Interview with Preemium The Remake King
Since I first started hearing Preemium's work, I knew the kid had mad skills. He always impressed me with the level of quality remakes he would share with us here at Warbeats. While he doesn't make remakes as prolifically as he used to, his "Preemakes" have yet to be touched in terms of quality AND quantity AND that the remakes never used third party plug-ins. The Remake King tells us a little about himself and his methods.
[I've had this interview in storage for a while. My apologies to Preemium for not getting it out there sooner]
Here are some samples of the work he's done. Remember, other than the odd sample or kits, he only uses STOCK FL sounds in these! Also they are available for download in the file area. Check the links at the end of the interview:
Q. What made you want to start doing remakes?
A. In all honesty, I wanted to start remaking beats just because I felt Warbeats deserved more quality remakes that it had around the time I joined the site. I remember downloading all of the early remakes, and as time went by, along with the bad music on the radios, bad remakes hit the site (not exactly bad, just they could've been more polished), so I wanted to remake the good songs that were still around.
Q. How has making remakes helped you in your original beats?
A. For the people who've actually heard my music, you'll be very surprised how much remaking beats has influenced my music. I learn so much about producers and their styles by remaking the beats, and everytime I finish one after another, I hope that people that learn exactly what I did as I remade 'em.
Q. What is the hardest part about doing a remake?
A. The hardest part about doing a remake is exactly the same reason most people download remakes: the sounds. When I do remakes, I could probably remake any beat that most people think is impossible because of all the VSTs I've got, but I achieve less in remaking a beat by doing that. It's better to find freeware soundfonts for the remakes so people can learn more about mixing, editing, modifying sounds with the different effects. Only problem would be when it's really hard to find a sound, and that's what I spend most of my time on when I do a remake.
Q. You seem to get pitch/key of the songs perfectly. Do you have a natural ear for finding the notes or is it a lot of trial and error?
A. I'd have to say that it's kind of both natural AND trial 'n' error. From the beginning, I already had knowledge in music for the various instruments I already knew how to play, so I kind of had a natural ear for it. When I began remaking beats, music theory didn't help me know EXACTLY what keys were played in certain melodies of the song, only sometimes. So at first, it was just me listening to the beat, and playing keys on my keyboard until I got it, but since I've done it for so long, it feels natural now.. lol What can I say? Practice makes perfect.
Q. Speaking of musical styles, how would you define your style and what sub-genre(s) are you most influenced by?
A. Personally, I'd like to believe that my style couldn't be defined because of how often I try to be different with every sound and instrument I use in my music.. BUT, if I had to describe it, I'm never going to stick with just hip-hop/rap, or just R&B; I'll make music for any artist, no matter what genre they belong to, and I'll just make sure that the beat is soulful and deep with signature "Pree" sounds.. lol. To fully understand what I mean, you'd had to take a listen to my music firsthand, but at the moment, since leaving DT Productions, I'm building my way up rather slowly. But as said before, my style would best be defined with the word "soulful". That's also exactly the type of music that has influenced me from the start, especially R&B. I don't care too much for rap, but many R&B songs that I've been influenced by have all helped me make my own style. (NFX, you can cut any part of this long paragraph if you'd like)
Q. Some people may not know you were a big part of the DT Production remakes early on. Was it 2 years or so? Your roots run deep with respect to top quality remakes. Has it been harder doing the remakes solo?
A. Haha. It seems like 2 years or a while doesn't it? lol No, it was barely a year, but working with Dennis (Scarface623) was definitely a good experience for me in my small music career. No matter what it was, original beats, or remakes for this site, I learned many things from him, and he learned many things from me, and that's what "DT Productions" was for the longest time, just me and him experimenting with both of our style to make our music. Remaking beats with him was just the same; there are some parts in the remaking I'd have no idea how to get, and he'd get it, or vice versa.. It's been a little bit harder doing them solo, because obviously it wouldn't be easier with just one person, but from what I've learned with working with him, we've both got the knowledge now to do it on our own. (NFX, you can cut any part of this long paragraph if you'd like)
Q. Can you describe your process for making a new original beat from scratch?
A. Whenever I make a new original beat from scratch, it all really depends on how I creative I am on that day. Some days, starting from the morning, to the shower, to eating lunch, I'll have this melody ringing in my head, so when I finally get to my keyboard, I lay it down, and just work around that. Usually, to get that creative tick going in my head, I always sleep with music on.. lol It may seem weird to some, and I think so, too.. But, for me, it works. At first, I just put music on so wheneva I tossed and turned, I'd have something to listen to as I tried to fall asleep, but now I do it regularly because I can tell that it really affects how my music is. (lol take that as a tip from me) But if there's a day when it feels as if I had a "writer's block" for beatmaking, I set a goal for what type of song I'd like to make, and then it usually follows this order:
1. Start with a 4-bar chord progression
2. Sing melodies that I can hear going along with the chords, and add it along
3. Add the drums
4. Then, I just repeat the process to make a good chorus, and good bridge
(here's another tip: to spice up your beats even more, always try to make your chorus have a different vibe than of the verses, and same with the bridge)
Q. Describe your process when mixing a beat just before you render it to a final version. Do you focus on drums first? Lead? etc...
A: When a lot of people (mainly beginners) discover the wonders mixing your track can do, many of them overdo it, kind of like when you over think a math problem. The best way to go about it is to first, just use your common sense. When you've got different sounds to choose from, don't pick a kick that sounds like crap, you know? Same with sounds, pick with something that naturally sounds good. When you've got your beat, then mixing it should be as simple as just listening to seeing what needs to shine more or something. My best advice is to never overdo it, like a lot people here do (like with reverbs and other effects); it just sounds very cheesy at times, in my opinion.
Q. Have you done work with rappers/singers? If so describe who and how that went.
A: I've never put myself out there enough for people over the internet to contact me about music, except for the occasional work with DT Productions, everything I've done has been like 99% local. There's all sorts of talent around you, you just need to give people their chance and help discover their inner talents. I've worked with several rappers in my school and their friends, and that's just how my name's gotten out locally. Other then working with others, I've been trying to work on my own little thing with singing.. look out for that ;)
Q. How would you describe your level of musical knowledge and ability and how important is knowledge of music theory in your opinion?
A: Honestly, I feel that I've learned all that I'm capable of learning at the moment. I played the trumpet for 3 years in band, and that really helped a lot, but that was 4 years ago. As of now, I've tried to take piano lessons, but with how ish is, there's no way I can afford that. With what I have, I've taught myself all I know about piano/keyboard along with YouTube, and I think I've reached the peak of all I can learn as of now. The fact that I'd like to learn so much more shows the importance of music theory if you want to be a true musician. If you make beats, you wouldn't want to just press some keys and hope for something hot to happen. Making beats is just like making any other kind of music, and no matter what kind of musician you are, I personally feel that you need to learn all you can about it.
Q. What sort of goals do you see yourself accomplishing in the next 5 years?
A: I'm graduating out of high school next year, so in the next five years, first, I plan to finish college. After college, then grad school.. (I plan for this to happen, but I still haven't decided what kind of career I want) As I'm working on the education, music will be the next thing on my priority list. As I want to be an educated man, I pray that one day I can be a prosperous musician that we all dream of being. I want to complete a solo album, I want to work with artists on their own albums, I want over hundreds of songs that labels can look at in the future to show for my work. There's many things I'd like to accomplish, but only time can tell how anything will end up.
On a parting note, I'd like to say that Preemium had a big hand in making Warbeats what it is today. Thanks for everything Preemium.
To download and see some of Preemiums work, check the following links. There may be some overlap on the two links:
http://www.warbeats.com/Files/Downloads.aspx?page=1&t=0&s=0&q=pree
http://www.warbeats.com/Files/Downloads.aspx?page=1&t=0&s=0&q=dt+pro