Staff Pix 2/7: Remix Crate

Let’s work it out on the re-re-re-re-remi-mi-xxxxxx! Tune into Staff Pix live Fridays from 5-6pm on wecb.live!

“I like it (bass rmx)” by Bassvictim

Bitten until the fierce track bleeds black in euphoric disbelief, Bassvictim’s remix of their own song “I Like It” is a bass-filled anthem that smacks and screams at its listeners, shaking us into a rhythm that is addictive and unforgettable. The original track is sensitive in its birth, producing a muffled hum that grows into a full blown headbanger, layered with synthesized tones that rev with excitement. The ‘bass rmx’ shortens its intro and leads us right into a marginally faster beat. This seemingly natural exchange for a quicker tempo only doubles the adrenaline rush that the original song exudes. Along with their intense production, the London-based electronic duo tends to distance themselves from their listeners lyrically, creating an exclusive yet catchy chorus that sides with the duo’s best interests: 

“West side, best side/

You know how we drive.

'Cause in London Town/

The left side's the right side.”

By the remix’s final moments, I can’t help but repeat the song for its exclusionary lyrics, yet exhilarating drive. —Mateo Krygowski

“Faceshopping (Euphoric Reduce Me To Nothingness Remix)” by SOPHIE

I’m of the opinion that any good remix should either do something drastically different with the original song, or accentuate a particular element of that song in a unique way. Fortunately, SOPHIE does both with her remix of her own iconic song “Faceshopping,” turning the 2:17-3:05 minute interlude of the original song into a whirlwind of pure bliss. She trades all the bomb-heavy bass and industrial din—whirring, clanking, crushing—of the original for the iridescent sparks left in the aftermath. “Ooh,  reduce me to nothingness,” she moans and coos over a galaxy of bouncing synths. By the time the club beat kicks in and you are nothing more than a vessel for the sound, I promise you this: it will feel so good. —Christian Jones

“Since I Left You - Stereolab Remix” by The Avalanches

Listen up, kids. This is music. Disgustingly funky, bombastic, legendaric. It goes without elaboration that The Avalanches and Stereolab are beacons of the electronic, post-rock craft. They don’t exist quite in the same micro-niche, rather skimming each other’s curves of their respective venn diagram bubbles. The Avalanches’ seminal 2000 debut Since I Left You caught a second wind twenty years later with the release of a deluxe edition, featuring Stereolab on the titular track. Broken up into three acts, this remix is for the ages. The orchestra flows in unique tandem with the synths, as the broken vocals parade in circles. A mid-song breakdown is worthy of not just a head-nodding, but instead a full-body integration, ska style. Whisked away by the angelic conclusion, you may feel depleted knowing the track has reached completion. But, this is the digital age, and you have freewill, so rewind and enjoy it all over, and over, and over again. —Sofia Giarrusso

“Dawn” by Oklou & Casey MQ

Cut the upbeat pop and cue the…eerie Oklou ambiance? “I’ll be your sinner in secret” just got a whole new definition in this (unofficial) remix of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Run Away With Me.” In honor of Oklou’s new album coming out today, I had to shout this out. Oklou turns Jepsen’s song into…not quite your innocent pop fling anymore. “You make me feel like / I could be driving you all night / And I’ll find your lips in the streetlight”…Why am I driving you all night? Am I fleeing the cops or trying to find an empty parking lot? If I’m your sinner in secret, what kind of sin are we talking about? Are we about to hookup or hide a body? Make-out or manslaughter? With the synths and reverberations… it’s your call. —Monika Krueger

“Human After All - ‘Guy-Man After All’ Justice Remix” by Daft Punk & Justice

The Justice and Daft Punk crossover on “Human After All - ‘Guy-Man After All’” is an absolutely legendary collaboration that wows me every time. It’s an over-stimulating yet coordinated mess of synths that livens the track’s soul past that of Daft Punk’s original. It brings forth a whole new format of instrumentation that simultaneously shortens the track and ups its danceability. With the implementation of even more synth and an even catchier bass lane, Justice’s version is a technical–dare I say–perfection. From the raw intensity to the constant flow of weaving grooves, Justice’s remix is a bold take on one of Daft Punk’s timeless records. —Sophie Parrish

“Ocean Drive - Tiga’s White Linen Vox” by Tiga & FPU

Miami Vice is something very dear to me. The smell of neon pink latex and aquamarine pleather in the backseat of a Ferrari Testarossa was home for my hot summer nights. Taking the soft feeling of the classic “Crocketts Theme,” originally by the iconic Jan Hammer, FPU adds an influx of the 80s with wobble synth and ticker tape symbols running laps around Tiga’s vocals. The remix tells the story of a classic Tubbs and Crockett case with the lyrics like, “White linen on your back/ Black secrets on your mind/ A past you'd tried to hide And a life you'd left behind.” The listener is persuaded to tighten their grip on the steering wheel. —Salem Ross

“Life is Sweet – Daft Punk Remix” by The Chemical Brothers & Daft Punk

I first heard this song when I watched Gregg Araki’s Nowhere. Not only did I fall in love with this film, but I became obsessed with this remix. The Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk are both icons in the electronic music world, and this collaboration is nothing short of legendary in my book. The rhythm is hypnotizing and the developing sounds of both Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers is clear. This was released in 1995; the electronic music scene was exploding. “Life is Sweet” is an explosion in itself, the bass is deep, and each jab of sound makes moving your body easy. While most dance songs have a build and a drop, “Life is Sweet” is a constant beat for almost 9 minutes, and honestly, I can’t get enough. I let the beat carry me away and I melt into the choir of drum machines and synths. —Izzie Claudio

“Mean girls featuring julian casablancas” by Charli xcx & Julian Casablancas

Charli xcx and Julian Casablancas’s remix, “Mean girls featuring julian casablancas,” takes the original song to the next level. Casablancas’s smooth, conversational, and almost resigned vocals on this track contrast with xcx’s distorted and upbeat style to produce a dynamic that is utterly addicting. The lyrics delve right into toxic relationships: “I followed the rules / I took the abuse” and “Here's one for the ones who left (Here's one for the ones who left) / One for the abandonment (One for the abandoned girls).” The superpower of “Mean girls” is its multi-layered exploration of relationship through two opposite singing styles, reflecting disconnect through and through. —Heather Thorn

“Brimful of Asha - Norman Cook remix” by Cornershop & Fatboy Slim

It’s always a refreshing outlier when a song with the refrain “everybody needs a bosom for a pillow” hits number one in the UK. Okay, outlier might be too strong of a word. For those uninitiated into the joyful cult of Cornershop, “Brimful of Asha,” lead singer Tjinder Singh’s tribute to legendarily prolific playback singer Asha Bhosle, works just as well as a breezy Brit-rock monument to life’s simple pleasures. In his excellent remix, Norman Cook, better known as Fatboy Slim, takes this laziness and pumps it full of quadruple shots of espresso, sticking it in a taxi and gunning it down the highway at 200 miles per hour. The result isn’t terribly different in structure but miraculous in energy, a pitched-up reimagining of Cornershop’s classic that translates its quirky celebration into a certifiably insane dance party. We’re all invited— just be prepared to flail around like a cartoon character. —Charlie Desjardins

“It’s Not Right But It’s Okay - Thunderpuss Mix” by Whitney Houston, Chris Cox, & Barry Harris

At sixteen, I started my job in an ice cream truck. Thus began a summer of forty hour work weeks cooped up in a tin can scooping cream until I sprained my pinkie. Despite it being labor, the job gave me quite a few friends, including an older lesbian who I thought was positively magical. On rainy days she would tell me about the memoirs she read and the adventures she and her partner would embark on. When we worked together we would close quickly so she could go out dancing. Whatever club she went to would end the night with this remix, so as I washed dishes and she counted the register she played it for me to get a taste of the magical nightlife of Providence, Rhode Island. She was the perfect person for a shy sixteen-year-old me to meet, and this song brings me right back to the excitement of knowing there are people out there dancing; I just can’t join them quite yet. —Nathan Hilyard