Deconstructed and Mixed

Here I am, back in October 2005, so excited to own my first ever t.A.T.u. record. Saturday was officially Record Store Day, and I love physical media! The following media, however, is 100% unofficial (and purely digitally created fan-art).

I used the format of an actual bootleg vinyl record to help shape the tracklist for an imagined Remix Version of the album, Dangerous and Moving. Four parts, each approx. 25 minutes long. I enjoy the experience of listening to each part – beginning with an intro, blending the individual tracks into one another, and bookending the two pairs with Dangerous and Moving / Lyudi Invalidi.

I wanted to write something meaningful to describe the inspiration behind the project. Something about how the isolation I felt during the pandemic lead me to find deeper meaning in the music and lyrics of t.A.T.u. – in turn isolating the vocals, drum loops, synths, acoustics and remixing them to create something new, just like we had to adjust to a new normal in the world.

Ultimately, that would all just be bullshit. I do these things because I’m bored and need to relax, or need a distraction. I do find it really fun, but my issue with ideas like these is I hardly ever see them to fruition and ultimately I just feel like an unfulfilled failure. I thought this was going to be one such time. I had initially thrust myself into a project to create a collection to mark the 15th anniversary of Dangerous And Moving. New versions of all the songs, accompanying videos, and new artwork. But this was back in October 2020 and as another lockdown approached, I really needed to take my mind off of all the anxiety I was feeling and distract myself with other tasks (like build a Gingerbread House, and watching all of the Marvel stuff on Disney+ for the first time).

Two whole years passed, and whilst my pandemic anxieties lifted, I had more personal issues to deal with. However, faced with the reality of my time on earth cut short, I found renewed motivation to finish this project. In a short amount of time, technological advancements in AI had become easily accessible to the general public, and using such tools, I was able to fully realise my initial dream of all-new versions of the tracks. 19 songs, featuring over 25 remixes. 100 minutes of all-new interpretations of t.A.T.u. songs.

All About Us – The Veronicas Mashup

The first track that lead me on my journey. The original demo of All About Us was recorded by The Veronicas, but written specifically with t.A.T.u. in mind. Back when I made this, whilst I didn’t have the isolation tools I do now, I did have a few tricks up my sleeve. I managed to make a passable filterpella. From there, I utilised the demo’s middle 8 with The Veronicas, which I have a particular fondness for because it contains a police siren sound effect. Then I used the official instrumental to create a reprise of the first verse which carried the demo vocals through to the final chorus, underneath which I included the original middle 8 from Lena (an idea present in the demo). Originally, I edited a full length video to accompany this mashup, using The Veronicas‘ music video from their single, Lolita. I felt it matched the energy of All About Us. However, I ran into copyright issues, so only a portion of it exists on YouTube.

Космос / Cosmos – Extended Remixes

Initially quite easy to extend, as the demo versions had been leaked on the web in full – almost! Kosmos was one of the first extended remixes I made, back sometime in late 2007 (alongside an extended remix of Ty Soglasna), but its English counterpart was tougher, as the demo for that sounded quite different, and was cut short before we could hear the end. I aimed to create a version that was similar to how the Russian demo ended – with Lena’s vocals sounding as if she’s floating through space. I achieved this by filtering parts of the Cosmos remix by She Wants Revenge.

Friend or Foe – Lost Tribe Mashup
Loves Me Not – Demo and Extended Remixes

One of the only true mashups on the album, this is maybe the entire reason this album exists. t.A.T.u. were very encouraging of anyone creating their own mixes of their songs, and bundled Dangerous And Moving with the components for Loves Me Not and Friend or Foe, along with instructions on where to download Sony ACID, which I promptly did back in 2005, which took my lowly mashups and remixes to a whole new level! The original Loves Me Not demo is curiously recorded by Claire Guy, who worked on a lot of t.A.T.u. songs with Sergio Galoyan. However, Sergio is not listed as a composer on the final version, so I’m unclear as to where this demo came from (such is the way of leaks). The album version from Lyudi Invalidi was remixed by Xudoznik. The idea for making a Friend or Foe mashup was originally done long ago, around 2006. I think my mum had one of those Ibiza compilation albums playing in the car, and I heard a song in the mix that sounded good. I took the version that was from that compilation and used the vocals from the Friend or Foe remix package. As I later found out, Gamemaster was composed by a British duo called Lost Tribe. All of the song’s original mixes from the 90s were remastered and rereleased digitally, which meant now I could use the full instrumental to make a more polished version.

Craving (I Only Want What I Can’t Have) – Demo and Extended Remixes

Initially, and for many years, Craving has been one of my least favourite t.A.T.u. songs. I am ashamed to say, I just didn’t get it. It really stands out on the album. And now I can appreciate it stands out because it may be one of their most unique and powerful songs. The original demo was written and recorded by Lisa Lindley Jones, another artist from England. With Trevor Horn producing the final album version, this song stands alongside such powerhouses as their early work, like How Soon Is Now?

Gomenasai – Orchestral Remix

Gomenasai was the point at which my initial efforts to craft new versions of all the tracks halted. I really wanted to find a way to filter out the drums and shine a light on the amazing strings conducted by Richard Carpenter. Alas, nothing I could do in 2020 produced the sound I wanted to achieve. Thankfully, once I found the tools online to help recreate the components of the song using AI, I was able to get rid of the percussion and let the rest of the track (and Julia and Lena’s vocals) stand alone. I can now present it exactly the way I intended, and it’s still one of my favourite tracks on the album. For the imagined LP Version, I included the sound of the orchestra warming up at the beginning (which was itself created with AI isolation from a completely different band’s track).

Sacrifice – Aural and Extended Remixes

Sacrifice had a few early demo versions that leaked, and once I heard those through the powerful channels of AI isolation, I knew I had to use the emotionally charged synths and strings of the original demo to orchestrate a chilling accompaniment to the lyrics of Sacrifice. The wind heard in the background is actually a slowed and pitched down version of the opening of All About Us. I really like how it evokes powerful imagery, especially when paired with the lyric ‘whisper to me’ – it truly sounds like the voice of a ghost from memories passed is been carried through the air (which makes me think of Wuthering Heights, by Kate Bush). Even before I had the help of AI, there was a Japanese program that I downloaded onto an old Windows XP computer that aimed to filter out all the music and leave just the vocals. I threw the filtered demo acapella up on Soundcloud.

We Shout / Ничья – Aural and Demo Remixes

This track was another that I had always wished to strip back and let the dreaminess of the synths transport you away. I have never had the pleasure of chatting with Martin Kierszenbaum, but I’m a huge fan of his work, and remember reading that he wrote the lyrics for We Shout in the back of a car on the way to the recording. Nichya had existed long before, and was actually one of the first new songs t.A.T.u. performed and teased for the new album. As such, that demo version leaked, and I was able to finally reunite it with the song’s final vocals. I enjoy how the chorus is doubled at the end, and I don’t find the percussion nearly as intrusive as I do on the final album version.

Perfect Enemy / Новая модель – Aural Remixes

Initially, t.A.T.u. pushed for Perfect Enemy to be the second single released. I had wanted to honour and highlight that by opening the 15th Anniversary Edition in a way that more closely resembled one of the early advanced copies. Similarly, on the Russian language version of the album, Novoya Model is the track that immediately follows the Intro. I thought the haunting lyric of “experimental” perfectly fit my idea of the new album, and was going to use it to set the tone of the whole experience. Even before I had the means to filter with AI isolation tools, I used what little tricks I could, inverting the polarities of the left and right channels. Sometimes it worked well, other times not so much. This track was one of the instances where it worked near perfect, and thankfully the vocals for both versions had been posted on the web as acapellas.

Null & Void – Demo Remix
Dangerous and Moving – Russian Remix

For whatever reason, the English language version of Obezyanka Nol was not deemed worthy of inclusion on Dangerous And Moving. Thankfully, everything happens for a reason, and when t.A.T.u. parted ways with their record company we were gifted one final release – The Best, which included unreleased material. One song we finally got to hear was Null & Void, and the Anniversary Remix Version uses an early demo of Obezyanka Nol made during Podnebesnaya (back in 2004, AKA the true start of what would become the album Dangerous And Moving). The theremin-style backing was reprised when t.A.T.u. performed Obezyanka Nol on the Dangerous And Moving tour. Another song included on The Best was the mysteriously subtitled “Russian Version Remix” of Lyudi Invalidi. It was actually remixed by Vanya Kilar, and has a much more hypnotic, electronic-style sound that would later be adapted fully with their next album, Waste Management.

Вся моя любовь – English Remix

One of the unreleased songs we never got to hear officially, All My Love was to be the English language version of Vsya Moya Lyubov. The demo is near perfect in spite of only featuring a rough, one-shot vocal take from Lena. Similar to how their song Stars incorporated both Russian and English lyrics, I still think this kind of approach works well and there’s no reason this song couldn’t have been salvaged. That’s where my remix comes in!

Что не хватает – Demo Remix

If Craving is the group’s most unique English song, the award for most unique Russian language song goes to Chto Ne Hvataet. You’ll notice there’s no question mark at the end of that title, because less literally the lyrics of the song are “What [There] Isn’t Enough [Of]”. I read up on the meaning behind the lyrics to better understand and appreciate the song. The arrangement I made, incorporating the demo which has an awesome and powerful shattering glass sound effect, flips Julia’s second verse with the first verse. The song reads as one person telling the other they’re acting cold and distant despite showing affection in the past, and the other person says it was never affection, just a one-off. The response to that is, rightfully so, much more charged and angry, which is what I tried to convey in the remix by making the vocals sound harsh and aggressive. The response mimics the other person. It’s a really deep and complex song and one that I’ve come to appreciate much more over the years. Thankfully, it is one of the few songs from Lyudi Invalidi available digitally worldwide.

Divine – Instrumental Remix

Again, I’d love to speak to Mr. Cherry Cherry Boom Boom and ask what the deal was with Dangerous And Moving. The track Divine is almost entirely instrumental in itself, and yet it boasts being co-written with Ryan Tedder (who, if you aren’t familiar with his songwriting work, just wait). It also peculiarly calls itself by two names: the Non-LP Version and the Extended Version. Both identical. The original, assumedly short version of the track has never been heard. The rumour is Divine was the reason that led to such an emphasis being put on creating your own remixes in partnership with Sony. There was supposedly a competition to be held for fans to write their own lyrics, with the winner having their song be actually recorded and released by t.A.T.u. (coincidentally, a similar thing would later happen with the song Beliy Plaschik). I believe that rumour, but the American audience I think had passed t.A.T.u. over by the time Dangerous And Moving was finally released, so the focus was shifted to Europe and the rest of the world, with Friend or Foe and Loves Me Not being chosen as the songs fans were invited to remix (and as it happened, both were pushed as singles to promote Dangerous And Moving).

Люди-инвалиды – Molchat Doma Mashup

Old meets new. Whilst I had abandoned my 2020 anniversary project, musical creatives native to Russia had pressed on with their own. Taking inspiration from the music of t.A.T.u. and creating their own 20th Anniversary album. This arrangement of Lyudi Invalidi composed by Molchat Doma is the perfect mix of updating the sound and keeping it authentic to the original, and I like the way I layered the vocals during the verse to sound like a deep, echoing tunnel.

The artwork on my imagined vinyl matches these bookends of opening and closing with Dangerous And Moving / Lyudi Invalidi, by inverting the colours of the design on each side (adopting imagery from the ‘their lives are yellow / black’ lyric). The cover artwork was also two pairs of four parts. The roadside background and monochrome image of Julia and Lena were isolated and upscaled using AI, Whilst the yellow / black caution tape and title font were newly rendered. Once that was done, I looked ahead to what date I could release and ultimately put to bed this mammoth project. I couldn’t put it off until October, and even then it would be the 18th Anniversary – hardly remarkable. The 20th anniversary of All The Things She Said did happen to fall during 2023, but I had missed it in January. I then remembered when I was 19-years-old, and how excited I had been to receive my physical copy of Dangerous And Moving. These days, people are as equally excitable about physical media, and that’s where Record Store Day came to mind. I pushed my creativity to the brink, staying up multiple nights, and was rewarded with a mockup of what this remix album might look like as a physical LP.

Whilst times have changed, and t.A.T.u. definitely no longer represent what they once did, it’s thanks to the fans for my deep, invested knowledge and interest and the whole purpose I put together this album. Having kept hold of bits and pieces throughout the many years. Countless demos, image files, and words shared by the fans – this album was for myself, but truly was a thank you to the fans.