Like the mash-up, the term remix is most commonly associated with the music industry. There, it refers to an alternative version of a song or other musical recorded work.

But in a wider sense, a remix refers to the artistic practice of altering the original state of something (object, work of art…) by adding to it, removing from it, or changing (parts of) it. This practice can be applied to just about any art form, from photography to the written text.

Remixing is a form of appropriation, in that it starts from pre-existing materials to create something new.

Remix, appropriation, plagiarism… All these concepts are closely linked and the line between one and the other is often very narrow. Jonathan Lethem’s seminal text The Ecstacy of Influence is still one of the most exhilarating reads on this topic.