Pandamonium

Other than that awesome picture, this post has nothing to do with pandas. Sorry.

Anyway, I was flicking through my itunes today and I realised that the only thing more fun than that panda is Frankmusik's remix of 'Did You Wrong'. (Thats an awful link, sorry again.) The Clik Clik are quite a fun little band on their own, and the original version of the track is cheerful enough, but Mr. Frankmusik takes it and pumps it full of electro candy. The end result sounds like a sugar crazed madman attacking a 5-year olds keyboard. In a good way. It comes across a bit noisy and fast-paced initially, but if you stick with it it's actually a pretty cool tune. One from last year, but worth a listen for those who aren't familiar with it.

I've been a fan of Damn Arms since I heard their Cut Copy remix. Which, come to think of it, can't have been that long ago. Either way, I've yet to hear a bad tune from out of their camp, and the SexWax remix of 'Destination' is no exception. The original two-parter is quite a chilled out number, but SexWax (who gives away the tune free with a bunch of other cool mixes on his myspace) makes it a bit more epic. Everything is a bit more reverbed and fuzzed up (distorted), making the song a bit more filthy and club-friendly without losing too much of the original vibe. It's very good, and not too complicated.

Last up is 'In Anima Vili', by Just A Band. I glossed over this tune completely when I first got it, but returned to it by complete chance the other day. I have now managed to decide that it's flipping awesome. 'Burn It Out' was a banger, and 'In Anima Vili' is no exception. I'm pretty sure it actually says 'bang' just as it drops (about 50 secs in). Which is probably reason enough in itself to have a listen. Apart from that, it's got a massive bass kick to it, and all kinds of spaced-out synths flickering over the top. Plus it's got that Justice-style staccato piano stab all over the bass that sounds amazing.

It's been bloody sunny so far this week, I feel like I should have saved up some of my summer tunes. Ah well...

Damn Arms - Destination (SexWax Remix) Myspace*
Just A Band - In Anima Vili Buy
The Clik Clik - Did You Wrong (Frankmusik Remix) Buy

*The Daft Punk mix on his player is well worth checking out.

Villainous Riots Broke One's Lips

I noticed the Villains recent remix of Lykke Li is top of Hype Machine today. Which isn't particularly surprising, considering the two names involved on the track, and the awesomeness of the track itself. But seeing the 'Little Bit' remix reminded me of another gem - the Villains distortion heavy power remix of 'Ares'. I'm fond of this song mostly because of the way they've sampled Kele Okereke ... his occasional plea for the audience to 'get fucked up' is pretty cool, and the chopping and slicing off the vocals over the whole track is artfully done. The Villains give it a tempo and force that suit the lyrics perfectly, and the original track (which was maybe one of the worst on Intimacy - too much of an Art Brut copy in places) pales in comparison to the remix. Out with the snare rolls, in with the pounding rave drums.

Another amazing remix team of some renown are the duo LA Riots. I'm a bit of a fan of chopping and cutting vocals (can you tell?), and although the 'Ares' remix has a fair bit, LA Riots offer a bit of a masterclass in it on their remix of 'Love & War'. In fact, the whole remix is something of a masterclass, and is my favourite from them, just topping their mixes of 'Switchblade' and 'Trouble in Daylight'. They manage to combine quite trebley, almost R&Bish, vocals and sparkly piano bits with distorted siren-sounding synths, a grinding electro melody and a funked-up, but fairly heavy, clubby drum pattern. Overall its a recipe for success, and all condensed into about 3 minutes so you don't get bored. They just walk up, punch you in the ear, and walk off.

(LA Riots and Villains actually teamed up a while ago to do a remix of Hot Chip which is fairly good, but not as class as their individual stuff. )

These last two songs won't be news to anyone who's particularly clued up on the blog circuit, but they're still worth posting because ... because I really like them. So nyah.

First up - Broke One's partyriffic remix of 'Exterior'. Anyone who's a fan of Justice or Breakbot/Pnau, and would like to see what their children would sound like, should probably check out this one. It starts off all mellow electric piano chords and hand claps, and then brings in a tasty bit of robo-voice action. After that some distinctly Cross sounding strings and a bit of a crunchy electro synth, thats a bit like a (very) watered down version of 'Waters of Nazareth', join the party. All together, they make a lovely blend of hard and soft electro sounds, and the track moves along at quite a gentle (can I say this?) groove pace. I like it. His remix of Elke's 'Blue Dream Lover' has a similiar style to it - quite funky and chilled. (The end of that mix has a great little 80's sounding solo on it, just before the last chorus).

Chew Lips were on BBC6 Music the other day, which makes me think they must be the new big thing. But what makes me care about their new status is the fact that they've been remixed by Tepr, whose incredible mix of 'Ce Jeu' I posted a while back (mentioning that - Tepr is actually part of Yelle's band, I think). His take on 'Solo' goes in a slightly different direction. It's still pretty housey, but more Fakebeat/Popof-ish than Chris Lake or Deadmau5-ish. Those comparisons are possibly (probably) terrible. Either way, it's an awesome song. To be fair, the original is fairly good, but Tepr manages to bulk it up and give it a bit more presence, dancefloor-wise.

Actually, I've listened to the original all the way through and decided I really like that as well.

Just to round off, I wanted to mention Redial, who I posted about a while back. Blogger, in their infinite wisdom, took exception to that particular post and have since removed it for 'offences'. Of what kind, I couldn't say, but they possibly pertain to my single-handed and wanton destruction of the music industry by virtue of reckless promotions and reviews. Sad times.
Anyway, a friend of mine introduced me to Redial a few weeks ago, and now I recommend him to you. He is awesome, and anyone who is a fan of Danger or Designer Drugs, as I am, should probably go to his myspace right now.

Bloc Party - Ares (Villains Remix) Buy Villains
Photek - Love & War (LA Riots Remix) Buy
The Nerd Follia - Exterior (Broke One Remix) Buy Broke One
Chew Lips - Solo (Tepr Remix) Buy