MANILA, Philippines?When it comes to the musical genre called mashups, there are really only very bad ones, and very good ones, with Norwegian Recycling falling into the latter camp.

Mashups are, at the very base level, the a capella of one song, laid over the instrumentals of another. Over time though, the genre has evolved alongside technology. With the emergence of computer programs that have made it easier for people to tinker with the various components of music, mashups can be literally that, two, or even more, songs smooshed together into one whole.

It?s a wide-open field, perfect for creative expression. Therein lies the problem though; a good bulk of the work amateur mashup artists (if you can call them ?amateur,? since there are no ?certified? mashup artists, only popular ones) create can be likened to mixing vanilla ice cream with a triple-cheese pizza. It?s new and never been done before, but those two things have no reason to be anywhere near each other. In audio terms, it?s a sonic attack that annoys rather than entertains.

Again, Norwegian Recycling, the name under which one Peter Bull releases his mashups under, is not of that sort. His songs are almost organic, a complete entity, rather than pieces glued together. That is not to say that you can?t tell that this bit is taken from Jason Mraz, and that one is from Five for Fighting, for example. Rather, there is an inexpressible reason why that particular Five for Fighting song comes after that particular Jason Mraz song that makes the whole product feel right.

Norwegian Wood?s first compilation album, ?So Far,? collects the first 16 mashups created by Bull, from January to August of 2007. Arranged in the order they were created, it?s the musical equivalent of a melting pot, diverse in flavors and a treat to return to over and over.

It starts a bit off though, with an odd track, entitled ?Just Like a Ghost?: a mashup of Katie Melua?s cover of the Cure?s ?Just Like Heaven? and a track from Swedish indie band Billie The Vision and The Dancers. It does give you a hint of the synergy that Norwegian Wood has in his mashups; if you?re not familiar with any of the two songs, you can be tricked into thinking it?s an original composition.

Track 2, ?Hey Oh Tonight,? is where things really get cooking though. Combining the jazzy feel of Mindi Abair?s cover of Eagle Eye Cherry?s ?Save Tonight? with Red Hot Chili Pepper?s ?Snow Hey Oh,? as well as lyrics from both songs and Damien Rice?s ?Cannonball,? it?s an impressive second piece, like track one, it feels like a complete song, just more so.

In fact, that?s the basic theme of all of the songs on ?So Far.? Yes, some of the choices are extremely eccentric: Track 5, or ?Lose Your Fantasy,? combines Eminem?s ?Lose Yourself? and the battle music of the video game Final Fantasy 7, for example; while track 13?s ?Paris is Lonely? mixes Akon?s ?Lonely? with ?Stars Are Blind? by Paris Hilton; but they work so well in the way Bull puts them together that even if you hate one or both of the songs, put together, you?ll find yourself inexplicably enjoying the mashup.

The real works of genius however, can be found in the more ambitious mashups, the ones that have more than two songs combined together. ?How Six Songs Collide,? my absolute favorite, and ?8 Become 1? turn up the difficulty level in terms of production to about 11 on a scale of 10, but those two, along with ?Ben is Chasing Beautiful Girls? and ?Sorry for I Mashed You? are a treat to listen to, and something to admire when the song is over because of the effort invested in their creation.

Anyone interested in hearing what a mashup ought to sound like should go to www.norwegianrecycling.multiply.com right now. With two more albums in addition to ?So Far? available for free download, it?s time for you to realize what many people already know: Recycling is good, not only for the planet, but for your ears as well.

Bull talk

I was lucky to be able to exchange correspondence with Peter Bull, the man behind Norwegian Wood, to see what goes on inside his head, how he fell in love with music, and other insights into his craft.

What was the first song you remember getting completely stuck in your head? How old were you, and what about that song made it stick?

I recall my parents had a cassette by a Norwegian group called ?Beorud-Gjengen? who sang Christian songs. I loved it so much, and by the time I was six or seven, I knew all the songs, lyrics and melody. The lyrics were in Norwegian, which probably had a lot to say about why I found it so appealing. They also wrote intelligent and catchy melodies, which were very memorable. Unfortunately for me the cassette got broken when I was around 7 years old, which was devastating news for me. But I bought the CD of the same album a couple of years ago, and it was funny to discover that I still remembered all the lyrics.

Another more traditional pop song that I was fond of as a little kid was Michael Jackson?s ?Billie Jean,? which I still consider to be the best pop song from the ?80?s.

Have you always been a music fan? Did you ?discover? music by yourself or did someone, a friend or a family member introduce you to music?

I have, as long as I can remember, been listening to music. My dad used to sing Norwegian children-songs and my mom used to sing Japanese children songs to me. My father told me that I, from an early age, showed a great understanding in music so my parents got me involved with instruments at an early age. I played cornet and baritone in my school band for seven years.

How did you discover mash-ups? When did you first realize ?Hey I could do this myself!?

I remember the ?Eminem?The Real Slim Shady? vs ?Britney Spears?Oops, I Did It Again? mashup back in 2001, which was probably the first time a heard a mashup. I thought it was cool, but nothing more than that. It wasn?t until I stumbled over Party Bens? ?Boulevard of Broken Songs? on the Internet that I really got blown away. I was so amazed by the whole philosophy of taking the art of sampling from house and hip-hop to another level. I started to experiment with different software and I made a bunch of very crappy ?A vs B? mashups, which have never been released. The first song I was satisfied with was ?Just like a Ghost,? which was also the first song I uploaded (on my website). It was the feedback from this mashup that gave me enough motivation to take the ?mashup thing? serious.

What computer programs and other equipment do you use to make your mash-ups?

I use Sony?s Acid Pro 6.0, Reason 4.0, Cubase LE, an M-Audio Oxygen8 V2 Midi keyboard and a Focusrite Saffite Soundcard

What were the songs your first mash-up was comprised of? Comparing it to some of your more recent work, how do you feel about it?

The first mashup I did was a mix between Howie Day?s ?Collide,? the Black Eyed Peas? ?Where Is The Love? and James Blunt?s ?You?re Beautiful.?

The mix was horrible, to be honest. They where the only songs that I knew of, that consisted of that particular chord-progression. The songs were all in different key and speed and the song suffered heavily from too much pitch-bending and time-stretching. That?s why I used all the songs in that first mashup later on, just not with each other. There are also some songs from my first compilation album that I wouldn?t have released now, just because I think they are too dull and normal.

What?s the creative process like? How do you choose the songs and how do you decide what to layer on top of another song?

The creative process is never the same for two mashups so it is difficult to describe it. But I have the ability to recognize (in most cases) the chord-progression when I?m listening to a song and that makes the picking of songs much more convenient. The whole layering process is just a very time-consuming experiment of trying and failing to decide what sounds good and what does not. It is also a conflict between what is catchy and what is experimental and I always try to achieve both. The whole creative process also evolves as I evolve musically. I hope and believe that my future mashups will not sound the same as they do today and I am always craving to take my mashups to another level.

Are there favorite artists or favorite songs you like to use? I?ve noticed that you?ve used ?Beautiful Girls,? ?Say it Right? and ?I?m Yours? in several different mashups

No, I don?t have any favorite songs or artists to use in my mashups. As you said, I have used some artists more than once, which I try to avoid. If I do use songs more than once, it is because I deeply believe that it will contribute something meaningful to the mix.

You also have a whole mash-up album dedicated to music from ?Donkey Kong Country,? can I assume that you love video games as well? Is there anything in particular about video game music that you like?

I am definitely a video game fan and I especially love old-school video game soundtracks, especially RPGs, like ?Final Fantasy,? ?Chrono Trigger,? ?Lufia? and ?Zelda.? I have some ideas of making some of these game soundtracks into a music concept, but nothing is determined yet. Just like film music is an art of expression, I think game music is also a unique art in itself. Back in the days of 8- and 16-bit game consoles, game music had a distinct sound to it, which I find so appealing and nostalgic at the same time. I especially love the classic sound of the Commodore 64, which Timbaland used in ?Ayo Technology.? I am also a fan of some of the great composers of game music like David Wise (?Donkey Kong?), Koji Kondo (?Zelda,? ?Super Mario?), Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu (?Final Fantasy?).

It used to be that mash-up artists would have to make bootlegs and hope that they would spread far enough to become famous. The Internet has obviously changed this, as can be seen by how you have a MySpace, a Multiply, you?re on Facebook and on YouTube, and you have your own merchandise on Cafepress. Do you like basically being an Internet celebrity?

The mashup scene indeed got a very huge bump from the Internet. I don?t think you can even talk about a mashup scene before the Internet. But it is basically the same principles now as it was before, the only difference is, if people like your work, you will get spread faster and to a wider audience. I just want to utilize everything that is available for me and I think it is stupid to not use all the promotion services Web 2.0 offers to aspiring artists.

You?ve stated that your goal is to become a music producer. Which artists would you love to work with?

That?s a hard question. When I say I want to be a music producer it doesn?t necessarily mean that I want to produce for other artists. Of course, I would love to produce for others, but I also want to make trance/house/electro tracks that make people dance like crazy. Just to namedrop a few artists I would love to work with though: Annie, Justin Timberlake, Owl City, Ben Gibbard, Lasse Gjertsen (animator), DJ Dangermouse, Cyndi Lauper, Joseph Arthur, Karpe Diem and Nelly Furtado.

Does the legal ?grey area? of mash-ups worry you? Do you think it?s possible that an artist might contact you and say, ?Stop using my songs? and if one did, what would you do? How would that affect your work?

Honestly, it doesn?t worry me at all and I can?t go around and let the worries kill the creativity. With that being said, I am always trying to step carefully to avoid any possible confrontations. I have never heard of artists that have contacted mashup-artists concerning copyright-infringement, but there are a lot of stories of record companies and lawyers who have threatened fellow mashup-artists with Cease and Desist orders. If I get threatened by some copyright holders, I will do everything to avoid conflict, simply because I don?t have the sufficient amount of money.

What songs or artists are on heavy play on your mp3 player? Are there any mash-up artists out there that you?re particularly fond of?

The last six months I have been moving from hip hop, RnB, alternative rock, singer/songwriter to more dance-oriented music. At the moment, I listen mostly to psychedelic trance, electro, house, drum and bass and psybient. Artists that are on heavy replay now are Infected Mushroom, Astrix, Shpongle, CPU, Painkiller, Pendelum, Ott, Electric Universe, Younger Brothers, Postal Service, Owl City, Bluetech, and Beat Junkies. To be honest, I rarely listen to mashups anymore, but of course there are some mashup-artists that I still adore and consider as huge and important inspirations like Party Ben, DJ Earworm, Loo & Placido, Lenlow, Team9, DJ Schmolli, Arty Fufkin and Pheugoo, all of whom are worth checking out.

What?s next for you? When can fans expect a new release?

Hmm. I don?t know really. I am planning to move more towards actual music-production and not only mashing. After I compiled all my latest mashups into the second album, ?Appetite for Destruction,? I was going to do more remix work, and try to do some nonsamples-based project. Right now I am working on some remix-projects and some ideas for trance and electro tracks. I also have some ideas about how to take my mashups to another level. I don?t know yet though if I have the skill to turn my ideas into a listenable product.

What advice would you give to aspiring mash-up artists out there? What are the pitfalls to avoid?

I believe that all the advice given to artists in general can apply to mashup artists too. Be creative, try to stand out from the crowd, try to not only satisfy yourself, but the people who are going to listen to you. Also do a serious attempt to market yourself with all the tools Web 2.0 has available. Listen to a lot of different mashups from a lot of different mashup artists and learn all their tricks, and then try to expand beyond that and make your own style.

Find Norwegian Recycling?s work on the following websites:
Homepage: http://norwegianrecycling.multiply.com

Merchandise: http://www.cafepress.com/norwegianmerch
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5827028678
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/cappapie
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/norwegianrecycling