Publication: Eduardo Navas, “Re-versioning The Elements of Selectivity: Transformation and Originality after Remix,” Radical Cut-Up – Nothing is Original, ed. Luka Feireiss (Amsterdam: Sternberg Press, 2019), 227 – 244.
Figure 1: Diagram showing the tautological process of meaning creation.
Note: This essay was published in November 2019 and is released online on December 30, 2020. I will be publishing an update on the theory of selectivity to be released in 2021, which considers the implications of creativity and the selective process in relation to machine learning and artificial intelligence titled “Machine Learning and Remix: Self-training Selectivity in Digital Art Practice.” For a previous release of my basic Theory of Selectivity see “The Elements of Selectivity: After-thoughts on Originality and Remix.” A special thanks to Luka Feireiss who suggested a mashup of my own theories for this version.
The following is a re-version of my theory of selectivity in remix, edited specifically as a contribution for the publication Radical Cut-Up – Nothing is Original. An earlier version of the section titled “The Elements of Meta” was published as part of the last chapter of my book Art, Media Design, and Postproduction: Open Guidelines on Appropriation and Remix (Routledge, 2018). The diagram and the updated text that follow include a new theory on transformation, which was developed after a presentation at The Popular Culture Association Conference of 2019.[1]
[1] The diagram and general theory of selectivity are updated after my presentation for a panel at The Popular Culture Association Conference, which took place in Washington D.C. on April 19, 2019. I want to thank xtine burrough for organizing the event, as well as Seth Welker, who took the time to initially contact presenters, who also included Scott Church. The presentation led to a series of discussions during and after Q&A that led me to reconsider the configuration of the selective process in creativity and communication. I especially thank xtine for bring up during our discussion the importance of the transformative process in remix. Her question led me to comment on transformation being part of the loop of selectivity and appropriation. Previous versions of this text were presented throughout 2017, specifically on October 10 at the Arts & Design Research Incubator (ADRI), Penn State, on October 11 at The University of Caldas in Manizales Colombia, on November 1 at The University of Bern, Bern Switzerland, and as a lecture at Karen Keifer-Boyd’s graduate seminar class at Penn State on November 8. I want to thank everyone who made my presentations possible.
My essay “The Originality of Copies: Cover Versions and Versioning in Remix Practice” was published in The Journal of Asia-Pacific Pop Culture. My thanks to Sean Lowry, and Aleksandr Andreas Wansbrough for all their editorial help for the eventual publication of this article. I thank the anonymous peer reviewers who provided indispensable feedback to improve my argument. Download the PDF.
Abstract:
In this article I analyze the cover version as a specific form of copying in music recording and performance, and then evaluate it as a cultural variable that is part of the creative process in remix practice. This analysis demonstrates that cover versions, versioning, editing, sampling, and remixing are dependent on copying and, for this reason, my eventual focus is on the relation of copies to originals and copies to copies. Another important element examined throughout the essay is the role of selectivity in the creative process as a foundational principle of communication and how it shapes varying popular and individualized assumptions about definitions of originals and copies.
Keywords | appropriation, art, cover versions, cultural studies, media studies,
remix studies, remix theory
The Steve Reich Remixes consists of four mashups of selected tracks of Steve Reich’s Music for 18 Musicians.
I selected tracks from Reich’s original recordings based on their time: 6, 5, 4, or 3 minutes, and matched them to end at the same time. The tracks part of each mix last more than the number which appears in its proper title (after the @) but less than an extra full minute. These remixes are developed based on my previous experimentation with chance in mashups of John Cage’s Compositions for Piano.
This improvisation by Hach & Navasse was recorded on 12/21/1999. It consists of a series of loops from CDs improvised on two Pioneer CDJ-500IIs, a guitar and synthesizer. It was recorded on a four track analog recorder.
Hach & Navasse (Justin Peloian and Eduardo Navas) was formed during our graduate studies at Cal Arts during the years 1998 – 2000. Justin played guitar and keyboards, and I played loops on the CDJs and Turntables We performed in a series of events and recorded improvisational sessions from 1998 to about 2002 at which time we stopped collaborating and moved our separate ways.
A few months ago I found a digital version of the recording, along with a few other improvisations, which I had in storage. After listening to it a few times I decided that it was worth sharing online, because, with hindsight, I believe there are some decent moments in the thirty plus minutes of this piece. Many thanks to Justin for letting me share our collaboration online.
Track List:
1. Loop: unknown timbal loop by Unknown
2. Loop: E Preciso Perdoar by Cesária Évora, Caetano Veloso, Ryuichi Sakamoto
3. Loop: This City Never Sleeps by Eurythimics
4. Loop: I Waited for You by Dizzy Gillespie
5. Loop: Mind Trips (remix) by Brand New Heavies
6. Sliced Loop P. 1: Ko-wo Ko-wo (on top of “Mind Trips”) by Cachao
7. Loop: Influx by DJ Shadow
8. Sliced Loop P. 2: Ko-wo Ko-wo (on top of “Influx”) by Cachao
This is a recording of a DJ set practice session for a performance which took place at the Remixed Media Festival IV on April 26, 2014 at Culturehub/La Mama, NYC. The recording was done on April 23, 2014, and features all the songs that were mixed live. The improvisational aspects of transitions and remixing of tracks in the recording differs from the live performance as it is in these areas where a DJ takes artistic license to improvise.
Description from the Festival’s website:
Eduardo Navas’s research and writing on remixing as a creative act across culture is founded on his long term interest in DJing as an art form. His DJ set for RE/Mixed Media Festival IV will consist of a mix of early funk tracks, heavy Hip Hop bass samples, and selected reggae and caribbean-influenced beats.
Many thanks to Tom Tenney and Robert Prichard for making the Remixed Media Festival Possible for 4 consecutive years.
Eduardo Navas’s research and writing on remixing as a creative act across culture is founded on his long term interest in DJing as an art form. His DJ set for RE/Mixed Media Festival IV will consist of a mix of early funk tracks, heavy Hip Hop bass samples, and selected reggae and caribbean-influenced beats.
John Cage 3 Compositions for Piano @ 5 (Remix) is a mashup of three compositions that last around 5 minutes. After listening to the compositions over the years, I realized that a mashup of the three recordings would follow the principles of chance as promoted by Cage. The compositions mashed include:
1) Music for Piano 2: 5:21
2) Roots of Unfocus: 5:01
3) Music for Marcel Duchamp: 5:20
This mashup is part of an ongoing series of remixes of John Cage piano compositions.
The recordings were performed by Steffen Schleiermacher, and released in John Cage Complete Piano Music Volume1 & 2, 1998.
John Cage 3 Compositions for Piano @ 4 (Remix) is a mashup of three compositions that last around 4 minutes. After listening to the compositions over the years, I realized that a mashup of the three recordings would follow the principles of chance as promoted by Cage. The compositions mashed include:
1) Primitive: 4:03
2) Music for Piano 1: 3:47
3) Music for Piano 37-52 , Part 1: 4:01
This mashup is part of an ongoing series of remixes of John Cage piano compositions.
The recordings were performed by Steffen Schleiermacher, and released in John Cage Complete Piano Music Volume1 & 2, 1998.
John Cage 2 Compositions for Piano @ 3 (Remix) is a mashup of two compositions that last just over three minutes. After listening to the compositions over the years, I realized that a mashup of the two recordings would follow the principles of chance as promoted by Cage. The compositions mashed include:
1) And the Earth Shall Bear Again: 3:15
2) Spontaneous Earth: 3:05
This mashup is part of an ongoing series of remixes of John Cage piano compositions.
The recordings were performed by Steffen Schleiermacher, and released in John Cage Complete Piano Music Volume1 & 2, 1998.
