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Underground > Radio & Music >

Remix Bonanza

  
 
D Terminator XXXIII
03:29 / 01.02.07
Y S I links clickable only for a limited amount of time or hits.

I have been wanting to start a thread specifically about remixes for some time and on this rare occasion where I can, brace yourselves. During this cold, cold period of the year, what I'm exclusively listening to right now is a lot of electronic music goodness (much of which I won't share because they do not fall under the titular category, i.e.: they are originals) and they bring much needed boosts of energy and warmth. They me make dance silly. So, this thread in order to share some of what's happening at this side of the computer in terms of remixes. All in the explicit hope that others will follow my lead and post about their favourite remixes so I can hoard them like the greedy lil' pig I am. Now, what constitutes a good remix will be very different amongst us and discussion's welcome about what makes a remix work and not. I have listened to so much electronic music over the years that what excites me now is a production that transmutes a track into something else, something better than what it was before and often by unexpected means.

Stuart price:
Missy Elliott: Lose Control (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)
Britney Spears: Breathe On Me (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)
Mirwais: Miss You (Thin White Duke Mix)
Kasabian: Me plus One (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)
Chromeo: Needy Girl (Paper Faces mix)
Electric Six: Danger! High voltage (Thin White Duke mix)
Scissor Sisters I Don't Feel Like Dancing (Paper Faces Mix)
& Filthy Gorgeous (Paper faces mix)
Goldfrapp: Twist (Jacques Lu Cont's Conversion Perversion)

Price, under a variety of alias', is the best current mainstream remixer (deep gratitude towards Jackie Susann for having opened my eyes to him) although I didn't always think that. 8 years ago, I got a free disc, from one of the British magazines, containing a track by Les Rhytmes Digitales and I thought it was the absolute worst. I still don't like most of his first outing but funny how time has honed his skills: Price has consumate knowledge of electronic music and he often employs that knowledge within the remixed tracks; I don't think it's a coincidence that Lose Control reminds me of Underworld's Cowgirl or Breathe On Me a severely housefied version of Donna Summer's I Feel Love but the remixes never get bogged down by obvious homages or retreads because he knows the conventions of a dance track too well. He often plays with breakdowns and build-ups in unexpected ways, and the results are usually stellar. I mean, who else could make Kasabian cool? As he has said somewhere, he rebuilds a track from the ground up only using the vocal samples and as a result the tracks always appear to be distant relatives of the originals, rather than dipping it too far into incesticide. Also, the fact that he has a rawk background with Zoot Woman is evident in the beautiful, lush synth washes and bass patterns, which not too many musicians who try to synthisize the electronic with the rawk know how to pull off.

Justin Timberlake: My Love (Is Like Woah! Re-Edit)
WOO-HOO, you might think, another My Love remix! Especially since the official remixes have been so, so, so... Just so. But it's not a problem confined to the Justin, the so(!)remixes, because the other Timberland-produce of the year, Furtado, was similarly struck by so(!)ness when it came to the remixes. However, this remix uses the bits, and notice I say bits, we all love to extract a more somber affair. It sounds familiar and very strange at the same time. The heartbreak that had always been lurking behind the melodic and vocal hooks more pronounced. Sadly, I don't know who remixed it, I just remember them being Aussies.

Goldfrapp: Black Cherry (M83 Mix)
Was the Price remix of Twist kind of bleak? This is bleaker. The subdued sexiness of the original track is entirely missing and what this remix reminds me of emotionally is a depression. Bad but good.

Franz Ferdinand: Take Me Out (Daft Punk Remix)
Leave it to Daft Punk to solve the problem that is Franz Ferdinand: How to subtract their and add your own when in the process you lose that which makes Franz Ferdinand songs great? Simply: you leave out the subtract part and add a very rudimentary effect. Nonetheless, on repeated listens, it's amazing how much they have added to the song economically.

Robbie Williams: Lovelight (Soulwax Ravelight Dub)
The bully. The only good thing to come out of the last Robbie album. If this doesn't make you want to dance, you're far too old, deaf and crazy.

Kylie Minogue: Slow (Chemical Brothers Mix)
At first, the bros. seem to have taken the title of the track too literally and they start off slow. But. Then it changes. And then it changes. And then it changes. And by the end, you see. Do you see?

Kings Of Leon: Milk (Stretch And Vern mix)
The bass does it for me. A delightful note to end this first post on.

You might remark that my descriptions of why these remixes kick ass get shorter and shorter. I'll make it up if people are willing but for now I'm fatigued and the preparation for this thread has eaten too much time already... All these remixes are all pretty recent but I know that there are older tracks that are TEH awwsome; this is due to me having very few old cds left but I hope you won't be constrained to the noughties should you play along. Cos I'm a greedy lil' pig and you don't want to disappoint me.
 
 
D Terminator XXXIII
15:55 / 01.02.07
I just noticed now that I've uploaded a track with no title, the clicky that starts with e286 is the Twist Lu cont Mix.
 
 
Feverfew
17:46 / 01.02.07
Thank you for these, they're much appreciated - will listen, and about them more later...
 
 
D Terminator XXXIII
15:22 / 02.02.07
Let's kickstart a discussion, whut?

Missy: Lose Control (Lu Cont Mix)

Or, as I like to call it, what started my Stuart Price obsession. As I understand it, Missy and her producer(/s?) sampled vocals from Price's Les Rythmes Digitales: Music Make You Lose Control for the single. And he then worked his magic on the already great single to make it lots greater. No small feat. The first time I heard it, my ears melted, my gut assploded and my heart leapt out thru my ribcage. Truly. Really. What doesn't make it great? I'm really and truly asking if you're of the dissenting opinion.

Underworld: Cowgirl is, I think, one of the inspirations because of the mechanized voice motif and the synth riff at the beginning of the track. However, where Cowgirl took it's time to build up to a peak, this remix doesn't waste time to get dirty. Because it progresses sublimely towards the break it might be easy to miss how much of a high it gets to when the 'music make you lose control' chant joins in, and that the snake charmer-like instrument was already in the background during the first segment I didn't notice until way later.

Of course, it is one of the key reasons why the break is one of the best ever, the way it percolates towards the peak, increases in urgency and volume, the 'out of control' Ciara assesment and the
titular chant. It's ridiculously exciting and when the peak peters out, it doesn't really matter that it is all, all too soon. Because such a high is hard to come by.
 
 
D Terminator XXXIII
16:07 / 02.02.07
Scissor Siters: Filthy Gorgeous & I Don't Feel Like Dancing (Paper Faces Mixes)

Are less obvious remixes. The cheery, dancefloor devastation of Filthy Gorgeous becomes a more atmospheric, muted proposition - killer bass line though - and the, err, nostalgia (drew the crowds at a joint for the middle aged during christmas season) that is Don't Feel Like Dancing is certainly dance music but it doesn't make you want to dance. Price must delight himself by subverting expectations.

Would be interesting to hear how the Paper Faces remix of Laura differs from the above and the original. Hint hint.
 
 
Jackie Susann
21:52 / 05.02.07
On the new Nas album there's this song, Where Are They Now?, about how he misses all his favourite old rappers. So he's just dropped three awesome remixes - the 90s mix, the 80s mix, and the West Coast mix. They're all chopped up pieces of classic beats with tons of legends dropping new verses - people like Kool Moe Dee, Shan, Sha Rock, Sir Mix-a-lot, Rob Base, Das FX, etc. They all spit pretty good, some of them are great, and none of them sound like they're only there for their legacies. Nas has some awesome kid-in-a-candy-shop ad libs.

I think we had a thread here once about how nostalgia never made for good music? These tracks are the total final refutation of that idea.

Nas ft. The 80s All-Stars - Where are they now? rmx

Nas ft. The Early-90s All-Stars - Where are they now? rmx

Nas - Where are they now? (West Coast Rmx)

Is it a coincidence that the 80s and 90s mix are credited to 'all-stars' but the west coasters get no such props?

But yeah, I love that remix of Lose Control. The original starts with the 'music makes you lose control' chant, and is great. In the remix that bit doesn't come in til like halfway through, by which time you have already been driven totally crazy by the genius 'hypnotic robotic' Missy vocal loop, and so it's just announcing an accomplished fact: oh yeah, music has made me lose control, cool. I don't think I explained that too well.
 
 
D Terminator XXXIII
22:27 / 05.02.07
You did so much better than me.

The Nas remixes are great, although I'd have wished for higher sound quality. And downloadability. Quick question, the backing track for the west coast remix, did he nick it off Cam'ron's Do Ya Thing?
 
 
D Terminator XXXIII
21:50 / 15.02.07
I know this is a dead thread and I've had to scrap planned subsequent posts due to a lack of interest from everyone else due to my dreadful thread-starting & - sustaining abilities, but! I just have to share this one thing:

P. Diddy feat. Aguilera: Tell Me by way of a Switch remix.

Switch, as a remixer, is more miss than hit for me but in this case he's done something that not alone is very unexpected - i.e. it's good! - but also makes one almost want to listen to all the previous remixed trax I'd otherwise passed up on. Okay, maybe not. His muse here has served him well. Which is to say good remixed tracks happen to singles that are so so, once in a while.

MMM. What else? That's all.
 
 
hst
00:44 / 16.02.07
i think this is a great thread currently, i find these following remixes enjoyable:

air | cherry blossom girl (simian mobile disco mix)
mp3

simian mobile disco is an english duo. their sound is distinctly electronic. in this mix they completely tear up and redesign the song. very danceable with a nice beat indeed

robyn | konichiwa bitches (trentemoller remix)

this is a mix you either love or hate. robyn, once a teen-pop-rising-star, now older and kinda less mainstream, remixed by trentemoller, highly regarded producer/remixer. the track is intense with nice usage of the rather naïve vocals.

the secret handshake | too young (the toxic avenger remix)
mp3

a mix with some of the nicest agressive distorted synth hooks i've ever heard. although, when i heard the first bars of this song, i hated the vocals, but after the initial shock, i found they blended in perfectly in the mix.

... and of course everything from justice ...

well what can one say about justice. first of all, i must admit that i'm a die-hard fan of this french duo. nearly every song and remix by justice are sure-fire dance floor starters. simple, yet intriguing and with unmatched cut and paste-skills.

death from above 1979 | blood on our hands (justice remix)
link

franz ferdinand | the fallen (justice remix)
mp3

... oh, this is still very nice ...

the knife | we share our mother's health (ratatat remix)
mp3

this one has been a favourite track of mine for a while now. the original song is nice, but here ratatat rips it apart. the new york duo finds a whole new take on the track with a much more organic sound than the original.
 
 
D Terminator XXXIII
02:13 / 16.02.07
Perhaps you could elaborate just a little more on why you find the posted songs enjoyable? Sorry to be blunt, dear, but Barbelith generally frowns down upon lists because they are not the greatest contributions to the board.

Now, I tend to fall for remixes that somehow add transportative qualities to the originals, as audibly demonstrated by the Switch remix up above where the breakdown sounds like a breakdown (and the fave touch being the sole cymbal hit denoting shifts).

Another case in point:
Saint Etienne: Angel (original) &
Saint Etienne: Angel (Broadcast remix)

I think the world of Saint Etienne, so sad that their latest that I regard as their best album to date - Tales From Turnpike House - has been, I think, so widely ignored. The single 'Angel' falls between the period of Tiger Bay ('94) and Good Humour ('98), and is what one might expect from a mid-90s track: an eurohouse stomper with that special St Etienne touch, that bittersweet pop sensibility that runs throughout their body of work. It might not be their best single and reek too much as a product of the time period but the remix, however, going a very different road than the predictable, becomes a song of heartbreak. It's an extreme, extremes being what gets my attention.
 
 
Janean Patience
11:58 / 16.02.07
I used to live by the remix. None of my lovingly-crafted compilations could be complete without a sprinkle of dazzling remixes. Now I can hardly remember a one.

Bjork - Human Behaviour - Underworld mix was an epic with about five sections, sampled noise, a rolling train of a beat and the song stretched to fit. I loved that one. It's ten minutes long and a hybrid of the best of both acts.

Pet Shop Boys - Discoteca - Trouser Enthusiasts Adventure Beyond The Stellar Empire mix went from an almost accapella version of the verse to a full-on techno monster, as I remember we used to say back then. I always suspected the Trouser Enthusiasts were actually Chris Lowe, but it seems Wikipedia thinks they weren't. Only to be bothered with if you've some nostalgia for the 90s club scene.

And Kylie Minogue - Where Is The Feeling? - Brothers In Rhythm soundtrack mix is like a collision between a French film and a pop single. About 15 minutes long, at least three movements, ambient sound, strings, spoken-word heartache.
 
 
grant
13:15 / 16.02.07
I'm very fond of mixes by pocket.

Now, he's working on a TOP SECRET project that isn't really remixes, since the songs are original. He's collaborating with a bunch of different people (Tanya Donnelly from Belly, Dave Smalley from ALL, Steve Kilbey from the Church), getting them to co-write songs, then mixing the hell out of 'em.

But some of the things on the page are just straight up remixes. I love the Cat Power one.
 
 
hst
13:16 / 16.02.07
Perhaps you could elaborate just a little more on why you find the posted songs enjoyable? Sorry to be blunt, dear, but Barbelith generally frowns down upon lists because they are not the greatest contributions to the board.

Ahh, I see. I've edited my previous post, sorry for being a barbenoob. In addition, I apologise for going out on a tangent here, but the mix you posted was very intriguing. I'm no big fan of Saint Etienne, but the vocals on this one are perfect. I love how they merge with the NON-esque backing track, with just a hint of modern electronica on top. I haven’t heard of Broadcast, but I will definitely check them out now, thanks!
 
 
D Terminator XXXIII
14:37 / 16.02.07
In the 'Hook a brother up' thread, I asked if someone had the snappier edited version of De'Lacy's 'Hideaway (Deep Dish remix)', which, stemming from ca. '95, still holds up remarkably well. As I said before it's one of my all time favourite remixes. So danceable yet so deeply felt and unless I'm misunderstanding things, about a woman who asserts her independence yet recognises her need for love. De'Lovely.

Upon hearing Beck's Mixed Bizness (Nu Wave Dreamix), my brother remarked that it's so gay. And it is. Remixed by Stuart Price before he became Stuart Price!, letting his 80s influences shine through as a holdover of his 'Darkdancer' period, presumably. It's a fun, fun, fun, silly Beck, something that we haven't been given in a long while.

Aaron Carl: Dance Naked (James Holden remix). Aaron Carl wants us to dance naked. Aaron Carl (and Holden), by song's end, just might have succeeded. It's a track that gains traction as it progresses until, by end, it's impossible to sit still any longer.

I recently asked someone about a track by KC Flightt vs Funky Junction. The track in question was 'Voices' but what I didn't know was that I was looking for the Pete Heller remix, a, I'd gather, different beast altogether. It's one of the technoid monsters with a considerable edge; those voices are inside her head y'know?
 
 
D Terminator XXXIII
10:16 / 28.02.07
Greg Churchill has been on my mind a lot lately. 'Shock Rocket', 'Plutonic' and Gus Gus feat Daniel Agust: Moss (Greg Churchill remix) are all fantastic tracks that'd get me dancing any time of the week. In the case of the latter track, Aguta chants that he's high on love and Churchill backs it up with wobbly synths, which you just know will intensify at some point, as if he's making the statement that being high on love is an unstable high that'll either implode or peter out.

(I'm already filled with glee with the remix prospects for Gus Gus' 'Need In Me' - an anthem in the making if ever there was one)
 
 
doctorbeck
13:22 / 28.02.07
De'Lacy's 'Hideaway (Deep Dish remix)',

i get flashbacaks when i hear that, suddenly i am in nottingham feeling all strange and nice. it is such a good remix that it is really the original if you know what i mean.

like a lot of people my age i suppose my first intro to remix culture was early 90s indie dance, happy mondays remixed by oakenfold, primal scream / my bloody valentine by weatherall and again they became the definitive versions of the songs for me.

would you count jamaican dubs as remixes? if so then king tubby has to be the remix king, stripping something back to its most basic parts then warping and blending it with homemade kit, echo chambers, tape loops. an avante garde aesthetic aimed at the dancefloor and soundclash, giving the public something familiar and new at the same time.
 
 
D Terminator XXXIII
18:50 / 28.02.07
Sounds smashing, dr. beck, is there anything you'd recommend to start off with?

I think remixes, on the whole, are used as marketing tools for any given artist of the moment and as a lucrative opportunity to milk the fans of said artist, although it's such a shortsighted motivation that often results in high mediocrity, so it's always positively surprising when a remix supplants the original source as the definitive version. I've never heard the original for De'Lacy's Hideaway, nor do I have any need for it because if the original was better or as good, it'd have appeared along with the remix. Other examples include Tori Amos: Professional Widow (van Helden rmx), Cornershop: Brimful of Asha (Fatboy Slim rmx), uh, I *know* there are others but can't remember more off the top of my head. Then there's once in a while examples like Witney Houston's '98-'99ish 'My Love is Your Love' album which flopped upon release but with the workout given one of the tracks, the album was ultimately a hit. On the strength of the remix alone. Or am I remembering it wrong?

I *heart* artists who understand what the *right* remixes can do to them and their tracks and those that continually evolve their songs into different tracks like the late, lamented the KLF and Underworld (with Darren Emerson!). Speaking of, I don't know if Underworld: Thing In A Book can be characterised as a remix but because it appeared, exclusively, in the April Records release Dark & Long, with all the other tracks being remixes of tracks off 'Dubnobass...' I'd have no trouble characterizing it as one, only if it affords me the opportunity to share it with you. A 20 minute instrumental, meditation & gentle progression into pure joy, it may arguably be their greatest mulitlayered achievement to date. Words fail what I wish I could say about it, perhaps if I stated that it is one of the few tracks I still listen to 12 years on, it would give you an idea of how good I think it is? After Emerson left the band, they have been a bad parody of an Underworld-pastiche copy band, lacking entirely in diversity and electricity (100 Days Off was such a monotonous and boring chore to listen through that I've given it away) but then, something like Underworld: Peggy Sussed (Pete Heller vocal mix) comes along and makes one reconsider if one has been too hard on them. But no. The original I can't stand.
 
 
doctorbeck
06:54 / 02.03.07
i suppose a good place to start for great dub are the numerous king tubby reissues, 'king tubby meets rockers uptown' being egnerally seen as a classic of the genre, for really crazy dubs the african dub almighty series 1-3 is also good, lots of echo and deconstruction, and lee perrys blackboard jungle dub is well thought of

for a recent go at this it is worth listening to the primal scream vanishing point lp and the dub version echo deck to compare and contrast. i think there was a thread for reggae / dub recommendations not too long ago.
 
  
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