2009 The Year of the edit

2009 has been the year that Edits have reigned supreme, every week mail outs from record stores across the country are over flowing with edits of everything from Olivia Newton John, to Abba, Fleetwood Mac, Steveie Wonder.. the list goes on.

The debate over the worth of the edit is contentuious. Do they simply screw with what are already amazing records, does adding 8 bars to the beggining and end of a track make it an edit? Can you polish a turd? Do they devalue the originals (especially if you are selling original rare records)?

Edits are not a new thing, Although Harvey was releasing edits on Balck Cock back in 1997 the very idea of the remix, re-edit goes right back to the beggining of the Disco sound when Tom Moulton, wanting to extend the enjoyment of the records he was hearing created extended mixes. This mantle was lter taken up by producers and DJ's like Larry Levan, Shep Petibone and Walter Gibbons. Like Harvey in 1997 and contempories like Greg wilson, these early edit pioneers took a more hands on approach, physically cutting and sticking loops of tape togetehr to form extneded breaks and intro's or to remove noodly parts of track that may not work so well on the dancefloor.

Edit's are now done using ableton or logic, I hear some edits and simply think why? Why would you bother.. stop taking the piss out of me.. however sometimes I listen to an edit and am blown away... an edit can re-invent a song, can put it in the drivers seat of a runaway train bound straight for the dancfloor, can turn it into a blissful baeleric workout.. whilst the advances in technology have democrasized the process of editing it has also opened the flood gates to a whole heap of poo.



Dreams
Eddie C - Make it Better