Remixing "Friction Called Quest": A Walk-through Using Ardour and Ubuntu Studio

by Tom Ray

This walkthrough video I show how I created a remix of our song “Friction Called Quest” from our Friction album for our remix album, Lorenzo’s Remixes Volume 2. We use only free and open source tools, specifically the Ubuntu Studio operating system and the Ardour DAW, to make music.

We originally opened up all the songs from our Friction album for remixing, providing the stems on the blocSonic netlabel site, but we also wanted to contribute our own remixes. Here is a look at the process and inspiration behind this version of “Friction Called Quest.”

The Inspiration: Sinéad O’Connor

The concept for this remix was inspired by Sinéad O’Connor’s song “I Am Stretched on Your Grave,” which is mostly vocals alone over the funky drummer drum beat.

So I started with a simple, repeating drum pattern. I took a loop from Rob’s original drum part—using only the snare, high hat, and bass drum stems and repeated one measure throughout the entire song to create a “funky drummer sort of beat”.

Building the Foundation: Distorted Snare and Arranged Vocals

I created two snare hits that begin the song before the main beat starts by taking a snippet of the original snare and adding a preamp for distortion, using tons of reverb (specifically the Calf Reverb ‘large empty hall’ preset), and compressing it to squeeze and accentuate the echo. I also reused this sound later during the chorus in the song.

The vocal lines were left mostly as is, but I arranged them up to align with this new drum beat. Just like the inspiration track, it’s mostly just vocals and drums in the beginning, then the bass is added in parts. I sampled a note from Cliff’s bass part and chopped it into two hits, then three hits, and eventually it leads into the full bass line of staccato 1-2-3-4 hits for the chorus.

Layering More Instrument Tracks Up To The Ending

As the song goes on, more instrument layers are added during the chorus sections.

  1. Piano (First Chorus): During the first full chorus, I added the piano line from the original “Frictional called quest” song, playing isolated notes in between the rhythm.
  2. Organ (Verse): Moving into the second verse, I incorporated a subtle, slightly “spooky” Calf Organ part using MIDI. I used the preset called “standard Jimmy,” which sits quietly in the background but adds texture.
  3. Guitar (Second Chorus): For the second chorus, Eric’s guitar part was added to it. Similar to the bass, I chopped up one of his hits and used it three times, then adding a ring out note at the end that echoes the reverb of the drums.
  4. Horns (Final Verse/Climax): The final chorus adds the horn part. I edited and chopped up Bryan’s original sax line to make a new rhythm in the DAW. Then I added the Calf Reverb ‘large occupied hall’ plugin and compressed it heavily to create distortion when it peaks out.

The ending of the remix features a sax solo and guitar rhythm. I edited a new guitar part created from different hits of Eric’s guitar to go along with the sax. The song ends with Bryan’s original sax solo, which I repeated twice, punctuated by the final ring out from those snare echoes.