So I'm on the topic of remixes at the moment and No Woman No Cry is something I've thought would be quite fun to have a go at. So although I don't have a high audio quality version of this track to listen to this embedded YouTube clip might give me some inspiration for this idea.
What I can hear:
The instrumental is driven primarily by the organ part with the occasional horn part attached to the end of a phase. The backing vocals can be heard mostly leading transitions between verses whilst the lead vocal part of the original supports Tupac in the chorus section. It's unexpected here but I can hear an occasional cheer and chant from a live audience.
Transitions:
There is some turntablism in this track punching in a 16th note 'roll' rounding out each 8 bar phase of the beat. The organ loop reaches its point of 'upward momentum' at this point also creating an effective anchor for the loop to sound congruent.
Chopping for variation:
Within this genre, one easy way to create a break section for extra dynamics is to alternate a staccato variation of the loop. This can be heard clearly at 2:34 which fills the small need for variation at the point leading into the last chorus before the "Everything's Going to Be Alright" conclusion.
A final note on drums:
The consistent off-beat hi hat fills the space in the groove smoothing out the dynamics somewhat. It is effective in this case where it matches the up-beat feel of the rest of the sounds. The backbeat on two and four is a snare layered with a clap which is a common system used in the genre. My ear tells me that the clap is nudged slightly late to make it more audible in the mix.
Some thoughts:
After listening to this I've noted a couple of considerations to make for my remix. As I will not have access to vocalist in my project I need to ensure that my treatment of the original vocal is such that it still comes our differentiated from the original. Aside from that, my efforts in the instrumental side of the production must require some extra effort in variations to maintain interest throughout the track. I think I'd like to experiment more with the effects processing at my disposal. With that, this has been good to listen to a second take on an original to help me develop some ideas of my own.
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