When you say the word “remix” most people think of producers in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, or Detroit. That means you’ve overlooked one of the mini-meccas of club music these days: Texas. With over ten years of experience under his belt, Houston-based Albert Castillo is one of the hottest names on the Billboard charts these days. Over the years, Albert has been programming and producing in two remixing duos: the white-hot New York production team, Al B Rich (with partner Rich “The Riddler” Pangilinan), and more recently as part of the U.K. duo, Solitaire (with Lewis Dene). He’s also the producer and member of seminal Ultra Records act, Mynt. Albert has quite the list of solo chart-topping productions under his belt as well. Hot off his successes with Hilary Duff and Rihanna, we caught up with Albert, and after a little friendly thumb-wrestling, got him to share a truckload of his production secrets. Here’s Albert’s recipe for international success.
Your sounds are really slick without being overtly commercial. What’s your favorite synth?
That’s a really tough question. I’d like to say that I have many favorites, but if I had to break it down, I would have to pick two. My Access Virus C is the bomb. I simply cannot live without its sound. The second would be the Roland V-Synth. What a wonderful invention; you can turn any everyday sample into something amazing! There are also some really great software synths that should be in my top ten (such as Native Instruments Reaktor), but there’s just something about interacting with an old-fashioned hardware synth that always inspires me.
Do you use many factory presets?
I can truly say that there is not one preset that I go to all the time. About 85% of my sounds are originally programmed or slight variations of factory presets. Presets are great starting points when you sit down to program, but I am a firm believer in making something your own. Of course, once in a while I do run into a preset that is just perfect and so I say, “What the hell?” And I’ll use it.
Of all the mixes you’ve done, what’s your favorite sound effect?
I just slap ten plug-ins on a sound and it’s cool! [Laughs.] Just kidding. One of the coolest things I remember doing was with the bass sound that I used in the Christina Aguilera “Beautiful” remix. I used a pretty simple sound coming out of my Waldorf Q. I must have been feeling spicy that day because I hooked the output (in mono) directly into a Morley Wah-Wah pedal. But before I ran it back to record, I ran it into my Virus and through a lowpass filter. But I didn’t just record MIDI and run it back through the pedal and Virus; I played it live, feet included; that was fun. And isn’t that why we all got into music?
Any other moments of sonic insanity?
More? [Laughs.] Well, I remember one time I really wanted this sound that I kept hearing in my head, but for the life of me, I could not get any of my synths to do it. As you very well know, sometimes record labels place pretty aggressive deadlines on you to get your remix finished, so I don’t always have the luxury of taking the time to sit there and program from scratch what I hear in my head. So, in this particular case, I just thought, “I’ll use myself as the sound!” So I just hooked up a mic and pretty much made the sound I wanted with my voice. I wish I could have videotaped my face at the time! I didn’t even go into a closet, I just recorded it right in front of my noisy computer! [Laughs.] With a bit of processing, you couldn’t even tell I had recorded myself — it sounded like a synth. Lesson of the day: Never underestimate the power of the human voice!
When you’re building a track, describe your process.
There is never really a process that I go through every single time, but for the most part I usually start with drums. Then, I figure out where I want the bpm of the a capella to be and stretch it. I usually start with a simple kick drum and place the vocals quickly over it. From there, I embellish and add more drum samples, loops or elements from loops, percussion, etc. Once I’m happy with that, I move on to the bass. This is a crucial moment, because, in my opinion, the bass can make or break your track. Keep in mind that not only do you have to have a good groove with the drums, the sound itself has to be right. I can honestly say that if you get drums moving and a killer bass sound, you could probably call it a day at that point!
Next comes the rest of the synthy, melodic stuff. This is where I decide how many parts are needed. How busy should the movement be? Does it fight with my bass or vocals? After I decide all this, the last phase is putting in what I like to call ear candy in the mix: little effects, things that glue all the parts together and create a smooth continuity in the track. This also includes fills, filtering, and all that stuff. So after I’m happy with the production phase of the track, I leave the mixdown for last. Throughout the whole production phase, I’m thinking ahead and tweaking the mix, so when I get to the mix, it’s relatively simple.
Do you do your own mastering? What effects, if any, are on your two-track mix?
I usually don’t like to master my own tracks for many reasons. Two sets of ears are better than one, and after being attached to a mix for a few days, a new set of ears can pick up frequencies you may have overlooked and can view your mix in a whole new light. Another big reason is that proper mastering requires equipment and acoustics that aren’t available in my studio. Having said all that, there are times when you have no choice but to master your own tracks, especially in this day and age where your track can get leaked or go directly to the Internet in the blink of an eye, or perhaps when a smaller label can’t afford to master your mix. When I have to master, I usually have three elements. The Prosoniq Dynasone mastering plug-in is the first stage, as it’s got some extra-cool features such as the energizer and refresh parameters that really help to create what I like to call “velocity” for your track. Second in the chain would be a simple 3-band EQ. Sometimes I’ll add just a bit of high end or low end to polish it off and give it a glossy shine. Sometimes, if I feel the track is very mono and narrow-sounding, I’ll also add a spatial enhancer or a simple reverb plug-in to create a wider sound. Lastly, I run through a level maximizer plug-in such as the Waves L3-Ultramaximizer. This gets the volume level up to where it should be. Mastering is something people should approach with the respect it deserves. Louder is not necessarily better, and it is very easy to add too much of any one element and totally ruin your mix.
What advice do you have for budding remixers and producers?
First and foremost, make sure you have a basic understanding of music theory. At the end of the day, no matter what tricks, tools, and glamor you add, it’s still music! Secondly, listen, listen, and continue to listen to as many tracks in the style of music you want to produce as you can. The day you stop listening and learning is usually the same day you’re finished. If you’re already working on remixes, here are some tips. Don’t make the mistake of putting too many elements in your mixes, as when it becomes too much for the average listener, it can actually work against you. Simple is beautiful. Keep your loops, sounds, and samples organized. It takes constant updating, but it will save you time and energy when you sit down to work. If at first you don’t get your mixes accepted, don’t give up. Things are not always fair in this industry, but this is something we all go through. Expect to have more mixes turned down than accepted.
Six Albert Castillo remixes you should know
Hilary Duff, “With Love” (Albert Castillo Club Mix)
Christina Aguilera, “Beautful” (Al B Rich Next Level Mix)
Kelly Clarkson, “Behind These Hazel Eyes” (Al B Rich Club Mix)
P!NK, “Just Like a Pill” (Al B Rich Club Mix)
Mynt, “How Did You Know?” (Original)
