Hit ‘n’ Mix developer Martin Dawe shows how the software separates instruments from an audio file

Hit ‘n’ Mix

Developers say it will enable users to create their own bedroom mash-ups, karaoke songs or modify their own music.

It is entering a crowded market, however, and some producers say they are reluctant to switch software.

Martin Dawe, a programmer based in south-east London, spent 10 years developing the system. He told BBC News he wanted to do more than current file formats would allow.

“I spent a lot of time looking into how audio could be split up and whether it was actually possible to do.

“Originally I thought it was impossible, but I appear to have proved myself wrong,” he said.

The process for breaking down a track is fairly straightforward. An audio file is loaded up and then, after a rendering process, is displayed on screen into its component parts.

However Mr Dawe was tight-lipped about the actual mechanics involved in breaking apart Mp3 and wav music files, saying – for now – it is a commercial secret.

The developers say it takes about five minutes to ingest a three-minute piece of audio, although this will depend on how fast a PC you are using.

The screen displays the various components of a track, which can be manipulated with a click of a mouse; pitch, tone, duration, pretty much every element of a composition can be tampered with.

Mr Dawe demonstrated his software on the BBC News theme, breaking it down and reassembling it as a brand new musical track. The whole process took, he said, just over an hour.