Remix your brain

Hello! I am back after a very long absense. Apologies for that. But i'm back now and ready to write about the awesome new music that is around, aswell as band and album reviews, guest writer Craig Duranti will be letting you all know what he's been spinning lately, and also we hope to have an interview with the excellent Moving Units.

Todays post is about the world of Remixes.

For me, remixes can be spilt into two pots. You have the songs which are aren't too well known, maybe album tracks, or singles which failed to make an impression, which are then given a new lick of paint, to build upon the original ideas but also give a new slant. Then you have the remixes of well known songs, which have enjoyed good commercial success, or cult following. The priniciple is the same, the original track is altered and combined with a new vision.

It is with this second group of remixes that I struggle with. Take a song such as "Foxy Lady" by Jimi Hendrix, an absolute classic. Now two artists that I am very much a fan of have remixed this song. Originally Speaker Junk put their slant on the song, and then Switch took that version and remixed it further. I quite liked the SJ mix, but when Switch took over it just seemed to get too much and mess around with the orginal record far too much for my liking.

Whereas a track such as "Flex" by Dizzee Rascal, which has been remixed by Dave Spoon, for me really works. It takes a track which isnt yet too well known, and really gives it new ideas and pushes it further into what for me, is one of my favorite tracks of the year.


I think there's a fine balance between choosing a song to remix, it needs to be familiar to work, but picking a classic track is quite dangerous and only a few will make it.

Check out the tracks below and let me know your thoughts.
.

Comments