There’s an awful lot of work that goes into each and every dance floor anthem you’ve ever danced to. Some tracks are club-ready bangers from the moment they’re released but many records take a little time to develop. Many of dance music’s finest moments have come as a result of a number of artists remixing one another’s sounds; a variety of ideas and interpretations amalgamating into something brilliant. Here we look at five tracks which benefitted from taking a couple of extra turns on the production rollercoaster.
'Show Me Love'
Original: Robin S (1993)
Remix: Laidback Luke and Steve Angello (2008)
Remix: Sam Feldt (2015)
I’m not going to patronise you by giving you a lengthy background to the forthcoming Sam Feldt release. Show Me Love was Robin S’ crowning achievement: a distinctive, soaring vocal that became synonymous with early 90s rave culture. Laidback Luke & Steve Angello then had their wicked way with the track to make it more accessible for the MTV generation, by which I mean making the record more brash and the video raunchier (for this I will personally never forgive them). Clean Bandit then added violins to the song for reasons known only to themselves. So when I heard Spinnin’ Records were to carry a deep house remix of the record I was extremely sceptical. I wanted to hate it; I really did. But Sam Feldt’s take is infectious; the vocals tinged with a vulnerability and originality which blew away my pessimism. It is very, very decent.
'The Sky Was Pink'
Original: Nathan Fake (2004)
Remix: James Holden (2004)
The original will remain an absolute classic, impressively produced by a 21 year old Nathan Fake. A seven minute sonic embrace that sounded just as captivating on the dancefloor as when being heard during some of life’s quieter moments. The track is such a varied and delicate mixture of sounds that it would have been easy to ruin, but James Holden proved himself equal to the task. Expanding the song out further to ten minutes, Holden was given the room to exaggerate all of the record’s best features. This is a remix which has stood the test of time and the extended outro lends itself perfectly for mixing into another track, meaning this record remains as relevant in the clubbing scene as ever.
'The Man with the Red Face'
Original: Laurent Garnier (2000)
Remix: Mark Knight and Funkagenda (2008)
Remix: Hardwell (2014)
Officially, this isn’t a remix, it’s a cover. Funkagenda was apparently not taken with the tempo of Laurent Garnier’s original and decided to make his own version - it’s for this reason that Garnier is not credited in any of the Funkagenda titles. It’s just as well that this version does the original justice and, although my preference is for the 2000 release, this turned a new generation of dance music fans toward the wizardry of French maestro Laurent Garnier. In more recent times, Dutch chart-botherer Hardwell added his two cents worth by adding in a ferocious bass-drop and the now-obligatory EDM sirens. Hardwell’s remix best serves as an example of how the dance music landscape has changed, yet the legendary sax solo remains untouched, thank heavens.
'Voodoo People'
Original: The Prodigy (1994)
Remix: Pendulum (2005)
A completely different change of tac from other records on this list, but the sheer enormity of Pendulum’s edit of The Prodigy’s moshpit spectacular was too big to ignore. It was released just as Pendulum was beginning a sharp ascent, performing headline slots at some of the summer’s biggest parties. Now synonymous with bare-chested circle pits the world over, this remix peaks early and maintains the intensity. So successful did the remix become that The Prodigy have been known to perform it during their sets, rubber stamping Pendulum’s version of the song which brought the classic back in from the cold after its initial release in 1994.
'Be True'
Original: Commix (2007)
Remix: Burial (2010)
There’s a fine line between a remix and simply sampling a record; it’s difficult to know where this one sits. Despite Burial giving full credit to drum and bass artist Commix in the title, this version is such a major departure from the original that it’s difficult to be certain. It’s testament to Burial’s ability to turn the most breakneck of sounds into a heart-wrenching, melancholic moody-banger that this was ever classed as a remix at all. As with every Burial release, surprises lay at every turn; a record steeped in emotion, this is one for punching out all the lights, grabbing the nearest pillow and heading wherever the track takes you.
View this feature in the Ibiza Spotlight Magazine, Issue 006.
WORDS | Jonathan Coll
