Happy Turkey Day!

Monday, November 23rd, 2009 >> Blog
Written by Dani Deahl

So this is probably the only post you are going to get this week, just an FYI. I’ll be out of town with the bf and staying with a relative that…*gasp*…has no Internetz! Oh the horrors. In any case, I’ve yet to pack so this will be blissfully brief.

Kitch ‘n Sync sent over a whole mess of tracks, which I admit made me a lit leery, but I listened to all of them and indeed, there were some standouts. The take on Chicane’s “Offshore” is sweet and pulled in – a tight package with perfectly popping drums that prove less is more. The Danny J Lewis remix of “Spend The Night” goes in a different, wobbly direction that stutters its way through the bulk of the track, opening up with atmospherics on breaks. Finally, a remix of Little Boots’ “Remedy” which presents yet another sound. This time it’s more electro-ish with dirtied synths and it’s the only remix that I have a slight problem with. Though I love the base elements, there’s nary a significant variation until the large breakdown past the middle of the track. The track is short enough at just under 4:30 that it could be forgivable but I’d still love to see some more pattern changes.

[audio:http://www.danideahl.com/audio/11_23_09/Chicane_Offshore_KitchnSyncGlobal2009Mix.mp3]
Chicane: Offshore (Kitch ‘n Sync Global 2009 Mix)
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[audio:http://www.danideahl.com/audio/11_23_09/DannyJLewis_SpendTheNight_KitchnSyncRemix.mp3]
Danny J Lewis: Spend The Night (Kitch ‘n Sync Remix)
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[audio:http://www.danideahl.com/audio/11_23_09/LittleBoots_RemedyKitchnSyncRemix.mp3]
Little Boots: Remedy (Kitch ‘n Sync Remix)
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I LOVE Shakedown’s “At Night”. It would probably make my list of all time favorite house tracks. So when people remix songs that are especially near and dear to my heart I come to the table with an extra critical ear. Biancardi tackled the classic track and in my mind, really should have called it a dub instead of a remix. Nearly all the original vocal is stripped and what remains is stuttered and chopped. If you really knew the original you would recognize this, but otherwise I think it remains anonymous. Not that this makes it a bad track. On the contrary, the simple melodic structure, crisp notes and subtle background washes of sound make this a great 3 or 4am track but come on, if you call it a remix, I want to hear “At Night” in all its glory.

[audio:http://www.danideahl.com/audio/11_23_09/Atnight_BiancardiRemix.mp3]
Shakedown: At Night (Biancardi Remix)
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Here’s another instance where I’d like to see the original pop a little more in the remixed version. Lapse‘s take on Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force’s “Planet Rock” retains some of the original nuances, but the closest it gets to the original is in the opening thirty seconds. The following beat is catchy and something I could throw an acapella over quite easily but past the first couple minutes the vocal disappears completely. A breakdown that goes into the original beat would have made this totally stellar. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the bleepy bits and ascending bassline – those are nice too