Just like last time I’ve got three recent tunes plus an older classic, so without further ado let’s get started…..
Uffie – Difficult (SebastiAn Remix)
You probably know the two characters involved in this little gem that was released on the superb French label, Ed Banger. Uffie is the American born, Paris based pop pixie and SebastiAn is the French Electro DJ/Producer, both are very much part of the Ed Banger family. Basically the label’s awesome, they’re awesome and so this record – a perfect collaborative storm!
The original mix was an album track on Uffie’s ‘Sex, Dreams & Denim Jeans‘ and was also produced by SebastiAn, it’s pretty good and worth checking out but it’s on this remix that things really ignite. Gone are the slightly dubby beats of the original and instead we get some thumping electro drums, twisted synth noises and a truly awesome build to the breakdown. The only downside is it is quite short, I’d love a longer version, still any discerning dancefloor is sure to go mental to this.
The 2 Bears – Church (Midland Remix)
Next up is something very different, a chilled summery mix of a leftfield poppy dance tune. The 2 Bears are Joe Goddard from Hot Chip and DJ Raf Rundell, they do slightly odd housey pop music with vocals from Raf. It’s alright but not always my kind of thing. However this remix is perfect for a quiet Sunday afternoon sitting in a sunny park.
Midland has taken the original and stripped out a lot of the vocals leaving just enough to give it a happy, slightly trippy vibe. The vocals are then laid over a rolling synth line and broken beat to give the whole tune an almost gospel feeling, reminiscent of Primal Scream’s ‘Come Together’. Very nice indeed.
Distance – Falling
Last of the new tunes is this dubstep number from Distance, it’s from the vocal, trance-like stable of dubstep that was popularised by Magnetic Man’s ‘I Need Air’. Just like that tune I’m sure proper dubstep heads will hate this and no doubt consider it a travesty of the genre but then I’m not a fan of a lot of “proper” dubstep either, so let’s call it even.
There’s a couple of remixes going around too but I think the original works best and is just the sort of tune that is pushing dubstep and dance music to a much wider audience which alone is a good thing. The fact it’s also a great tune that you could play it in most sets to any reasonably open minded crowd is even better.
And finally one from the archives…
N-Trance – Set You Free (White label mix)
So this is pretty cheesy, I’ll accept that, but it’s also a great tune and not quite so cheesy when you put it in context of it’s original 1992 release. It’s that version we’ve got here, with the original rave vibe and is vastly superior to the various re-releases and remixes over the years.
It’s got everything to sum up that period in dance music history – lovely breakbeat drums, rave piano, massive breakdowns, lyrics really all about drugs and soaring female vocals. It’s great and makes me happy everytime I listen to it.
It’s true it has lost a lot of it’s reputation with the various abuses over the years and I doubt you’d get away with playing it in a club these days but I’d love to see a DJ try…
