On YouTube and
iTunes a new Elvis remix makes the rounds. The
classic "Baby Let's Play House" was remixed by
the Italian DJ / Producer Agostino Carollo
a.k.a. Spankox. Time to talk to the man behind
the remix. ElvisMatters and ElvisNews joined
forces and submitted the most talked about DJ in
the Elvisworld today the following questions�
Can you tell us
something about the person behind the name "Spankox"?
My name is Agostino Carollo. I'm a
composer, a record producer and a DJ from Italy.
I'm signed to EMI Music in Germany and to
Universal Music Publishing in Italy. I
approached music studying the violin since I was
6 for 10 years. At the age of 11 I wrote my
first song. I got a degree in Arts and my
specialization is Rock Music. I released so far
four albums and various singles under the names
X-Treme, Eyes Cream, Ago and Spankox. I received
a few gold records for some of my songs like
"Love Song" (Top 10 around Europe and also
covered by the band Right Said Fred in 2002),
"Fly Away" (n.1 in the Billboard Club Chart in
2000 and 5 weeks n.1 in Canada), "Open Up Your
Mind" (Top 10 Billboard), "Put On Your Red
Shoes" (Top 20 in Germany) and "To The Club"
(now a club classic). My latest release as
Spankox is called "So True" was out last month
on EMI in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. I'm
a voting member of the Grammy Academy and I've
had the pleasure and honor of working with
artists like Roxette, Snap!, Vasco Rossi
(Italy's #1 rock star), Mungo Jerry and others.
Are you an Elvis fan
yourself?
I'm a big Elvis fan since I was a kid. I
own almost all Elvis records and he's always
been a big source of inspiration for me.
What made you choose an
Elvis song for a remix?
I was really inspired by "Baby, Let's
Play House" because Elvis' voice in this
recording is full of energy.
JXL and Paul Oakenfold
remixed lesser-known tracks. You picked a
classic. Did you pick this track because you
like it or because the copyright ran out in most
of Europe or because it was a song you liked?
I discovered this track a few years ago,
when I started DJ�ing. I liked it first because
Elvis' super voice and because of its title...
not the sexual meaning actually, but beacuse I
was thinking about the music genre I've been
playing as DJ (house music). I used to arrive in
clubs where the resident DJ was playing hip hop
or R&B and I used to say... "Baby, let's play
house now" and drop a few seconds of a little
edit I did of the original version. So I
couldn't but love this track.
How did you create the
track; what was the material you worked with?
Well I was lucky to get hold of one first
generation analogue copy on 2'' tape of the
original 1954 master. I had to "cook" that tape
(it's a special process) to restore the
recording then I transferred it to a 24bit/96kHz
digital copy and that was my working material.
The whole job was done using Logic and Solid
State Logic hardware to preserve the original
warmth of the sound.
The goal, creating the new arrangement and mix,
was to make it contemporary, but respecting the
original flavour of the track; and I've always
been thinking about what Elvis would have said
if he heard it. My friend Highpass has been
working with me on this production and his
musical taste is excellent.
Was the mix created for
you to play something old in a new setting, a
club, or were there immediate plans for the
release of a single?
Well, the first idea was to try to see if
it was possible to update a track like this.
It's really difficult to do this. It's Elvis!
Several times the whole job was restarted from
scratch. When finally the production was
complete in its final version I started to play
it to several people. All the reactions where
very good, so I started to think about a
release.
The remix was launched
with a strong media campaign: the song got its
debut with a remarkable clip on YouTube and most
media received an official press release. The
song is both available on iTunes, and CD. All
this makes us wonder is this a private project
or is the campaign financed by a bigger company?
There's Coca Cola and Pepsi together for
the first time behind this project and their
logos will be on the CD next to each other. Ehm...
sorry, just kiddin'... It's all based on my
label, Everness. We put our money in this
production and we work in cooperation with our
partner labels around the world.
What kind of reactions
do you get on this mix, and is there a
difference between the reactions from Elvis fans
and dance fans?
The reactions in the club are always
fantastic. Young people love it. But I have to
say it's not a real dance track, it's more pop.
The big majority of Elvis' fans are telling me
that they really like this new version. Also
Nikki, the DJ / musician at Radio Deejay (that's
the most important Italian radio network that
first broadcasted the track last week) who is a
big Elvis fan himself, announced it to 3 million
listeners as the best Elvis remix ever made.
Italian fans are the ones that are pushing this
track to the top of the charts in my country and
I'm really proud of this.
What would Elvis think
of it?
He would be flattered, I hope.
What was the reaction
from the Elvis Estate?
Well I've been in touch with the
publishing side and their Italian
representatives, who think the work is very
good. So I hope we can find an agreement soon to
be able to release the track also in the USA.
Do you follow the
discussions on Elvis message boards RE: your
remix?
Like with all remixes, this song too has
it�s defender and attackers. One message board
poster thought it was �extremely poor taste� to
try to change (or even "rape") a fifties
recording, the �pure era� of rock �n� roll.
Had you expected that
kind of controversy?
I read the posts, yes. I think it's
normal, because this is Elvis. But I was happy
to see the results of your poll: more than two
thirds of the persons who responded think that
this remix is good for Elvis.
Do you think this mix
could do as well as the previous two remixes
did?
It surely has a big potential potential.
I think it's up to old and new Elvis fans to
support it now. Anyway I think it would be a
good message to young music fans to see Elvis at
the top of the charts again. In Italy, being the
track already at the top of the charts and on
the radio Elvis is now known also by kids that
never got into is music and this is good.
We were a bit puzzled by
the CD with a vinyl pressing on the flip side.
Was that made as a gimmick, or is there another
reason?
I know it's difficult to believe, but
it's true. It will be the first of its kind on
the market. The Vinyl CD consist of two layers,
one side vinyl, the other is polycarbonate (the
CD side). Wasn't Elvis an innovator? I struggled
to be able to do the first important
international commercial release on this new
format.
Which other Elvis track
would you like to remix and what kind of "sound"
would you give it?
You know, there is one that I would
really like to do, but only if the Elvis Estate
will let me use the original multitrack. I'll
let you know...
Thanks for your time,
good luck with your (future) remix projects.
The Vinyl CD edition contains:
Baby Let's Play
House - Radio Edit
Baby Let's Play House - Extended Version
Baby Let's Play House - Original Version
Baby Let's Play House - Ringtone
Baby Let's Play House - Video Clip
Posted: 10th. December 2007