When Dutch house legend Funkerman announced he would be throwing down the gauntlet to producers across the globe to remix his track Automatic, even he could not have anticipated the phenomenal response his offer would trigger.
The competition received more than 500 entries and saw 4000 producers, DJs and fans logging on to download the parts of the track. Organised to celebrate the launch of Funkerman's new website, http://www.funkerman.com, it is apt that the contest was fuelled by plenty of internet buzz - competitors passed around their work, distributed samples and commented on the various entries across the blogs and on Funkerman's page itself.
From the 500 remixes Funkerman was faced with the tough challenge of narrowing down the list to just 10 tunes. "I never expected this amount of entries and the big hype around it," he said. "It’s good to see that there are a lot of talented producers all around the world. I can tell you it was a tough job to select 10 finalists! I want to thank everybody who participated and supported this remix contest and I also want to thank I4 Muzique & M-Audio for their support. For now I can only say: Watch out and stay tuned for the next competition!"
First prize winners were Hungarian trio Dave Martin, Hamvai PG and Roberto Winny. Their incredible funky sound and the high quality of their remix caught Funkerman's attention and earned them the chance to see their track released on Flamingo Recordings. They also win a €1500 voucher from I4 Muzique to spend on M-Audio or Digidesign LE equipment. Already huge in their home country, this win is a step on the road to global stardom for this talented production unit - made even more astounding when you learn that this is their first release as a three-piece.
Second prize was awarded to Dutch DJ and producer DJ Funkadelic for his uplifting, danceable interpretation of the Automatic vibe. His track will also be released by Flamingo Recordings. This has been a big year for this young artist - in May he also won the Dancetour DJ contest which gave him a spot on the Dancetour bill and the chance to play his own material to a crowd of 10,000. If these two major successes are anything to go by, DJ Funkadelic will certainly be one to watch in the coming year.
The Automatic Remixes are out now and among others available trough www.beatport.com, www.djtunes.com and www.dance-tunes.com