röyksopp - sparks (m.a.n.d.y. remix)

i believe that the first time i heard this i did not like this at all but then again i didn't like any remixes of "sparks". anneli drecker's vocal was a part of what made the original really good along with the moody hiphop beats and atmosphere.

i later found out that the problems facing any remixer of this track to make it a dance version comes with the bpm of the original. it rolls around at 85 beats per minute and when a track originally lies with the region between 80-90 bpm it was known as to be a problem.

with certain vocals the time stretching wasn't as noticeable but if the original is sung fast or lethargic in a special manner it became accentuated when moved to a different tempo. nowadays with ableton having a time stretching algorithm that seems to do magic it is almost a thing of the past but this one came out in '03 and the mechanisms of logic, cubase and whatever programs were not cutting the mustard.

drecker's vocal is sung in a slower way but with some faster accentuation and unlike murk & losoul, m.a.n.d.y. pulled it off when handling the vocal. they also kept the chords and transform the feeling of the original into a moody techy house track. it also employs live bass or samples which i really like and it really drives the track well.

i think it's weird that i write about something like this as i know that i really hated it with a passion when i liked as it was part of the "trendhouse" i used to mock senselessly. no one really is going to understand that but trendhouse was a slur that me and a few others started to use towards the type of house that was called "electro-house" (eventually just "electro") or "minimal".

as we were music-nerds and/or enthusiasts and knew what the (then) actual incarnations of electro & minimal was we had a problem with what was referred to as what. i'm still not okay with something four on the floor being called electro but i'm less rabid about this nowadays.

buy here (beatport)

for the record roni size also did a remix that didn't have any troubles with the vocal in terms of time stretching but the quirky drumbreaks he employed were not any good.