Feature: TATE SEDAR Decodes “Oh Caroline (TATE SEDAR Remix) - The 1975”
Can you share any interesting or unique musical elements or production techniques used in "Oh Caroline (TATE SEDAR Remix) - The 1975?"
Hey, guys! So with this remix, I think what’s unique about it is that it combines both analog and digital elements, which is part of my new sound in ‘post-EDM’ (you can learn more on my socials or website). There is a piano stem from the original as well as new guitar samples and a heavy saw that - put together - make this really fat, hybrid guitar-synth lead. And there are acoustic drums mixed in with the electronic drums, which you can hear isolated in the intro, that give it a rock band-like feel but still feel modern with layering.
What was the initial spark or idea that led to the creation of the remix?
Well, I’d seen The 1975 a couple times and messed around with some of their tracks. I started doing this remix of “The Sound” back in college, but now - kind of feels old. Then I started working with “Frail State of Mind” but that actually turned into an original thing. And then this track came up last year as a single in March from their last album, and it really felt like: “Ok, I can work with this.”
And you know, I think deep down - maybe this isn’t the most conventional way to start a musical relationship - but I would like to work with the band or Matty [Healy] at some point. But I think what has really drawn me to their music and creating projects out of them is that there’s always a commercial viability to it as well, I don’t know…just a simpleness to their arrangements. There is still always an alternative feel - and with all these things, I thought this is really something I could work with when it came to a remix that took it to the next level.
What impact do you hope this remix will have on your audience?
I hope that it shows electronic music, or what is conventionally known as “EDM,” can be more than just digital sounds: Serum presets, Splice samples or commonly used SFX. Because I feel that these acoustic sounds - guitars, pianos, a traditional drum kit - also have their own sort of affect, or emotion, each. And I hope that when you add that to the electronic soundscape, it’s a whole new experience, emotionally. So basically it’s showing a) that EDM can be more than just synthesized, experimental noise and b) with these additional instruments, it can be an even evolutionary experience to the listener.
What has been the most memorable experience or achievement in your music career so far?
There are two achievements in my music career that have really helped to catapult my career. I will say that one has allowed me to get more opportunities, while the other has added more credibility to my name. And the first is being able to be on the Discovery Project for the EDC Virtual Rave-a-Thon back in 2020 when people couldn’t do shows during the pandemic; so being on this livestream allowed me to get a new audience as well as enter a new realm of progress and, like I said, opportunities. The second of course was getting my first radio play with the track “Heaven” in Hawaii on My95.9. That felt like a big, personal achievement that I could essentially add to the creative résumé.
The most memorable experiences that I’ve had really happened in the last year and that was in the underground. I have some friends who run a collective and event company called Underware which is a combination of the words ‘underground’ and ‘warehouse.’ I had a show at Academy LA last year, that personally I wasn’t feeling in my best element. Like, the show went great but mentally I wasn’t there. And then I did this afterhours set [with Underware], and something just clicked and it felt like probably one of the best sets I’ve ever had. I also did another event with them on New Year’s Eve in San Diego that I couldn’t forget. And I kind of toss between the two, because the first was a little more experimental; the second was like…a little more melodic and I want to say - existential - because it was for NYE. So I kind of right now am sitting on which is better. But I will say, all-in-all, the experiences I’ve had with them so far in my career have been the most memorable.
How do you stay inspired and motivated to continue pushing boundaries in your art?
Staying inspired and doing so to push boundaries I feel like are probably two different things (laughs). But I will say to stay inspired and motivated, in general - and this is what I hope I can share with other artists who have writer's block or are struggling to produce - is to just open an old project. Like, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. If you’re not having a good writing session, it doesn’t mean you have to pull something out of nothing.
I will also say I stay inspired generally by listening to all kinds of music. Because electronic music is one of those only genres you can actually pull other things from into it - maybe of course pop being the obvious contender. And then, in pushing boundaries in my art, I use that experience or inspiration of listening to other music within my ‘post-EDM’ sound; it’s very mixed and indicative of taking modern music, acoustic elements & stuff from the past and putting it into something fresh. So I think that’s where I felt, in this rebrand this year [of ‘post-EDM’], I could use my strength: appreciating all kinds of music, whether it’s commercial, traditional or marketed as nonelectronic; and building it into something that I could call my own.
