REMIXED: Lana Del Rey’s “Ride” Remixed By Active Child & Photek
How many ways can you remix Lana Del Rey? Just how many producers got sent the stems every time she readies a new single? I have a feeling there must be a plethora of unreleased mixes not making the cut, when they always releasing a mixed bag of tricks. For her new Rick-Rubin-produced single “Ride”, Active Child and Photek step up to the task and deliver two of the best rejigs so far. Do check them out below!
STREAM: Lana Del Rey – Ride (Active Child Remix)
Active Child adds some seriously funky basslines and pretty harp chords with an ’80s finish.
STREAM: Lana Del Rey – Ride (Photek Remix)
Props to the legendary Photek for not turning in a token drum n’ bass mix (Special Request has filled that slot instead), and for keeping the melodies intact, making it one of the more tamed offerings from him. I still would like to hear a proper old-school jungle take on Lana though.
Covercentric: Saint Saviour Reinterprets Mazzy Star and Bonnie Tyler
Saint Saviour excels at making spooky, grown-up art-pop, and she’s been honing those skills by recording covers and giving them away on her Soundcloud. Among her latest is a tongue-in-cheek dubstep-ified cover of infamous ’80s power ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart”. The Groove Armada collaborator has also provided her own lilting take on Mazzy Star’s ’90s shoegaze classic “Fade Into You”.
MP3: Saint Saviour – Fade Into You (Mazzy Star Cover)
MP3: Saint Saviour – Total Eclipse of the Heart (Bonnie Tyler Cover)
On the original-material front, her new single “Tightrope” is a beautiful heartbreak lullaby that would make Kate Bush proud. The chord progression also reminds me of Radiohead’s “Creep”, does it not? It’s by far one of her strongest tracks. Here’s the official video for it.
STREAM: Saint Saviour – Tightrope (Radio Edit)
Check out her Soundcloud for more free covers of Bowie, Siouxsie, M83 & more.
Buy her latest album “Union”.
More on Saint Saviour.
REMIXED: Ellie Goulding – Hanging On (Ahadadream Remix)
Ellie Goulding‘s sophomore effort “Halcyon” is out this week, and you should probably have it already because it’s definitely one of the strongest pop releases this year. “Anything Could Happen” was a red herring, as the album is a big step forward – bold, experimental, and bombastic, without losing the pop charms of her debut. She shows real growth and progression as an artist. At the moment, I’m all about “Only You”, “My Blood” and the massive “Figure 8” (which has to be the next single).
Her cover of Active Child’s “Hanging On” got a wicked bass remix by London-based producer Ahadadream, which is only available on the Spotify edition. But you can now download it for free! Have a listen below.
MP3: Ellie Goulding – Hanging On (Ahadadream Remix)
Popforward: Chart Music
Chart Music is the new joint project of Le Prix and Roger Gunnarsson, both of whom have worked with Sally Shapiro, Johan Agebjörn, Cloetta Paris and Queen of Hearts. If you don’t know any of those names, educate yourself. If you do, then you probably know what to expect. The first song from the Stockholm-based duo is “When You Lied”, featuring Viktor Ginner on vocals, and it’s a gorgeous piece of melancholy heart-on-sleeve anorak twee-pop blub-a-thon. Influences include italo disco, ’80s synth-pop and John Hughes films. If you don’t feel something when the middle eight’s instrumental breakdown glides in, then you sir need to check your pulse!
STREAM: Chart Music – When You Lied
An accompanying video was made of clips from obscure 1986 teen flick Lucas. Prepared to get your sad eyes on.
REMIXED: Acid House Kings’ “This Heart Is A Stone” Revisited By Friends And Fans
Swedish indie-pop veterans Acid House Kings have been enjoying a resurgence lately. They just reissued most of their back catalogue, as well as invited friends and fans to remix their most popular track “This Heart is a Stone” (it was on a Korean ice cream commercial featuring Drew Barrymore don’t cha know). Out of the whopping number of 12 remixes, here are my two cherry picks. The Perfect Nines mix goes for the jangly C86 Sarah Records sound which I adore, while the Sunny Intervals opt for relaxing Sunday-morning vibes. Both give a fresh take on the original without straying too far from its roots. Have a lovely listen below.
MP3: Acid House Kings – This Heart is a Stone (Perfect Nines Mix)
STREAM: Acid House Kings – This Heart is a Stone (Sunny Intervals Remix)
Stream the entire collection of mixes on Labrador’s Soundcloud.
More on Acid House Kings.
REMIXED: Bat For Lashes – All Your Gold (Hercules and Love Affair Remix)
Just in time for Friday night, here’s the Hercules and Love Affair remix of Bat For Lashes‘ latest single “All Your Gold”. It’s a no-brainer union, since I always thought his throwback Chicago house sound would mesh well with her voice. Check it out below!
STREAM: Bat For Lashes – All Your Gold (Hercules and Love Affair Remix)
And if you haven’t seen its music video yet, please do. For me, it’s an instant classic that begs for repeated viewings. It’s beautifully choreographed, performed, filmed and edited, and those vaguely ritualistic moves Natasha Khan pulls are so captivating. This has become my second favourite video of hers beside that one. Stunning.
Pre-order “The Haunted Man”, out October 22. Not long now.
More on Bat For Lashes.
LISTEN: Solange – Sleep in the Park
By now you probably have heard and seen Solange‘s stunner of a single, the Blood Orange-produced “Losing You”. It’s chilled, it’s understatedly brilliant, it’s probably the best track/video she put her name to. “Sleep in the Park”, the b-side attached to it (how old-fashioned!) is also out now and featuring Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal on vocals. Between this and his back-and-forth collaborations with Janelle Monae, that man does love to work with alt-R&B ladies. Check it out below.
STREAM: Solange – Sleep in the Park (Feat. Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal)
And here’s the amazing video for “Losing You”. I love the path Solange chose for herself, out of Beyoncé’s shadow, and I expect her new album to amaze me.
Buy the digital single. 12″ vinyl out on November 6 on Terrible Records.
More on Solange.
MP3: Fibes, Oh Fibes! – Cerahtonia (feat. Icona Pop)
Fibes, Oh Fibes! are one of those Swedish indie bands that have been around for a while and kind of got lost in my shuffle, but this will soon change, judging by the arrival of their comeback single “Cerahtonia”. Produced by Pontus Winberg of Miike Snow, and featuring vocals from the two lovely ladies of Icona Pop, “Cerahtonia” is a celebratory, sun-kissed indie pop confection with infectious “ba-ba-ba” hooks that should cheer you right up in no time. Their new album, entitled “Album”, is expected in April 2013. Download a free MP3 below, or grab a hefty WAV file here if you’re inclined.
MP3: Fibes, Oh Fibes! – Cerahtonia (feat. Icona Pop)
Pop Labyrinth 
