Gizmodo: hard drive dying dance track

Hard Drive Dying Dance Track Winner

Noah R — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 21:37:18 EST

There were well more than 100 entries in this remix competition—and picking the winner was a tough tough decision. It's clear that the challenge of making music based on the sound of Hitachi hard drives failing was as much a reason to take part as winning the Tokyoflash Equalizer watch. So before announcing the winner, let's review the highlights:

Rap Wars:
Crizzash "All the MP3s I loved to play / Well at least the rootkit is out of the way"
vs.
Rootin' and Falootin' "So come aboard ladies / Your cap'n is waitin' / You can swab me poop deck if you know what I'm sayin'"

Best Samples or Vocals:
Sex Drive
Drive Time (Jane's Book of Computer Disasters Mix)
Please Don't Die

Runnner's up (the one's I kept going back to for another listen):
Tuhin Mehta
El Hardo Disko Morte

The winner, whose chill two-minute track is made entirely from the hard drive noises:
Hitachi Hard-Drive Project - Noriko Version

Congrats James Postlethwaite. E-mail me at tips@gizmodo.com to pick up your Equalizer watch.

Thanks to Tokyoflash for the watch, Odeo for the MP3 storage, DJ Hitachi for the hard drive failure sounds and to everyone else for taking part.

Hard Drive Dying Dance Mix Contest is Over

Noah R — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 22:01:49 EST

The deadline is past. Thank you for sending all your remixes.

There are 99 tracks available on Odeo. And a bunch of direct downloads can be found after the jump. There are some surprisingly groovy submissions for your listening pleasure. The genres cover everything from electronica to techno—and punk rock, rap, dub, country. It may take me through the weekend to pick a winner given all the competition.

Huge thanks to all the DJs, and especially Tokyoflash for supplying the Equalizer watch as a prize.

Remember: "There are various noises that may indicate a failing hard drive. If you are experiencing any of the noises, please contact the technical support center at: 888-426-5214"

More Mixes

hitachiharddriveissuesandbullshitheavyonthebullshit

HD Dying Dance Mix Contest - Day 3

Noah R — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 20:16:29 EST

The latest tracks are live at Odeo, and there are some choice cuts on the playlist. Although to be honest, I'm beginning to think the same three DJs are submitting tracks over and over again. I guess that's just the nature of having tools like ACID, Ableton and Garageband on every desktop. There is some damn impressive work in the mix, though. So cue up the sound of hard drives in crises, and have yourself a dance party. And remember: "There are various noises that may indicate a failing hard drive. If you are experiencing any of the noises, please contact the technical support center at: 888-426-5214"

The deadline for submissions is Thursday 1/26 at 10PM EST. The prize is pictured above. Here is the deal, for those who missed it the first two times around:

Create a song that a includes one or more of the noises from the sound files at the bottom of the Hitachi Global Storage defective hard drive page. The song should be no more than 3 minutes long, and must be in MP3 format. You can send a link to the file, or mail it as an attachment to gizmodobox@gmail.com. You must put DRIVE TIME in the subject line, otherwise I will delete it.

May the scratch be with you.

Hard Drive Dying Dance Track Contest

Noah R — Mon, 23 Jan 2006 12:00:14 EST

DJ Hitachi Global Storage has dropped six new tracks on us. Head Stuck to Platter, Slow Spindle Motor, and Head Damage 1-4. Yep, these are all the authentic sounds of hard drives experiencing meltdowns. Or, as Hitachi artfully puts it: "There are various noises that may indicate a failing hard drive. If you are experiencing any of the noises, please contact the technical support center at: 888-426-5214"

Seriously, this could be the beat track to an Aphex Twin song. I'm betting that someone out there can make a great tune based on one or more of these sounds. And I've got a Tokyoflash Equalizer watch (pictured above) for the person with the DJ skills to make it happen. Here's how to win:

Create a song that a includes one or more of the noises from the sound files at the bottom of the Hitachi Global Storage defective hard drive page. The song should be no more than 3 minutes long, and must be in MP3 format. You can send a link to the file, or mail it as an attachment to gizmodobox@gmail.com. You must put DRIVE TIME in the subject line, otherwise I will delete it.

You have until Thursday 1/26 to enter. The best entries will be posted for all to hear, and maybe even vote on. Godspeed you black emperor.

Hitachi Global Storage Disk Drive Knowledge Base [via Digg]

Thanks to Tokyoflash for the watch!