Hello dance fans. Welcome to Revolutions, your brand new one-stop remix shop. This is where you can come find the songs you know and love reinterpreted into musical styles that you might not know, but that you might just love. You might find that remix you heard at pre-drinks but forgot to ask about, bootlegs that are even better than the original, or maybe even that killer edit that the DJ in Jesters played last night. (Okay, the last one was a bit of a joke.) Let’s kick off with a local lad, taking on New York’s finest;
Public Enemy – Harder Than You Think (Featurecast Remix)
Southampton’s very own Lee Mintram, (AKA Featurecast) has come out with yet another banging bit of Breaks, this time taking on Public Enemys classic ‘Harder Than You Think’. This is the tune you’ve been hearing on Channel 4’s Paralympic ads, and Featurecast has seized upon its popular resurgence by layering a trademark heavy-hitting breakbeat over the soaring brass samples of Gary G-Wizz’s original production. What we’re left with is an uplifting rework that compliments Chuck D’s unparalleled (and highly underrated) flow perfectly. This tune is available as a free download from Featurecast’s Soundcloud page – so get it while it’s hot, kids!
Labrinth – Express Yourself (Lazy Jay Remix)
What can we say about Lazy Jay; this guy is the definition of ‘up-and-coming’. His bouncy house tune ‘Float My Boat’ was sampled by Azealia Banks recently, creating the club monster that is ‘212’. He’s already remixed Britain’s favourite pair of saccharin sweet pop cherubs, Ed Sheeran and Conor Maynard. Those two remixes were pretty awful, if I’m honest – there’s only so much you can do with such dire starting material – but his take on Labrinth’s current single ‘Express Yourself’ sees Jay returning to the plinky-plonky distorted brass sounds that made ‘212’ so damn catchy.
Jessie Ware – Wildest Moments (Zed Bias AKA Maddslinky Remix)
UKG legend Zed Bias has gone and sped up Jessie Ware’s voice – and it sounds great. Jessie’s new single ‘Wildest Moments’ has been getting a tonne of airplay at the moment, and her recent appearance with Annie Mac on Channel 4’s house party was a real treat. She also seems to be a woman who attracts some top remixers – Disclosure’s take on ‘Running’ was an absolute revelation and Zed Bias’s effort here continues that trend. Ware’s sped up vocals sit really nicely on a shuffling UK Funky-esque beat, (which itself recalls Roska’s take on Zed’s classic ‘Neighbourhood’), and blend to create something really… danceable.
That’s it for this week, check back in seven days for more ‘danceable’ goodness. I’ll be playing all the tunes included in this column when I DJ around Southampton during Freshers week, so keep an eye out!
