Probably the only upside to being a marketing student at the same time as being an artist and running a music blog is getting to truly appreciate when I get to watch an artist I love do everything right. In the cold soulless world of marketing UGC (or User Generated Content) is a strategy in which your favourite billion dollar company tries to make you feel special by getting YOU involved in their advertising under the guise of some sort of content you make. Personally I think that shits lame, if for no other reason than I know no company could ever match the pure connection and community that is assembled through something like a small artist’s remix contest.

Cossette has always been on my list of artists I wanted to cover on AuraLink, partially because I think she’s built an incredibly unique sound for herself, partially because I think the way she keeps her community involved is fantastic, and partially because when I was following artists on the AuraLink social media accounts she was somehow following every single fucking artist I was looking for. That last part, while irrelevant here, was such an insane anecdote I wanted to share it because I truly believe there’s probably nobody more tapped in than Cossette right now.

Digression aside though, the faint (remixed) album is the 4th in a string of remix albums following each single released by Cossette this year. While sounding like a lot (and it kind of is a lot to be fair), to me this is one of those examples of doing everything right. One by one with each single Cossette is leveraging the fact that her following is not only invested, but insanely talented to boot. With tens of remixes being submitted after each contest and the top voted songs being slated for release, these contest swing wildly in their contents and execution in dare I say whimsical fashion. It’s a win for everyone involved. As an artist, hearing someone remix your stuff is some of the most fun you can have, hearing your song go from an indie rock ballad (as shown by the okashe and magnumn remix of faint) to a fast paced club thumping trance track (as shown by the whiterosemoxie remix of faint). There’s simply so much variety to the way in which different artists can tackle the same remix, and while I’m not going to go into detail on each remix released I do implore you to check them out in succession to hear the variety that one set of stems can provide.

Aside from being super fun for all involved, it’s also an opportunity to use your platform as an artist to support those who support you, and I’ll always have a soft spot for anyone who tries to support the community they’ve built. Back in June I actually had the fun opportunity to participate in the NSFW remix contest, and attend the live premiere of all the submitted remixes from a library parking lot 3 hours from home. It was an insanely weird setup, sitting in the dark listening one by one to all the exponentially different approaches to a problem I had solved with an abrasive hyperpop lead and an orchestral finish. If my memory serves me right the first remix we heard had live bass and trumpet for god sake, it was insane. The most memorable moment of the night was the moment I was introduced to stecker (who you will be hearing about from me tomorrow as his new album deserves it’s own coverage). stecker’s remix had a Soundcloud waveform that looked like a brick wall, and people in the call remarked in advance that something particularly large was coming. Oh how we were right. The sheer scale of the drop and it’s engulfing chords was cosmic, and watching everyone in the discord call lose their shit was a priceless experience I will never forget.

I bring all this up not to derail from the newest remixes or promote my own work (quite honestly I feel I could have brought more to the table in retrospect), but to illustrate what being involved in something like this feels like. It’s pure, unbridled creative joy shared between a bunch of people with a common interest. A bunch of tiny artists (and I mean tiny, as one artist on the faint remixes completely lacks a spotify profile) getting together to appreciate a less tiny but not large artist is about as underground and core as it gets, and as such there is no place you will ever find more creativity flowing than something like this.

This article was obviously less about specifically the faint remix contest, and more about the concept of remix contests and how I adore what Cossette is doing to keep a bridge between herself and the amazing creatives surrounding her. I think a lot of artists can and should take notes on how there will always be people looking at you with a drive to create, and that giving those people the stage can lead to some results nothing short of surreal to witness. Also, it’s fun. We need more fun these days. So bravo to all those involved in any of the 4 Cossette remix contests this year, because this is what music is all about.