P. Hux Remix Contest
From P. Hux:
First of all, thanks to all the remixers for giving so much love to "My Friend Hates Me." I was blown away by all the efforts from around the world. Many contestants did a great job of sending my song to a whole new dimension and it was a riot going along for the ride.
When listening to the remixes the first thing I looked for was creative imagination. I wanted to feel like the remixer listened to my song, absorbed it, appreciated it--and then answered the question "Where can I take it from here?"
I weeded out remixes that struck me as incomplete, or unrelated to the original song, and wound up with a batch of favorites. I then judged the top contenders on vibe, musicality, technical skill, sense of humor/joy, etc. I ended up liking two remixes the most, one for its inventive constructiveness, the other for its inventive de-constructiveness.
My two favorites are:
When listening to the remixes the first thing I looked for was creative imagination. I wanted to feel like the remixer listened to my song, absorbed it, appreciated it--and then answered the question "Where can I take it from here?"
I weeded out remixes that struck me as incomplete, or unrelated to the original song, and wound up with a batch of favorites. I then judged the top contenders on vibe, musicality, technical skill, sense of humor/joy, etc. I ended up liking two remixes the most, one for its inventive constructiveness, the other for its inventive de-constructiveness.
My two favorites are:
Grand Prize Winners
Morphology Feat. P.Hux by Audio Morphology - listen
Audio Morphology replaced My Friend Hates Me's big ol' guitar riff with saxes, which instantly turned the song into a happier, old school soul version of its snarky, rock guitar self. I loved how Audio Morphology changed the texture of the song while keeping its bones basically intact, even with new drums and new sax parts for the verses. It made me smile and it was definitely different from all the other entries. There was a real sense of joy and surprise. I dug it a lot.
Audio Morphology replaced My Friend Hates Me's big ol' guitar riff with saxes, which instantly turned the song into a happier, old school soul version of its snarky, rock guitar self. I loved how Audio Morphology changed the texture of the song while keeping its bones basically intact, even with new drums and new sax parts for the verses. It made me smile and it was definitely different from all the other entries. There was a real sense of joy and surprise. I dug it a lot.
drive for a friend by PJ PALONE REMIXES - listen
PJ Palone's remix is a real remix. PJP thoughtfully selected a bunch of MFHM's coolest moments and turned them into highlighted rhythmic events in a larger tableau. Since I'm intimately familiar with every single sound on the original recording, no one has a greater appreciation for the choices PJP made regarding which elements to feature in new creative ways. Interesting choice to feature the word "speak"; excellent use of what I call the "duck" guitar, a funny little noise that's one of my favorite moments in the original; nice new bass riff and drums; plenty of airspace around the vocals; beautiful delays, especially on "assholllllllle" which is hilarious; cool newly constructed guitar riff that first appears at 3:05, and so on. Overall I liked the feel of this remix. It's something I enjoy listening to. That's kind of the idea, right?
I would be happy to include both of these remixes on a future P. Hux release.PJ Palone's remix is a real remix. PJP thoughtfully selected a bunch of MFHM's coolest moments and turned them into highlighted rhythmic events in a larger tableau. Since I'm intimately familiar with every single sound on the original recording, no one has a greater appreciation for the choices PJP made regarding which elements to feature in new creative ways. Interesting choice to feature the word "speak"; excellent use of what I call the "duck" guitar, a funny little noise that's one of my favorite moments in the original; nice new bass riff and drums; plenty of airspace around the vocals; beautiful delays, especially on "assholllllllle" which is hilarious; cool newly constructed guitar riff that first appears at 3:05, and so on. Overall I liked the feel of this remix. It's something I enjoy listening to. That's kind of the idea, right?
There were many remixes deserving of honorable mention, probably too many.
I'm hesitant to name just a few and leave more than a few out.
Suffice to say, a lot of great work was turned in.
Cheers to all of you!
P. Hux
Grand Prize Winner
Sony MP3 WalkmanACID Pro
5 Premium Loop Libraries
Merchandise from Parthenon Huxley
About the Contest
There is a lot going on in the world of guitar hero Parthenon Huxley. He has a new album out, a new premium loop library on the streets, and "My Friend Hates Me" for you to remix.
Parthenon—or P. Hux as his friends call him—is no stranger to the pop rock universe. Kiss The Monster is one of many accomplished solo releases, and his chops can be heard on albums by post-ELO group The Orchestra.
Check out “My Friend Hates Me,” do up your own remix, and if you’re feelin’ that P. Hux vibe, check out Parthenon Huxley’s Six-String Orchestra and work with over 1.2 gigs of fresh pop/rock guitar material.
Parthenon also has a special treat for ACIDplanet.com ™ citizens: All Kiss The Monster CDs will be personally signed by P. Hux and accompanied by a Kiss The Monster magnet and a P. Hux guitar pick.
About the Artist
Parthenon Huxley, aka P. Hux, has been dubbed a "pop visionary", "rock's most underrated pop genius" and a songwriting "master." Inspired as a kid by the concise and catchy tunes of the British Invasion, Huxley’s trademark sound combines undeniable hooks with subversively meaningful lyrics.Released over twenty years ago, his first single Buddha, Buddha was a college radio smash. Rolling Stone magazine noticed, exclaiming "You could land a marlin with these hooks!" Buddha, Buddha was a template of the P. Hux style-- think “Hang On Sloopy” meets Albert Camus.
Sample lyric:
I live in a different world
A private solitude
Where I always tell the truth
But I’m lying to you
Although it cost just $400 to record in a single afternoon, the Greensboro (NC) Record called Buddha, Buddha one of the “ten best records ever made in North Carolina."
Huxley followed Buddha with a demo reel that earned him a publishing deal with MCA Music. That lead to a record deal with Columbia, which released his debut album Sunny Nights in 1988. The first single from Sunny Nights, “Chance To Be Loved”, was a Brian Wilson-esque mini symphony co-produced with Grammy winner David Kahne. “Chance” blew away the critics (“We were instantly mesmerized”--Album Network) and earned P. Hux his first Album of the Year nod (Creative Loafing magazine). Sunny Nights has been called an underrated classic of its time. Rolling Stone called it a “monumental debut.”
For various reasons, Huxley refused to release his second album, Mile High Fan. (Mile High Fan finally appeared on the NotLame label in 2006, thirteen years after recording ended). Instead he focused on writing with and producing other artists. He promptly scored Top 20 hits with E (Mark Everett of eels), Sass Jordan (now a judge for Canadian Idol), Foreigner (still touring) and Kyle Vincent (newly named singer for Bay City Rollers!).
In 1995, Huxley returned to his forte as band leader and resurfaced as P. Hux, a trio featuring Huxley on guitar and vocals, Gordon Townsend on drums and Rob Miller on bass. P. Hux debuted with Deluxe, an eleven song album released by indie Black Olive records. Newly married, Huxley’s writing had become more personal and autobiographical. Deluxe flowed like a concept album with a central character battling life’s ups and downs while banking on love to get him through.
Sample lyric from Simple Things:
I guess we’d like to have it all
And rivers rise and comets fall
As long as I can make you laugh
That’s the life I’d rather have
Simple things
Are everything
Deluxe’s songs were hooky as hell and produced by Huxley with a detailed, punchy style that has become a trademark. Deluxe was voted Album of the Year by fans and staff of Audities Magazine and the album’s first single “Every Minute” has been immortalized on Rhino Records’ Poptopia collection as a classic hit of the 90’s. Showtime’s East L.A. drama Resurrection Boulevard featured Deluxe’s “Keep From Crying.”
Huxley’s newly autobiographical style of writing would become even more personal on the next P. Hux release Purgatory Falls. Named after his wife’s beloved farm in New Hampshire, Purgatory Falls is a devastating record that chronicles his wife’s passing due to brain cancer. The love expressed on Deluxe is here transformed to anguish over Huxley’s loss. Compelling for both its subject matter and achingly beautiful music, Purgatory Falls is “potentially the most honest, moving and complete collection of love songs ever put on one record” said Swizzle-stick’s Margot Carmichael Lester. With Dan Rothchild replacing the departed Rob Miller on bass, the P. Hux sound ranged from power-trio rock to string-drenched vignettes. Purgatory Falls was the first album selected to be released by Universal’s new download imprint UMe and Purgatory’s “I Loved Everything” reached #1 on Rolling Stone’s exclusive download chart.
Huxley’s latest album, Kiss The Monster, is a fitting successor to Deluxe and Purgatory Falls. All the hooks, melodic twists and punchy sounds of classic P. Hux return while lyrically KTM chronicles his resurrected life through re-marriage and fatherhood. “My Friend Hates Me”, featured here at Acid Planet, is the album’s showpiece for P. Hux’s guitar playing and sense of humor.
In addition to his own music, P. Hux has collaborated with many artists he admires: Don Dixon(R.E.M., Smithereens), David Kahne (McCartney, Sugar Ray, Bangles), E (eels), Stevie Salas, Robi Draco Rosa, Dave Wakeling, Robert Lamm (Chicago), Jeffrey Foskett (Brian Wilson), Gus, Brother Cane, Rusty Anderson (Paul McCartney), 3kStatic, Matt Barrett, The Woods, Matthew Sweet, Ric Menck, Sass Jordan, Kalan Porter and many others.
In 1998 Huxley joined Electric Light Orchestra Part II (later renamed The Orchestra) and produced the band’s album No Rewind. Huxley’s track “Over London Skies” was 1994’s Most Played Song on pioneering internet radio station PopBang Radio. As guitarist and singer for The Orchestra from 1998 to 2007 Huxley toured the world extensively and performed to hundreds of thousands of fans in more than twenty countries. With ELO’s Mik Kaminski and Kelly Groucutt moonlighting as Poppadomscreech on violin and Jelly Deal on vocals, P. Hux released Homemade Spaceship: The Music of ELO Performed by P. Hux in 2005. Spaceship earned Huxley his third Album of the Year award, this time by the members of online musician’s community - Just Plain Folks.
For more information:
Official Homepage: http://www.parthenonhuxley.com/
Myspace site: http://www.myspace.com/kissthemonster
