MONTGOMERY + JAPANESE WALLPAPER.
Sometimes it all just hits you – everything feels as though it’s sitting in the right place. Things are moving at a pace familiar, but yet you’re still excited to see where it all goes. It reaches the points you know will bring you that extra buzz, that subtle push to the wry smile already forming. It gives you that warm and fuzzy, but it also gives you something else, something a lot bigger than that feeling you get. It feels as though it is actively accompanying something, maybe a memory, or maybe just this current moment, as you sit at your kitchen table after devouring your tuna salad sandwich.
It seems everything Gab Strum/Japanese Wallpaper touches immediately has this pureness and honesty. His latest, a remix of Montgomery‘s ‘Pinata’ took me everywhere that opening paragraph went. No doubt, as it accompanies the mad scurry that is the end of the year, it’ll add a calmness and a stillness – something I’m sure we could all do with.
The track is available as a free download until Boxing Day, so if you need something to play on repeat on Christmas morning as you jump on that plane back to the city you grew up, then this is your chance.
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Miks
ROLAND TINGS + CHET FAKER.
Say what you want about Chet Faker. There seems to be a bit of dislike for him – maybe it’s because he worked with that other guy people like to dislike, Flube. Or maybe it’s because he’s, like, successful now man and he’s no longer underground and stuff coz we’re so indie and hip. He’s ruining the whole bearded dude vibe bro. What? Hipsters? Nah man, we just really in touch with what’s going on and don’t like the mainstream and stuff.
But I dunno. Sure his album was a little lacklustre, but I think the dude still can write a mean tune. And there is something about that voice. Time will tell in regards to whether he’ll ever create a critical success though I guess.
But mate, when you get a fella like Roland Tings to jump on and have a play, then you’re on to something else, and hey, maybe even something that all those kool doodes can vibe on, bro. It’s acidy, feels minimal, and shows enough respect for the original without losing it’s other worldly feel.
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Miks
DORSAL FINS.
Oh man. Sometimes I really just sleep on things.
But then you come across a remix of that track you slept on. And you go back and revisit the original as well as that super strange reworked version that one of your favourite bands have done and you think that perhaps you shouldn’t sleep anymore.
Dorsal Fins is the project of Liam McGorry (from Saskwatch fame). His solo work is a studio only affair and features the vocals of Jarrad Brown, one of his mates in that other band Liam plays in Eagle And The Worm. It’s rollicking, good fun, kinda classic songwriting. And Jarrad’s strained vocals add this real confidence.
The remix comes from King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard. Stu and Joey from the band are behind it, and have forced it into this drawn out, glitch filled, cave style track, that is still oddly reminiscent of the original. Really nice.
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Miks
OSCAR KEY SUNG + NAYSAYER & GILSUN.
Ok. Gotta admit, this new remix from Naysayer & Gilsun of Oscar Key Sung‘s ‘All I Could Do’ took me a while.
But after a few listens, it’s charms have slowly started to wash over me. It’s the use of space. It’s the subtle bass line and very sporadic synth parts that hint at the possibility that maybe, perhaps, there is some idea of melody in this track apart from Oscar’s excellent vocals. It also feels polyrhythmic (BAM YEAH MUSIC TERM) and a little chaotic, but then when you look at it, it’s all variations of the same straight four beat.
Although this remix is nothing on the original (and yeah, that prolly isn’t even a question worth asking), it offers up something completely different. It sort of shocks you into thinking about it – it feels so incredibly discordant at times (that distorted rhythm that embeds it’s way into the intro) that you think, hey maybe there’s something wrong with my speakers. It is fast becoming a bit of a cliche when I write about most things electronic, but the light/shade, discordant/harmonious binaries that this track operates on is what makes it.
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Miks
ELIZABETH ROSE + EMOH INSTEAD.
ok, so this one is incredibly clubby, but mate, that Elizabeth Rose is somethin. And although I usually look the other way when I see What So Not, one half of that crew Emoh Instead has done a pretty sweet club remix of ‘Rose’s The Good Life’.
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Miks
SARAH BLASKO + PVT.
When you think of Sarah Blasko, you’d usually think delicate melodies, instrumentation, and this very personalised intensity.
You might not think percussion heavy, thumping, industrial. That’s what happens when you get PVT to remix a track though.
The track is ‘I Awake’, the title track from Blasko’s album of last year. I didn’t mind the original (I’ve spoken about my feelings of Blasko before), but this remix, amps it up. It makes what is quite a personalised song (hell, I think Blasko is the only local singer-songwriter that manages to make everything feel extremely personal), into something bigger than the individual. The original’s yearning to do better is amplified, almost as if to suggest that this is now a responsibility for the whole of society.
The remix is going to appear on a new EP from Sarah Blasko, the Fool EP, which’ll be out next Friday (November 15).
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Miks
WILLOW BEATS.
ok, so two of the biggest acts in this whole ‘Australian Sound’ (rubbish name for a genre – thanks Flume) would definitely have to be Cosmo’s Midnight and Willow Beats.
So when you hear that Willow Beats has done a remix of Cosmo’s Midnight’s track ‘The Surge’ you kinda have to grab that pillow to cover the mess you just made.
And seriously, this is a fucking incredible remix. Heavy glitch right throughout complemented by the rather ethereal vocals of the original. And then there’s that lovely sound of the wind and the sea at the top. It is seriously excellent.
This is the first remix of a couple apparently. All of tracks from Cosmo’s Midnight’s debut EP.
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Miks
OWL EYES + FRACTURES.
So the original of this track has been going gangbusters lately. Owl Eyes is seriously onto a pop winner with ‘Nightswim’. Such a solid piece of pop perfection, but with just enough intrigue and interest in there to make it stand out.
I’ve heard a few remixes of this track before – the Collarbones remix featured in our April mixtape, and now we’ve got a new one from Melbourne dude Fractures. As is the lovefest commonly referred to as maamf, Fractures also received a guernsey with his remix of Whitley‘s latest getting a mention a week or two back. His take on Owl Eyes is similar in that this is a dude that loves layers and slow builds. I think what stands out for me in this track is how calm it is. Those toms that basically form the main part of the drum groove and that building guitar pick line are but two elements of a whole bed of sound that builds to suddenly leave Brooke out there on her own, albeit with some vocal filtering and layering. It’s this sparseness that usually hits a track at the beginning, or the end. But Fractures sticks it in the middle, making it a feature. And yah, it fucking works.
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Miks
WHITLEY REMIXES.
I wrote about Whitley ‘s new track ‘My Heart Is Not A Machine’ a couple of weeks back. “So Whitley’s back”, I began, completely forgetting his whole thing about dropping the Whitley moniker and doing things under his real name, Lawrence Greenwood when he got back from his overseas jaunt.
The back-and-forth on his name has gotten me a little confused…but then, of course, I read what I wrote about the comeback single, and realised that this guy, no matter what fucking name he goes under, is a great songwriter. And yeah, that may be a little convenient, given the fact that there seems to be a few notsogreat stories out there about his live shows, but I truly believe that talent and well written songs trump everything.
So, preamble aside, the track has received a couple of remixes and even a cover. Easily the best of the remixes is from Melbourne dude Fractures, taking the track, and seriously making it his own, albeit with the same sort of structure. That bedding that Fractures builds up underneath Whitley’s vocals.
And then there’s this incredible cover from Brighton UK but originally Melbourne boys, Kins. Taking it and making it a hell of a lot darker, Kins nail that atmospheric uneasiness.
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Miks
CITY CALM DOWN + ZAC HAYSE
Ok, so this is simply fucking genius. Such a feel good remix of a freakin feel good track.
City Calm Down have proven themselves a heap over the past couple of months – from getting bigtime radio play to playing some killer gigs. And then Zac Hayse of excellent Melbourne duo 96 Bulls.
The best way to start your post-humpday day.
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Miks
CATCALL.
What better way to start back in the new year than this killer remix from YOUTH and Julian Mendelsohn of Catcall‘s ‘On My Own’. This has actually been sitting in my itunes library for a few weeks now, but it’s just that good that it had to be posted.
Dubbed the 90210 mix, because the original track actually appeared on the show in 2011, it takes the original to a brooding place, stripping it of it’s feel-good pop charm and embedding an almost unnerving dark feel to it.
It’s pretty freakin great too.
Also, just as a small bonus, I’ve got another remix from Julian Mendelsohn, of Catcall‘s epic pop masterpiece ‘Swimming Pool’.
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Miks
CLUBFEET + GUERRE
I wasn’t too fussed on the original of this track. Whilst getting a whole heap of radio play and love on the blogzzz, it lacked something for me. It sounded a little thin on the ground. Clubfeet are definitely a great band, and pretty much nail that fun, summery feel good vibe. But ‘Heartbreak’ was a little off the mark for me.
Guerre has had his way with it though, and takes away any resemblance of fun. Or summer.
Instead, it’s turned into a dark, glitch-beat and cut-up vocal driven trip, taking you stumbling through a pretty freaky dreamstate.
It’s also really really good.
Props to the excellent FBi Radio up in Sydney for the heads up.
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Miks
MAXI.
So every once and a while you sleep on a track and then come across a remix that forces you to go back and re-listen to the original. The artist in question is Melbourne singer Maxi and the remixer is new kid on the Sydney block Adam Sandlah.
The track is Maxi’s latest single, ‘From The Start’.
The original has this real funky vibe to it – from those condensed drum sounds to the keyboard groove. And then, of course, Maxi’s super hot vocals on top.
The remix adds this cool, disco house feel to it. Put against this straight up groove, it keeps the verses simple – bass, beat, and vox. Added in the chorus is that hella good horn line and a funkier groove.
I’d keep an eye out on Sandlah. Could be ontoagoodthing.
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Miks
LOON LAKE REMIXES.
So the Loon Lake boys have been kicking around for a little while now. After releasing two EPs over the past year and a bit, the guys seem to be hitting their stride, with some love on both community radio as well as triple j.
Their last official single, ‘Cherry Lips’ is a really great affair, with this drum groove that, I think, helps set the track apart from all the other indie pop out there. And then there’s all these remixes. You can stream all four over on their soundcloud, but I got my two faves just below.
First up is a remix from Nick Nolan, Loon Lake’s drummer. This one absolutely nails the melodic funky groove vibe. Really really dig it.
Next up is the remix from Clubfeet. Getting that true summer vibe, complete with added cowbell, this is nuts. Suits the awesome Melbourne weather that today has brought too.
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Miks
THE PRESETS + HERMITUDE.
Woah. Hermitude are doing some absolutely excellent things at the moment. Their production is absolutely stellar and ahead of the game. They’ve gone and completely fucked with the new Presets single, Ghosts, giving it an almost dancehall, post-dubstep vibe. Amazing.
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Miks
FAUX PAS.
Faux Pas is back with some new stuff! I’ve been following Tim Shiel for a while (yeah dude, that was me knocking on your window last night. nah, not really.).
Tim is releasing a new album entitled Remixes on August 20. And funnily enough, it’s an album full of remixes.
The first track from the album is his remix of Sydney glitchy folk superstar Caitlin Park‘s track ‘Baby Teeth’. You can check out the original here.
The remix is some killer, moody dance floor goodness. Extends the original into something quite amazing – those little piano flourishes are so nice!
You can stream/download the track below and make sure you keep your eye out for the album. Looking forward to this one!
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Miks
THE TEMPER TRAP REMIXES.
Ok, so I actually really loved the first Temper Trap album, although quite a few out there had different ideas. Sure they were once a Melbourne local indie band that had a killer live reputation and a few tracks out there on the blogs. And now they’re perhaps one of the biggest Australian exports this country has seen. But meh, it all be Tall Poppy Syndrome to me. Some people gonna hate.
All that said however, I’m not that fussed on their new album. Granted, I’ve only heard a handful of tracks off it, but yeah, overall it doesn’t do it for me. Latest single ‘Trembling Hands’ is a pretty decent track though.
There’s a few remixes popping up of the track too which is good to see given that the track is in 6/8 which suggests it may be harder to make a four to the floor banger. But, Strange Talk have done that.
The Strange Talk remix keeps the dark quite sad feel of the original and puts this slow groove underneath. I almost think it could be slowed down even more, but it still kills.
Another remix getting a fair bit of attention is from Chet Faker. I loved this when I first heard it…then I went off it a bit. Now, it’s slowly starting to grow on me again. It keeps that 6/8 groove but lowers it all, giving Dougie’s voice this eery slightly robotic sound. The big psych out thing going on at the end takes the track somewhere else. Works a heap.
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Miks
CATCALL + LANCELOT.
From a song that I already dig heaps, comes a remix that I dig equally as much. Sydney’s Lancelot has gone and had his way with Catcall‘s new single The World Is Ours. Makes it into a super late night deep house vibe and fucking hell. It kills it. One of the best remixes I’ve heard this year so far, of one of the best pop tracks I’ve heard this year.
It be a WIN WIN!
Catcall – The World Is Ours (Lancelot Remix) by LANCELOT
Miks
COSMO BLACK.
At it again. Cosmo Black have a new single out, Blind. I wrote a couple of months ago that the boys have ‘arrived’ with their previous single, Let The Cold Air In. Well with Blind they’ve moved well beyond that and have taken it somewhere else.
For me, it’s the time signature of this track that cements the groove so solidly. Messing with that four four groove by a sixteenth means that there’s this underpinning level of urgency to the track – it takes the track a step above. That feeling of uneasiness is contrasted by the rather ethereal vocal sample however, making you feel a little more comfortable with the feel of the track.
I think being able to mess with our expectations and out already established ideas is a skill, something that’s really exciting to see within the more pop sounding dance music.
So yeah, I like this a lot! Also make sure you check out the more up-beat big club remix by Edwin Van Cleef. It has all the right drops in all the right places!
Cosmo Black – Blind (Edwin Van Cleef Remix)
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Miks
OSKAR.
Oskar is a Melbourne based house music fella. Doing some really great stuff that is easily on par with some of the killer dudes in both France and the States.
He’s got an absolute heap of stuff up on his soundcloud page so feel free to go a little nuts there. However, it’s new track Angela that I is gonna feature today.
A full 7 and a bit minute epic, Angela is something that builds on the one motif. But to save it from being something repetitive, Oskar employs slight changes in the groove and some subtle filters to ensure it builds and kinda grows from one thing to another. Not being an expert on house, I would suggest that that’s what sets good producers apart from the shit and mediocre.
Oskar – Angela by Oscar Official
BONUS!
Amtrac – Came Along (Oskar Remix) by Oscar Official
Miks
CLUBFEET REMIXES.
Melbourne dudes Clubfeet have just released their new single from their massive release Gold On Gold. The single, BrightLightsBigCity is already a rather chill dreamy track full of that sense of fun that Clubfeet seem to get across so effortlessly.
Then comes the 6 remixes. Perhaps my fave is the Mercury remix – that bass line that gets it going and those synth stabs that kick in just past half way. It makes the whole thing a bit of a dark epic.
Another killer remix would be the mix done by All Dom Wrong (Dominique – The Glass/Plant Music). Changes it up into some big piano led house number.
You can check out the whole thing on Clubfeet’s soundcloud and if you dig, you can buy ’em over on iTunes.
Clubfeet – BrightLightsBigCity (Mercury Remix)
Clubfeet – BrightLightsBigCity (All Dom Wrong Remix)
Also check out the rather nice clip.
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Miks
LANCELOT.
Sydney gent Lance Gurisik is doing some pretty incredible stuff. It’s taken me a while, but I think he’s turned me a fan. You may know Lance better as Lancelot – he’s done a few pretty decent remixes over the past year or so, the most recent of which we got below!
The dude is set to launch his debut EP, ‘We Can Dance’ pretty soon. ahh…pretty apt name me thinks. Lead track, Spoken Word is piano led slow funk that makes you wanna be a little bit of a sleazebag…especially when that porno guitar hits!
It’s also really really good. Nice intro with the vocal samples and the slow groove that builds. Then it sets the scene with that solo piano groove…and then wham bam thank you mam, it all drops and is FUNK. The EP is out on Beatport on Feb 20 through Binary. Not a Beatport user? It’s getting a worldwide release on Mar 5. The EP will be a 7 tracker including remixes by Goldroom, Fabian, Moonchild, and Frames.
Lancelot – Spoken Word by LANCELOT
And then there’s that remix I spoke about just before. Matt Corby’s Brother was a massive track of last year…and Lancelot’s remix makes it even more dark and brooding – I’m liking the way Lancelot has used Corby’s vocals too. It’s not just a carbon copy of the track with a house groove behind it.
Matt Corby – Brother (Lancelot Remix) by LANCELOT
Miks
NEW NAVY + RUFUS.
Sydney gents RUFUS have had their way with a bit of a massif track from last year, New Navy‘s Zimbabwe.
Sure it’s pretty clubby and has all the drops…but it still kills. Also comes with a pretty saweet clip!
New Navy – Zimbabwe (RUFUS Remix) by RUFUS (official)
Miks
GEOFFREY O’CONNOR REMIXES.
This mini remix Ep was released at the end of last week and man, it is amazing. We posted about the Oliver Tank remix of Geoffrey O’Connor‘s Whatever Leads Me To You last week on our facebook. And then I heard the other remixes on this new ‘Yes Please’ Remix EP…and subsequently downloaded all the other remix EP’s Mr O’Connor put out late last year – yeah…they be THAT GOOD.
These are pretty spectacular. I really liked Geoffrey O’Connor’s LP from last year. He has such a distinctive 80’s influenced cinematic sound. And then these awesome beat makers have their nasty way with his work. And it fucking works!
Instead of streaming the Oliver Tank remix, I think the Guerre remix of Proud is my fave on the three track EP. If you dig though, make sure you grab all of the stuff from Mr O’Connor’s bandcamp page. We also got a remix of So Sorry by Melbourne’s Indian Summer DJs.
JAMZ!!
Geoffrey O’Connor – Proud (Guerre Remix)
Geoffrey O’Connor – So Sorry (Indian Summer remix)
Miks
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