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Remixes

jamie grind

Photo by Shaun Bloodworth

Jamie Grind is from the far North of England, but you wouldn’t know it on first listen. While he now resides in London, the Leeds-native produces upbeat garage-informed music that belies his bleak surroundings. Grind achieves achy euphoria via a less is more production philosophy that emphasizes the most important facet of each and every track. On Grind’s remix of Thieves’ “Dilate”, that facet is the infectiously bouncy bassline. Instead of immersing it in a malaise of chopped vocals and shuffling percussion like the original (a fine track in its own right), Grind isolates the phonk and brings it out for maximum effectivity. At several points throughout the track, Grind entirely isolates the bassline, leaving just a single squiggly line of the track’s various vocal, percussion and synth arrangements left. The uplifting pads certainly aid the euphoria, but it’s that damn bounce that really gets you. Stream below and head over to XLR8R for a free download.

mosca

There isn’t a song that better exemplifies British label Hypercolour’s appeal than Mosca’s 2012 hit “Eva Mendes”. The track has plenty of techy underground signifiers that get the heads leaning for more, but everything from the track title to the vocal sample had big time dancefloors going nuts since its June release. Labelmates Huxley, Tom Demac and George Fitzgerald hit similar tones throughout what had to be Hypercolour’s largest year to date. Earlier today, Mosca let loose a treat for all the ravers in his well played VIP of “Eva Mendes”, a slightly beefier, more groove-oriented version of the original. The London producer doesn’t appear willing to let the VIP loose on the general public in download form just yet, but maybe he’ll come to his senses eventually. Stream below.

kid smpl

In a sense, Kid Smpl’s remix of The xx’s “Fiction” demarcates the logical furthest extent of the London trio’s vision. It’s made up almost entirely of infrequent, out of breath kicks, melancholy keys and atmospheric found sounds. Rommy’s vocals are pushed so far into the mix that they almost operate as random found sounds and the beat (when there is one) is as airy and atmospheric as they come. Without expectations, Smpl has crafted an effortlessly beatific night time anthem that achieves more with less and might remind some listeners why they fell in love with The xx in the first place. Stream and download below.

riley lake

Last Friday, we debuted Riley Lake’s very real “Request Line” mix as part of our very real and very professional early 2013 music bidnes coverage. We’ve sat on the originals for FIVE WHOLE DAYS, but it’s probably about time to let the dragon out of the bag. To start off the edit induced run of madness, Riley’s Boddika influenced remix of Baauer’s shmassive “DumDum” deserves some individual shine. In proper techno form, Riley has clearly been indulging in some dark UK ish and is sounding more and more like Mannie Fresh/Bangladesh/DJ Toomp locked in the Berghain basement with every new upload. We all ❤ Sunklo after all so stream and download below and keep your ears perked for more edits on the horizon.

t. williamsThe most interesting facet of T. Williams’ music, and especially his most recent Rinse 21 mix CD, is that despite its sometimes abrasive qualities (grime influences, off-kilter rhythms), it almost always appears primed for a vocal assist. The Pain & Love EP justified this assumption, pairing Tesfa Williams with several vocalists and his remix of Disclosure’s “Latch” solidified his vocal-driven credentials. Whether you prefer sans-vocals Williams is somewhat irrelevant, because it appears that’s the direction he’s taking, although a return to “Chop & Screw” would also be welcomed. Anyways, Williams recently remixed RCA songsmith Mikky Ekko’s “Pull Me Down” into a percolating piece of Miike Snow-esque pop music. It wouldn’t be a T. Williams joint without the shuffling percussion and almost imperceptibly bouncy bassline. The track is up for free download below, but Williams has hinted that he will be uploading a 320 version soon so it might be worth it to hold out ;).

harry fraudAs a member of French Montana’s Coke Boys (which includes the Moroccan rapper’s 9 year old son, affectionately known as Lil Poopy), questionably monikered Queens MC Chinx Drugz has access to a good deal of production work many similarly gifted MCs can only dream of. I mean, Chinx isn’t the worst dude in the world, but let’s just say Harry Fraud makes “I’m A Coke Boy”. With Montana sloppily fanutin’ all over the hook and underwhelming (to say the least) verses from Diddy and Rick Ross, “I’m a Coke Boy” needed Fraud to come through and come through he does. Without a doubt one of 2012’s most impressive performers, Fraud has become the New York producer du jour in recent months and has worked with everyone from Heems to Sean Price. Once you get past the novelty of hearing a few mediocre Detlef Schrempf euphemisms, Fraud’s reconstructed strings and piano backing becomes the only real point to listening to  “I’m A Coke Boy” all the way through. Luckily, Fraud let loose the instrumental yesterday opening up the possibility that someone with less dirty money will attach themselves for a verse. Stream/download the remix below and hit the jump for instrumental version.

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doc_daneeka

Like many other Brits of the same ilk, Swansea-born producer Mial Watkins, stagename Doc Daneeka (think Catch-22), has recently taken up residence in Berlin and incorporated several of the techno stronghold’s dark sonic signifiers into his music. Lazily classified within the general bass music sphere, Watkins’ music equally emphasizes soulful vocal samples and rich, intricately constructed low end arrangements. After working with Benjamin Damage on 2012’s highly underrated They!Live LP (out now on 50Weapons), Daneeka is primed to have his biggest year to date as both solo artist and curatorial mastermind. You see, along with producing some of the most thought provoking and amorphous low end-focused music around, Daneeka also runs the very much up-and-coming Ten Thousand Yen imprint, also primed for a huge 2013. For his/their first feast of the new year, Daneeka has reworked the unsearchable BeGun’s “San Francisco” into something that resembles the cross-section of Bristol and Chicago. The oppressively deep low end is juxtaposed with retro-sounding organ stabs and a halting garage rhythm. Like most of Daneeka’s output, the remix is nearly impossible to pin down and is clearly suited for a large system. Apparently it has been killing it in live sets so expect a release on Ten Thousand Yen sooner rather than later. Stream below.

boddikaTo say everyone and their mother’s dog has been waiting for Boddika’s “Mercy VIP” on pins and needles is something of an understatement. After floating around the internet for eight months, Boddika’s revamped take on his Joy Orbison collaboration has finally reached daylight in an acceptable form. You’ve probably heard the track at this point, so I’ll keep it short and sweet, but just know that this one falls in the outright banger section of techno so, like, if you’ve been wondering why there are bodies under your garage then this is probably for you. All overplayed references aside, look out for the “Mercy VIP” on the Think & Change compilation via Nonplus Records.

john talabot

John Talabot’s ƒIN LP was released last February, but it wasn’t until the cavalcade of year end lists came around that the hype machine really got behind the Barcelona-based producer’s prodigious debut. Admittedly, we missed the album the first time around, but it certainly didn’t leave the proverbial tapedeck for months after we realized the mistake we had made. At his best with fellow Spaniard Pional at his side, Talabot’s measured, Donna Summers-inflected house numbers represented a decidedly anti-traditional take in a fairly by the numbers year that saw numerous artists gravitate towards a four-on-the-floor structure. After touring with The xx, Talabot put on his remix hat and joined up with Pional to take on the London trio’s album standout “Chained”, adding some much needed playfulness to the often-times dreary original. Like the majority of ƒIN, Talabot and Pional expertly manage the ebb and flow of “Chained”, teasing the listener with plinking chords and an ever-throbbing kick that drops out predictably at times, but remains engaging. Talabot and Pional sample a familiar synth line from The Streets’ “Blinded By The Lights”, but retain a feeling of unfamiliarity throughout despite the propinquous nature of its elements. Stream below.

We only jumpstarted our Sounds From The Astral Plane series a few weeks ago, but this edition will (unfortunately) most likely be the last of 2012. We do have a few nice features coming your way in the next couple of days so keep your eyes peeled. This week, we have two (!) Missy Elliot reworks, a quartet of amorphous mixes and more on-point Kid Smpl night bus vibes. Much love as always.

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