Features

Give us the run down on Tom Caruana...

First and foremost I am a music producer, but my day job is a music teacher in a secondary school. I've made music of various description for about 15 years, released music for the past 7 years, and I've been running Tea Sea Records for the past 2 years.

Wu meets The Beatles, when did you decide you wanted to tackle such a project and what was the concept you laid down in your head before starting?

I started the project simply as a Wu-Tang remix album and had made 4 or 5 new remixes (not using Beatles samples); I had made the R.E.C. Room remix a couple of years ago and it was one of my favourite remixes. I wanted to include this remix on the project, and it was around then that I got the idea of just using Beatles songs as samples.

You surprised someone hadn't done it before you?

When I was a few tracks into making it I did a bit of research to see if anyone had made a Wu Tang remix album before, so I searched for Wu Tang remixes and stumbled across Logan Mill's website where he had reworked several Wu Tang front covers, I emailed him and asked him to do the cover. Back to your original question, yeah I was suprised no one had done it before but there didn't seem to be a single Wu remix made with Beatles samples (with the exception of the Wu track Heart Gently Weeps).

How long did the tape take to compile and mixdown?

It took a couple of months to come up with the rough versions of the remixes (November & December 2009). I made around 40 rough remixes and in January of this year I chose which ones were gonna go on the album and worked on getting them finished.

I noticed no Heart Gently Weeps in the track listing did you think about tackling this joint?

There isn't an acapella for that track, but I had used a cover version of While My Guitar Gently Weeps on one of the tracks that got left off the album. Check the podcast that airs some of those tracks as well as things that I found whilst looking for Beatles songs and covers.

Which came first for you in terms of appreciation. Beatles or the Wu?

Beatles, my parents were big Beatles fans. We used to listen to them in the car when we went on holiday. I got into the Wu Tang when I was about 17.

You were more traditional with the sampling in a hip-hop sense, in comparison to Danger Mouse's notable 'Beatles Vs' effort in which the samples were more 'true' to the original composition/recording. How willing were you to get away from the original sample in creating something new that sat right with the acapella?

Well using R.E.C. Room as a starting point I was keen to sample cover versions of their songs. This was good as I could incorporate the melody without the vocals conflicting. There were bits of cover versions that I sampled that didn't have an obvious Beatles melody to them; I was more interested in making a good remix album than making an obvious mash up in the traditional sense.

Did you bring in any elements from outside The Beatles catalogue, like drums or whatever?

Yeah most of the drums aren't from Beatles songs or covers. I know Danger Mouse made his album entirely using only samples from the White Album, hats off to him for managing to be stricter than I was.

How has the reaction to the project been so far?

Overwhelming. The day after I posted it (Sunday 17th Jan) I had 1,000 downloads. I couldn't believe it. Now, two weeks later the albums had around 40,000 downloads. The response has been great and I've had a lot of positive comments about the project.

Do you think this tape is more accessible for a Wu fan or a Beatles fan?

Wu fans without a doubt. But those who like both groups will be the most into it. My dad who likes the Beatles but not Wu Tang thought it was clever, but won't be jamming to it in his car or anything.

You know your up for some pretty serious scrutiny when messing with 2 groups that mean a lot to essentially two completely different types of people. Was that in your mind during the creative process?

I didn't really think about it that much. I guessed that some Beatles fanatics would be outraged and some Wu fans wouldn't be into the Beatles, but to be honest I made the album just as much for me as for anyone who'd listen to it.

So have the lawyers called yet?

No not yet, I've had a message from someone who worked for the Beatles estate saying they loved it. Fingers crossed they won't chase after me as I won't have a penny to my name.

Do you have any other upcoming projects we should be aware of slated for 2010 and beyond?

I'm working on a J-Live remix album as we speak, and there will be others too. I've got the acapellas ready to remix DITC (would be challenging though as their beats are generally hard to compete with), Brand Nubian, Redman and Method Man and Wordsworth.

Other projects on Tea Sea Records this year will be an album with Grand Agent, a concept album under the name Bombadeal, and some other random things that you can find out about on the site, teasearecords.net

For more on Tom Caruana and to see what he has in store next make sure you check out teasearecords.net. If you've yet to download it, you can find Tom Caruana Presents: Wu Tang Vs The Beatles - Enter The Magical Mystery Chambers here.