there is an infamous video that's been circulating on the intarwebs since it was resurrected a few years ago with cutty ranks performing in jamaica back in 1986. i thought cutty was improvising and deejaying from the top of his head but i later found out that he was doing a variation of his debut single "gunman lyrics".
this song has been done as a "cleaner" (?) version as "fishman lyrics" or "insect lyrics" as he calls it the first run on the video. it's all good but it took me a while to enjoy "gunman lyrics"/"fishman lyrics" on the original "things and time" riddim since selector ansill cuts up the sleng teng riddim in a way that's just awesome.
it also had to do cutty ranks really goes in for it and that constipation face and ants in the pants dance brings the overall experience to a whole different level. i know i'm probably the umpteenth person to write about this one but i don't care. every one has to see this video, hear this song and so and so on.
buy here (7digital)
also, part of the performance as seen on the video can be found as "intro: live at skateland (1986)" from the same compilation you can get "gunman lyrics", "limb by limb", "a who seh me dun" (known to most as the "six million way to die, choose on" tune) and all his other classics
buy here (7digital)
Wednesday 29 February 2012
Friday 24 February 2012
soso - who's gonna love me (el-b remix)
this one i heard on national radio and my interest was peeped on the get-go, i didn't know who it was but i heard the start and those drums and synth stabs said, "don't turn this off". i found out afterwards that it was an el-b remix of new sophia somajo project "soso" and it all made sense.
well not about sophia somajo (but i do like her), it was el-b and i should have spotted that from the start. it has his touch all the way with the tight drums and choppy vocals and of course fierce bass. el-b made two versions and for his ghost remix he went a bit darker and with louder bass but for this one it's the kind of garage that el-b made a name for himself.
it's sort of throwback and that's partly the charm but i do also think that i'd rather hear the ghost mix in a club as it's atmosphere and sounds would sound proper. but for listening on my own or in sets, i'd work the el-b mix
buy here (beatport)
well not about sophia somajo (but i do like her), it was el-b and i should have spotted that from the start. it has his touch all the way with the tight drums and choppy vocals and of course fierce bass. el-b made two versions and for his ghost remix he went a bit darker and with louder bass but for this one it's the kind of garage that el-b made a name for himself.
it's sort of throwback and that's partly the charm but i do also think that i'd rather hear the ghost mix in a club as it's atmosphere and sounds would sound proper. but for listening on my own or in sets, i'd work the el-b mix
buy here (beatport)
Wednesday 22 February 2012
weeping willows - falling (masse remix)
i've already talked about the original song, the spatio kass remixes and probably this remix as well on the intarwebs. it's a great song and i bought the cd-single a long while ago in '02 or '03 and have been loving it since then.
i was reminded of it when it was a big focus on the salazar brothers the last couple of days, or last week even now that they have won awards and been highlighted for their quality production etc etc. swedish hiphop's own archivist claes uggla aka majestic flow was talking about some rarities, remixes and such in his twitter and he mentioned a remix of another song and that triggered me to dig up this track again.
the original had a gary numan and/or martyn ware kind of thing to it and masse's version flipped it into a completely different scene. magnus carlsons vocals are set to a rhythm consisting of a cutup piano rhythm, a sleeker bassline and some crisp drums. the end result is a great version of a great song, the way it should be.
listen here (grooveshark)
i was reminded of it when it was a big focus on the salazar brothers the last couple of days, or last week even now that they have won awards and been highlighted for their quality production etc etc. swedish hiphop's own archivist claes uggla aka majestic flow was talking about some rarities, remixes and such in his twitter and he mentioned a remix of another song and that triggered me to dig up this track again.
the original had a gary numan and/or martyn ware kind of thing to it and masse's version flipped it into a completely different scene. magnus carlsons vocals are set to a rhythm consisting of a cutup piano rhythm, a sleeker bassline and some crisp drums. the end result is a great version of a great song, the way it should be.
listen here (grooveshark)
Monday 20 February 2012
linn & freddie - be thankful for what you got
i found about this one by checking out freddie cruger's own blog and noticed that he posted a new song on his soundcloud. he posted the song well over a month ago though and i didn't notice it until two weeks ago. i had a hunch from the title that it was going to be a take on william devaughn's classic and it was.
but don't expect freddie cruger to do a straightforward cover and his take on it is in a reggae slant and it's sort of a recreated mashup. the foundation is a nod to soul brothers' "free soul" and that is known to most as being sampled for lily allen's "smile". it employs that rocksteady groove and on top cruger's long time collaborator linn segolson is singing in a nice and lazy way.
massive attack also did a cover of this song in the early 90's and when i first hear linn & freddie's take on "be thankful" i thought they did something that was more massive attack than massive attack themselves.
it's currently on freddie cruger's soundcloud but i believe it's forthcoming in a near future, if i believe what i read on twitter, on gamm.
listen here (soundcloud)
but don't expect freddie cruger to do a straightforward cover and his take on it is in a reggae slant and it's sort of a recreated mashup. the foundation is a nod to soul brothers' "free soul" and that is known to most as being sampled for lily allen's "smile". it employs that rocksteady groove and on top cruger's long time collaborator linn segolson is singing in a nice and lazy way.
massive attack also did a cover of this song in the early 90's and when i first hear linn & freddie's take on "be thankful" i thought they did something that was more massive attack than massive attack themselves.
it's currently on freddie cruger's soundcloud but i believe it's forthcoming in a near future, if i believe what i read on twitter, on gamm.
listen here (soundcloud)
Saturday 18 February 2012
rnd - transform II
a few months or so i went to peruse one of the charity-shops in the greater stockholm region, it's a store that i've found very good stuff over the last year. this time i found a number of things but one of them being the ohm records label cd compilation.
ohm was one of the first swedish dancemusic labels and it had a little run before other stockholm labels such as planet rhythm, loop and later drumcode, h productions and svek became the more prolific ones. this compilation is valuable to the heads and i think the vinyl issue changes hands for fifty quids.
the compilation has a number of leiner productions, a few cari lekebusch ones and tracks from some other obscure producers. i was happy to find it because it includes the almost the full selftitled robert leiner/source ep. it's missing the the track "random input" but to be honest that track is rubbish anyways. but it does include "levitation" and owning it on a physical format is blissful.
overall some of the tracks have not dated well an they don't work in any way with the music i play in any way but some are useful such as source's "levitation", andromatic's "pure energy", trauma's "coming up good", cerebus' "nechromancer" and then "transform II" from fredrik almquist aka rnd.
i've got to be honest that i'm not that familiar with almquist's backcatalogue but i do know that was a key player in the swedish techno scene but he didn't become the name that adam beyer, cari lekebusch and joel mull did, then again so didn't leiner but he had glory days before being forgotten by a whole generation.
"tranform II" is an electro track and it has the robotic and metallic elements that i love. it also has some key sounds that's in line with the kind of trance or techno influenced electro that was being made in europe after the 80's. after hearing this i did try to find any other of the tracks that almquist made during this period and i found that it did sound like them.
the closest one would be the rnd remix of cyro lab's (that's another almquist moniker) "robotopia" but that is only electro during the intro and then it goes into the trancy sounds that he was making at the time. but aurally it's all there only the trancy/techno productions where a little fuller in it's 4/4 groove.
the thing i like about "transform II" is that it does go on the subtle side and the melodic aspects are in line with the sound and there is no cliché except for how the vocal sample is worked. i also love the bubbly sounds coming through in the second half and especially the filtered not-acid line that's there in the background.
ohm was one of the first swedish dancemusic labels and it had a little run before other stockholm labels such as planet rhythm, loop and later drumcode, h productions and svek became the more prolific ones. this compilation is valuable to the heads and i think the vinyl issue changes hands for fifty quids.
the compilation has a number of leiner productions, a few cari lekebusch ones and tracks from some other obscure producers. i was happy to find it because it includes the almost the full selftitled robert leiner/source ep. it's missing the the track "random input" but to be honest that track is rubbish anyways. but it does include "levitation" and owning it on a physical format is blissful.
overall some of the tracks have not dated well an they don't work in any way with the music i play in any way but some are useful such as source's "levitation", andromatic's "pure energy", trauma's "coming up good", cerebus' "nechromancer" and then "transform II" from fredrik almquist aka rnd.
i've got to be honest that i'm not that familiar with almquist's backcatalogue but i do know that was a key player in the swedish techno scene but he didn't become the name that adam beyer, cari lekebusch and joel mull did, then again so didn't leiner but he had glory days before being forgotten by a whole generation.
"tranform II" is an electro track and it has the robotic and metallic elements that i love. it also has some key sounds that's in line with the kind of trance or techno influenced electro that was being made in europe after the 80's. after hearing this i did try to find any other of the tracks that almquist made during this period and i found that it did sound like them.
the closest one would be the rnd remix of cyro lab's (that's another almquist moniker) "robotopia" but that is only electro during the intro and then it goes into the trancy sounds that he was making at the time. but aurally it's all there only the trancy/techno productions where a little fuller in it's 4/4 groove.
the thing i like about "transform II" is that it does go on the subtle side and the melodic aspects are in line with the sound and there is no cliché except for how the vocal sample is worked. i also love the bubbly sounds coming through in the second half and especially the filtered not-acid line that's there in the background.
Friday 17 February 2012
david alvarado - the day
i have a certain tendancy to buy some music and then listening to it a few times, like it and forget about it until i go through my collection again. this track comes from one those records, alvarado's 2004 album "transfiguration". i know i bought the album for "luna" or "sol" but when i went through this album again, it was this track that had me repeating it a few times.
"the day" is aurally much in line with the rest of the record, it employs heavy atmosphere and there a hefty dose of dub influences in the mix. most of the longer tracks on the album are four on the floor and the shorter three minute tracks are with breakbeats and so is this one.
this track is a little longer than that (only two minutes though) and is a sort of deeper dubby house meets electro thing. it's the kind of modern electro that i love but to be honest, i have a dear fondness for anything electro (that is the real mccoy mind you, with be breakbeats, not 4x4 drums).
alvarado knows his grooves and this is no exception, the only thing i'm missing a more firmer bassline but it has a great bottom end in general. the soundscapes are deep and sounds are darting in and out in a dub fashion. the synthline that comes in halfway through with it's piercing resonant sound is near shivering. he follows it up with a round twinkling sound to slowly walk along till the break where it brings back the sampled dialogue from the intro.
this track is well recommended but so is most tracks off this album, "raindance" and "but why" are however too short of their own good. they are immense and would be a little better with a more flesh like this one.
buy here (junodownload)
"the day" is aurally much in line with the rest of the record, it employs heavy atmosphere and there a hefty dose of dub influences in the mix. most of the longer tracks on the album are four on the floor and the shorter three minute tracks are with breakbeats and so is this one.
this track is a little longer than that (only two minutes though) and is a sort of deeper dubby house meets electro thing. it's the kind of modern electro that i love but to be honest, i have a dear fondness for anything electro (that is the real mccoy mind you, with be breakbeats, not 4x4 drums).
alvarado knows his grooves and this is no exception, the only thing i'm missing a more firmer bassline but it has a great bottom end in general. the soundscapes are deep and sounds are darting in and out in a dub fashion. the synthline that comes in halfway through with it's piercing resonant sound is near shivering. he follows it up with a round twinkling sound to slowly walk along till the break where it brings back the sampled dialogue from the intro.
this track is well recommended but so is most tracks off this album, "raindance" and "but why" are however too short of their own good. they are immense and would be a little better with a more flesh like this one.
buy here (junodownload)
Wednesday 15 February 2012
paul keeley - slick & slim (dennis desantis remix)
this one i discovered when i was getting into netlabels and you quickly found that thinner kept releasing quality stuff. i found the transatlantic nightclub ep (where this comes from) on a few years after it was released but it was gold and i've been working a number of tunes from the release in sets over the years.
right from the get go i was more interested in keeley's two originals from this ep but desantis' efforts grew on me. this remix of "slick & slim" kept the vibe of the original but set it up differently. the original is a sombre affair with a very prominant saxophone, courtesy of andrew spence.
desantis' version is built on the groove and locks it down strong and then introduces the sax on the latter half of the song. the sax is chopped up a bit to fit the deep funk coming from desantis' own groove. i know saxophones with house music is a real divider since it comes of tacky or fake but this really nails it.
the track also has a structure where it's more or less building the whole five minutes and then when it's climaxed it ends and i would lie if i said that that sort of songstructure hasn't given me troubles since have to remember which tracks go really well with it or use filler/bridges, in mid-set that is.
but it's all worth it i say, the track is killer and it's compact and doesn't fuddle around in one bit. well recommended.
listen here (soundcloud)
right from the get go i was more interested in keeley's two originals from this ep but desantis' efforts grew on me. this remix of "slick & slim" kept the vibe of the original but set it up differently. the original is a sombre affair with a very prominant saxophone, courtesy of andrew spence.
desantis' version is built on the groove and locks it down strong and then introduces the sax on the latter half of the song. the sax is chopped up a bit to fit the deep funk coming from desantis' own groove. i know saxophones with house music is a real divider since it comes of tacky or fake but this really nails it.
the track also has a structure where it's more or less building the whole five minutes and then when it's climaxed it ends and i would lie if i said that that sort of songstructure hasn't given me troubles since have to remember which tracks go really well with it or use filler/bridges, in mid-set that is.
but it's all worth it i say, the track is killer and it's compact and doesn't fuddle around in one bit. well recommended.
listen here (soundcloud)
Thursday 9 February 2012
joi - cravin' (piano dub)
this one i got acquainted with through the intarwebs i believe, i didn't know who joi was nor this song but i was given a heads up somewhere that it was a really deep house track with killer piano work. a little while after i found out that it was joe claussell behind the remix and everything made sense.
the original is a japanese sort of lounge and sort of m.o.r. ballad but it's a great track and the track came out in '00. a few years after joe claussell got his hands on it and did what almost only he can do, create beautiful music. he utilised the best parts of the original and reshaped it into a lenthy deep house gem filled with atmosphere, great musical features and all the usual trimmings.
his original remix does the song justice and then goes into an piano session which is also in line with the structure of original, but it goes on for longer. then it does go back to the original song but that middle piano part is the highlight of this track. so for the piano dub claussell strips it all down and focuses on those ivories.
the one playing the keys is brian mitchell and he's one of the musicians that claussell hires on a usual basis and listening to this, you can hear why. he keeps within the motif of the original but does some wonderful improv work going through chords and passages.
now to be fair the kind of romantic piano work that goes on this track doesn't resonate with some people. the same way saxophones or flutes doesn't resonate well with others either. what's delightful in someone's ear can be schmaltz to someone else. it's the curse of smooth jazz in the end, wonderful idea but it has been horribly executed by a lot of people.
this is something that if it didn't have that element of bite in the bottom end and a solid foundation would be the equivalent of kenny g's "songbird". thankfully claussell knows his craft well and can knock out an awesome tune like this. well recommended.
buy here (djtunes)
the original is a japanese sort of lounge and sort of m.o.r. ballad but it's a great track and the track came out in '00. a few years after joe claussell got his hands on it and did what almost only he can do, create beautiful music. he utilised the best parts of the original and reshaped it into a lenthy deep house gem filled with atmosphere, great musical features and all the usual trimmings.
his original remix does the song justice and then goes into an piano session which is also in line with the structure of original, but it goes on for longer. then it does go back to the original song but that middle piano part is the highlight of this track. so for the piano dub claussell strips it all down and focuses on those ivories.
the one playing the keys is brian mitchell and he's one of the musicians that claussell hires on a usual basis and listening to this, you can hear why. he keeps within the motif of the original but does some wonderful improv work going through chords and passages.
now to be fair the kind of romantic piano work that goes on this track doesn't resonate with some people. the same way saxophones or flutes doesn't resonate well with others either. what's delightful in someone's ear can be schmaltz to someone else. it's the curse of smooth jazz in the end, wonderful idea but it has been horribly executed by a lot of people.
this is something that if it didn't have that element of bite in the bottom end and a solid foundation would be the equivalent of kenny g's "songbird". thankfully claussell knows his craft well and can knock out an awesome tune like this. well recommended.
buy here (djtunes)
Tuesday 7 February 2012
gerd - in love with you (feat. ernesto)
this one i came across when i was looking for more jonathan bäckelie tracks a few years ago, i've established that i am a fan of his vocal work and i tend to enjoy most of the tracks he produces/colloborates on. the person he collaborates with on this is no other than dutch techno legend gert-jan bijl/gerd.
this track is from gerd's second album and it's a very good r&b song in the style of babyface's productions. it's groundwork is a great bassline, some snappy drums and of course keys, pads and strings. but it's all low-key and i like it like that. if anyone read my entry about miguel & j.cole's "all i want is you", this description doesn't come as a shock.
the track stays grounded and so does jonathan until the last part where bäckelie unleashes a sort of frustration that's powerful. this whole modus operandi is typical late 80's/early 90's r&b and i really like how the track unfolds.
buy here (junodownload)
but there is something weird of introducing gerd as a techno producer and then talking about an r&b song. for anyone that knows gerd's productions after the millenium it's established that he's shifted sound towards more soulful sound. before he was known for the techno, in particular the mid 90's techno that was coming out of holland that was not quite tech-house, not quite techno and not quite trance.
so i think it was a sort of an electric dylan moment, the same that happened to john beltran when he left his detroit techno and started making latin house, when gerd turned out an album in 2001 that was filled with trip-hoppy stuff, some drum & bass flirts, latin influences, broken beat and basically anything not techno. it was well produced and so was john beltran's material but it wasn't techno.
i think eventually some of the people who shunned the albums will give it's props again and not dismissing it as lounge material in gerd's case and in beltran's case, clichéd latin house. or whatever, i'm probably talking out of my arse on this one but it's just the way i see it.
i do have to mention that on gerd's first album he does something as awesome as an instrumental cover of leon haywoods classic "i wanna do something freaky to you" (known to most people as dr dre & snoop dogg's "nuthin'd but a g-thang"). gerd knocks out of the park with his synth-work and i love the subtle french horn in the back while the bass is packing underneath.
buy here (junodownload)
another well recommended track, but do get leon haywoods original as well, it's that sexy.
buy here (amazon)
this track is from gerd's second album and it's a very good r&b song in the style of babyface's productions. it's groundwork is a great bassline, some snappy drums and of course keys, pads and strings. but it's all low-key and i like it like that. if anyone read my entry about miguel & j.cole's "all i want is you", this description doesn't come as a shock.
the track stays grounded and so does jonathan until the last part where bäckelie unleashes a sort of frustration that's powerful. this whole modus operandi is typical late 80's/early 90's r&b and i really like how the track unfolds.
buy here (junodownload)
but there is something weird of introducing gerd as a techno producer and then talking about an r&b song. for anyone that knows gerd's productions after the millenium it's established that he's shifted sound towards more soulful sound. before he was known for the techno, in particular the mid 90's techno that was coming out of holland that was not quite tech-house, not quite techno and not quite trance.
so i think it was a sort of an electric dylan moment, the same that happened to john beltran when he left his detroit techno and started making latin house, when gerd turned out an album in 2001 that was filled with trip-hoppy stuff, some drum & bass flirts, latin influences, broken beat and basically anything not techno. it was well produced and so was john beltran's material but it wasn't techno.
i think eventually some of the people who shunned the albums will give it's props again and not dismissing it as lounge material in gerd's case and in beltran's case, clichéd latin house. or whatever, i'm probably talking out of my arse on this one but it's just the way i see it.
i do have to mention that on gerd's first album he does something as awesome as an instrumental cover of leon haywoods classic "i wanna do something freaky to you" (known to most people as dr dre & snoop dogg's "nuthin'd but a g-thang"). gerd knocks out of the park with his synth-work and i love the subtle french horn in the back while the bass is packing underneath.
buy here (junodownload)
another well recommended track, but do get leon haywoods original as well, it's that sexy.
buy here (amazon)
Monday 6 February 2012
m-flo loves chemistry - astrosexy
when my otaku phase was the biggest i started listening to other acts rather just hamasaki ayumi and apart from the other singers that were hot on the scene i also started getting into m-flo. they are/were a japanese hip-hop act that originally consisted of dj/producer(/and occactional rapper) taku takahashi, rapper verbal and singer & rapper lisa although the latter left after their second album.
to explain m-flo to anyone that haven't heard them i'd say a japanese take on black eyed peas wouldn't be that far off. even though black eyed peas stayed backpacker for longer and m-flo had already gone into electronic sounds when black eyed peas was still dipping their toes into it.
also m-flo did hoodie rap and r&b as well after they went more electronic and the thing to know is that it didn't go fully house oriented, it was a whole lot of drum & bass and some garage and big beat flirts.
anyhow, after lisa had departed they started taking on various j-pop singers & acts and having them guest on their tracks. this is where i got into the game when it was near impossible to escape a song called "miss you" (that had an amazing video), the b-side to miss you was this track "astrosexy".
this was a track i originally didn't like but damn if it was catchy and eventually it won me over. to be really honest it sounds like they were trying to a daft punk kind of thing but with little party hip-hop action going on. it kicks off with some nice rough drums that make you think it'll be a big beat nod but it then goes into the filterfunk but with a 2-step slant.
it shifts back and forth throughout the track and this was another factor for me to liking the song. taku takehashi's production on this is insane as there is so much sound swelling through and it keeps consistent. even when he just randomly throws in the riff from marshall jefferson's "move your body" in a bridge, it alls just makes sense.
the featured act on this is called chemistry and are/were a number one selling japanese r&b act, i have no idea about them elsewise as i wasn't interested to hear their songs before and neither am i now but i do want hear this more. but i'm more likely to play the instrumental version of this.
listen here (youtube)
i think it's also available buying on itunes but i can only find the japanese link (here), this song was also redone as "now or never" for the japanese astro boy series. that version is a bit smoother around the edges and loses it's charm.
to explain m-flo to anyone that haven't heard them i'd say a japanese take on black eyed peas wouldn't be that far off. even though black eyed peas stayed backpacker for longer and m-flo had already gone into electronic sounds when black eyed peas was still dipping their toes into it.
also m-flo did hoodie rap and r&b as well after they went more electronic and the thing to know is that it didn't go fully house oriented, it was a whole lot of drum & bass and some garage and big beat flirts.
anyhow, after lisa had departed they started taking on various j-pop singers & acts and having them guest on their tracks. this is where i got into the game when it was near impossible to escape a song called "miss you" (that had an amazing video), the b-side to miss you was this track "astrosexy".
this was a track i originally didn't like but damn if it was catchy and eventually it won me over. to be really honest it sounds like they were trying to a daft punk kind of thing but with little party hip-hop action going on. it kicks off with some nice rough drums that make you think it'll be a big beat nod but it then goes into the filterfunk but with a 2-step slant.
it shifts back and forth throughout the track and this was another factor for me to liking the song. taku takehashi's production on this is insane as there is so much sound swelling through and it keeps consistent. even when he just randomly throws in the riff from marshall jefferson's "move your body" in a bridge, it alls just makes sense.
the featured act on this is called chemistry and are/were a number one selling japanese r&b act, i have no idea about them elsewise as i wasn't interested to hear their songs before and neither am i now but i do want hear this more. but i'm more likely to play the instrumental version of this.
listen here (youtube)
i think it's also available buying on itunes but i can only find the japanese link (here), this song was also redone as "now or never" for the japanese astro boy series. that version is a bit smoother around the edges and loses it's charm.
Sunday 5 February 2012
the persuader - centralbron (birdy remix)
this one i heard a while after i heard the original and i don't know what was wrong with me because i know i did not like it at first, then again "centralbron" was not a track i did like from the get-go either. it wasn't a "djurgårdsbron", "gamla stan" or "södermalm" or any other jesper dahlbäck/the persuader tracks that had that sort of sound.
i was quite transfixed with the persuader being dahlbäck's more lush & deeper house sound when i digged deeper and noticed that dahlbäck did more rigid techy ordeals under this name. i did catch on and i certainly did catch on to this remix, i think it had to do with listening to something right and not in the background.
i know i'm planning to write more about svek and i even mentioned in the entry about "my world (night drive mix)" that i am a fan of the label and can go on and on about it but i don't have to really. the tracks speak for themselves and the fact that certain records are still being played out by dj's is proof of that.
this remix came out on the tail end of svek's livelyhood while the original came out in the prime. the original was more or a stripped down robot funk house kind of number, something that can be described as minneapolis meets perlon. this version kept the robot aspects but kicks up the tempo, changes the groove and adds more funk. the endresult is very electro and unbelievably funky.
because birdy is grieder & dahlbäck, i think dahlbäck saw an opportunity to revisit his original and do it in a way that was sounding like the techier side of the sunday brunch records.
buy here (beatport)
i was quite transfixed with the persuader being dahlbäck's more lush & deeper house sound when i digged deeper and noticed that dahlbäck did more rigid techy ordeals under this name. i did catch on and i certainly did catch on to this remix, i think it had to do with listening to something right and not in the background.
i know i'm planning to write more about svek and i even mentioned in the entry about "my world (night drive mix)" that i am a fan of the label and can go on and on about it but i don't have to really. the tracks speak for themselves and the fact that certain records are still being played out by dj's is proof of that.
this remix came out on the tail end of svek's livelyhood while the original came out in the prime. the original was more or a stripped down robot funk house kind of number, something that can be described as minneapolis meets perlon. this version kept the robot aspects but kicks up the tempo, changes the groove and adds more funk. the endresult is very electro and unbelievably funky.
because birdy is grieder & dahlbäck, i think dahlbäck saw an opportunity to revisit his original and do it in a way that was sounding like the techier side of the sunday brunch records.
buy here (beatport)
Wednesday 1 February 2012
blackstreet - no diggity (teddy riley jungle mix)
i remember seeing this version on the back of the blackstreet single "don't leave me", probably saw it in a charity shop but i had never heard of that track before. but the idea of teddy riley making a jungle version of "no diggity" did catch my attention and warranted it definitely a buy.
i did however know that there was a jumpup version by urban takeover (aphrodite & mickey finn) and i don't know if this was done before or at the same time. maybe teddy riley heard of the bootleg and thought of making a proper rerub himself. i have to say though that i'm don't rate the effort of aphrodite & finn did, it does have some good ideas but then it also has that awful bass that aphrodite over-used.
while the urban takeover mix was done by using a combination of acapella & original, riley did his remix with a few new vocals. queen pen's verse which kicks the track off (beside the jamaican style hype-ups that riley added himself) is not the same one from the original but the verse that was used for the new remix of no diggity called "das diggity".
other than that riley built this with a crisp rolling break that i can't name at the moment, the bass is subby and it's not that accentuated like urban takeover did. the track loses the bill withers sample of the original but it does use that piano-fill. i quite liked this version and it does rate high within the versions i've heard of "no diggity"
i.e. the all-star remix that uses the same charmels sample as rza and features queen pens original verse uncensored. also the infamous billie jean remix/version and the das mix which uses the beat/samples from das efx's "they want efx".
it's always fun to see or hear people who are defined to a particular sound, in this case with teddy riley it's new jack swing and r&b, doing something else way outside of their usual comfort zone. i think it would have been less shocking if riley's done a bumping house version because he's delved into that before. i quite like this remix and while it's not anything i would play in a set i think it's steady and really good. well recommended
listen here (youtube)
i did however know that there was a jumpup version by urban takeover (aphrodite & mickey finn) and i don't know if this was done before or at the same time. maybe teddy riley heard of the bootleg and thought of making a proper rerub himself. i have to say though that i'm don't rate the effort of aphrodite & finn did, it does have some good ideas but then it also has that awful bass that aphrodite over-used.
while the urban takeover mix was done by using a combination of acapella & original, riley did his remix with a few new vocals. queen pen's verse which kicks the track off (beside the jamaican style hype-ups that riley added himself) is not the same one from the original but the verse that was used for the new remix of no diggity called "das diggity".
other than that riley built this with a crisp rolling break that i can't name at the moment, the bass is subby and it's not that accentuated like urban takeover did. the track loses the bill withers sample of the original but it does use that piano-fill. i quite liked this version and it does rate high within the versions i've heard of "no diggity"
i.e. the all-star remix that uses the same charmels sample as rza and features queen pens original verse uncensored. also the infamous billie jean remix/version and the das mix which uses the beat/samples from das efx's "they want efx".
it's always fun to see or hear people who are defined to a particular sound, in this case with teddy riley it's new jack swing and r&b, doing something else way outside of their usual comfort zone. i think it would have been less shocking if riley's done a bumping house version because he's delved into that before. i quite like this remix and while it's not anything i would play in a set i think it's steady and really good. well recommended
listen here (youtube)
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