RAC (musician)

Founding Remix Artist Collective

The Remix Artist Collective was created in January 2007 by André Allen Anjos. Originally from Porto, Portugal, Anjos founded RAC in Greenville, Illinois, U.S. and became coordinator of the Remix Artist Collective. Later, Andrew Maury (New York City) and Karl Kling (Portland) joined RAC. RAC's first release was "Sleeping Lessons (RAC Mix)" for The Shins, earning the remix a spot as a B-Side on the single release for "Australia." The mix, along with several other projects garnered interest among bands like Tokyo Police Club, Bloc Party, and Ra Ra Riot.

RAC's 2008 Sega Vs. Nintendo EP spurred interest by bloggers and earned a headline from the gaming site Kotaku. In addition to the mention and posting of remixes by online publications such as Pitchfork Media and Brooklyn Vegan, RAC has received more formal recognition in a full-length feature cover article for the St. Louis Riverfront Times, an online interview with Stereo Subversion, and an exclusive free mp3 debut through Stereogum.

Recent years with solo project

RAC has remixed artists such as Kings of Leon, Lana Del Rey, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Edward Sharpe, Death Cab For Cutie, Phoenix, Foster The People, Two Door Cinema Club, Bob Marley, U2, Ella Fitzgerald, New Order, Lady Gaga, Odesza, and Washed Out. RAC released their first original song "Hollywood" featuring Penguin Prison's Chris Glover via Green Label Sound on May 3, 2012. "Hollywood" was the promotional single to the debut RAC original album.

RAC released their second original song "Let Go" featuring Bloc Party's Kele and MNDR on August 20, 2013. This was the second single from their EP "Don't Talk To", released October 1, 2013. RAC's debut studio album as Anjos' solo project, Strangers, was released on April 1, 2014. Anjos now resides in the USA. Outside of remixing, Anjos has done work creating original music content for HBO’s Entourage, and was a principal member of the indie-electronica band, The Pragmatic until its end in 2010. RAC also composed and performed the soundtrack for the videogame Master Spy.

RAC performed at music festivals including the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Firefly Music Festival, Bumbershoot, the Corona Capital music festival, Ultra Music Festival and the Lollapalooza.

Its remix of Odesza's "Say My Name" was nominated for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical at the 2016 Grammy awards.

Style and influences

The vision of the Remix Artist Collective was to maintain a style of remixing that strays from the "club mix" archetype, creating new incarnations of songs that stem from the original structure, but expand on their genre and musical arrangement. Early RAC mixes typically feature a blend of hip-hop and vintage drum machine samples, analog synthesizers, melodic hooks, and original instrumentation performed by the remix artists themselves.

Annie Zaleski of the Riverfront Times wrote of Anjos' style: "Unlike many electronic remixes, which are commonly technical and precise, RAC mixes embody a unique aesthetic built on emotion and nuance, an almost intangible warmth and innate playfulness." Anjos' signature remixing sound is in large part a result of some of his equipment, notably, a 1982 Roland Juno-60 and 1973 Univox MiniKorg, though he has also been known to manipulate analog tape machines to achieve effects, and primarily works with Ableton Live to do so.

Members of Remix Artist Collective