach achieving it?

A: My objectives were simple: create a big club electro house mix that both radio jocks and club DJs will spin.  I stayed true to the genre and created unique live instrumentation to make the mix pop.  I also wanted to keep the vocals intact instead of chopping them up.

(SonicScoop peeps can hear the remix and alternate remixes at http://www.mingsmusic.com/remixes.)

Q: How do you think your studio – Habitat/Hood Famous Music made an impression on the record? Did you experiment with any new hardware or software?

A: On this mix I really focused on the combination of live-versus-programmed sounds.  Dance tracks need to be pretty locked in time for DJs to spin, but I experimented with the feel of the live instruments over the programmed drums, giving the track a little more of a human feel in the intro, and then let the full-on electronic vibe kick after the first big drop.

Later on in the mix I switched the programming up for the Beyoncé vocals.  It’s kind of like three tracks in one.

Q: No remixer is an island, right? Who or what is inspiring you right now?

A: I’m pretty inspired by life, nature, art, dancing, my wife, my dogs, traveling and other musicians trying to push the envelope.  Wolfgang Gartner, CLASSIX, MSTRKRFT, and Soulwax have released some really interesting mixes in the past two years.   Sonically and genre-wise, they are some top-notch mixers.

Q: How is the role of the remix evolving? How is it different from the way it was a few years ago?

A: We’re back to a single-driven market, so a great remix can really help move artists forward.  I know of a number of bands who have started to play the remix version of their original live, particularly when the remix is more popular than the original.

Q: How life…it imitate art. What advice do you have for people reading this who may want to get into remixing?

A: What’s great about the business today is that the acapellas to a lot of new songs are available on the internet.  That being said, if you want to make money remixing you’ll still need to create amazing mixes and build a name for yourself as an artist/remixer/producer or DJ.

Most importantly, play your mixes for people and watch and listen to their reactions: You’ll only get better if you can pinpoint your weaknesses and go back and work on those mixes.

Q: Solid! So why are you an NYC guy?

A: I heart NYC and NYC hearts me.  I get my energy from this town and this town is big enough for my energy.  It’s expensive, fast paced, loud, proud and over the top.  Just like my mixes. — David Weiss