Don Quijote X BeatRehab

I love both of these artists quite a bit and these two tracks are perfect representations of their respective styles. First, we have the New York based electrofunk duo, The Knocks, who have become known as feel-good dance producers. This track was released with Neon Gold Records, who represent artists like HAIM, St. Lucia, and Magic Man. "Classic" is no deviation from that system or pedigree, and that's a good thing. The track uses a silky smooth bass track and highly rhythmic melodies in the guitar and the vocal to create a simultaneously chilled-out yet danceable mood. The piano and lead rhythm guitar lines drive the track and counteract the "sleepy" nature of the vocal. And what a vocal it is. Bringing Powers in to add her sexy vocal was a stroke of genius for The Knocks, giving this track an added layer of flavor over what is really simple musical support. The bass, guitar, and percussion isn't very complicated, but it all develops into a well-blende...

I should preface this whole post by first explaining that I didn't really love this song the first few times I heard it. That being said, when a talented artist like L.A. based producer, Le Youth, comes up with a fresh take, you have to give it time and let it grow. I decided to be patient and I'm really glad I did. First, I wasn't crazy about the original selection; I felt (at first glance) that the original was a little too basic to fulfill the demanding musical interpretation we've come to expect from Le Youth. What I mean by this is that 2/3 of the original is mostly a repetitive verse that bases on simply amplifying the weight of the piano. That being said, after a few more listens, you realize that this dynamic change and the subtle addition of brass instruments towards the final third of the track actually does an admirable job of building to the climax. There, you finally get the confluence of all the brass instrumentation, coupled with the powerful piano chords...

So this review is going to be a bit unconventional. The reason for this is quite simply. I don't actually like both of the tracks. I LOVE Stwo's (pronounced "stew") remix, as I love most of his work, but this is a rare case where you get a fantastic remix born out of an original track that honestly just isn't that good. The Norwegian producer, Lido, ironically ends up getting a bit lost in his original track "Lost." Where does he get lost you might ask? Well.... everywhere really. I should preface this whole discussion by saying that I personally am a  huge fan of progressive beat structures and unconventional melody formation. As an example, the New Swoop we wrote on Baths was one of the most unanimously positive reviews we've ever written. The issue with attempting to build such a progressive track, like Lido does here with "Lost," is that oftentimes you end up doing bizarre things just for the sake of doing them. What happens here...

Nebbra is back in the game, and big time! This one is especially exciting because it’s a remix of a song that’s perhaps a year old. Paradoxically, It’s refreshing to hear old tracks being re-amped by the remix community. First thing first: this remix marks a new era in Nebbra’s musical career; this is the beginning of a new style, a new flavor, a reinvention of sorts if you will. Why so? The answer is a combination of several factors. For starters, the original track is by Adventure Club, which unlike other artists Nebbra has remixed in the past, is more electro-heavy with clear dubstep influences and faster tempos overall. This background added to the vocals by featuring artist Yuna, gave Nebbra the push needed to create a track with clearly redefined stylistic choices that fall more in line with what newer generation producers like Cosmos Midnight and Cln are doing. These are electronic remixes that focus on short-length vocal sampling and are heavy on percussion elements. The ...

So to be honest I've been on a bit of a electro/hip-hop trip lately and I'm not upset about it. It seems like hip-hop since about 2005 has been made for electro remixes and Canadian DJ Zanski seems to have capitalized on that recent trend, especially when Gambino's "3005 Pt. II" dropped earlier this month. But if you think about it, it makes sense that a lot of electro remixers and producers are starting to get inspired by current hip hop. Childish Gambino (ATL rep) and many other artists have incorporated deep and well-built electronic based beats. I myself have noticed similar trends in Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, and SkizzyMars' tracks. So it's no wonder that we're starting to get well-done remixes, like Zanski's posted just a week ago. I'm assuming that all of you are familiar with "3005" off of Childish Gambino's wildly popular album  Because the Internet , but Zanski's remix also incorporates Gambino's new ...

Our love of Snakehips here on CasaSwoop is not exactly a private sentiment. Let's just say that we have a long history of supporting the silky smooth R&B remixes of this fantastically talented British producer. Snakehips yet again knocks a remix out of the park with a sultry take on an already velvety original by Lion Babe. The original "Treat Me Like Fire" is a thoughtfully constructed piece relying on muffled bass and percussion and an inspiringly sexy lead female vocal. The track is simple. You're met at the beginning with a nice set of muted piano chords and a simple clap track. Right off the bat you become aware of the fact that the vocal will be the star of this track.  From a production sense, the vocal is much more pronounced (simply by being louder) than the instrumentation. It doesn't really need much more than the support it gets to give off a pleading yet confident tone. Honestly, there's not much change from the beginning to the end of...

As we continue our flurry of new reviews, I have found an exciting new remix from relatively well-hidden Dutch DJ, Knight One. Oddly enough with these two tracks, the remix actually sounds more "natural" than the original. Maybe this is a basic bias on my part because I heard the remix before the original, but I've been doing this for a while now and I like to think I can tell the difference between an original track. Essentially what I'm trying to say is that Knight one's remix seems to do a lot to change the original track and make something completely his own. Let's start with LIGHTS' original before we get there. So from the beginning you get sort of a prog-rock feel to the track with some heavily reverberated guitar lines and a simple 2-4 bass/snare rhythm. Super standard as with some new pop alternative rock track (if that makes any sense). I can't say that it's a  bad  song... but it certainly not in my personal wheelhouse,  except for the ...

Super excited about this review. Alex Metric is a very talented producer based in London who focuses on building pump-up dance tracks, like his banger of the summer "Heart Weighs a Ton." Lucky for us, Vindata, the DJ duo out of L.A. saw the potential in this track and decided to create a wonderful remix released earlier this month. Both tracks rely heavily on strong beats and some seriously epic synth work. Let's start with Alex Metric's original. First off, I need to get this off my chest, the lyric "I'll carry you when you're heart weighs a ton" makes me think of Sam Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings saying to Frodo, "I may not be able to carry the ring, but I can carry you!" Sorry, I had to nerd out for a second there. The track starts almost like a conventional summer house track with a nicely built minute long build up, consisting of a simple single beat bass rhythm. As the melody is introduced, the actual volume of the track increases, ...

Pharrell makes some damn good music, especially when teamed up with Daft Punk yet again for another feel-good track. Pharrell and Daft Punk aren't exactly unfamiliar with each other, as they have a strong collaboration history. They really fell into a unique form with this track, "Gust of Wind," an electro-infused funk track that could just as easily fit into a 70's discoteque as your garden variety European nightclub of this past summer. French remixer, Prizm, tries his hand at this one and does a surprisingly good job of capturing the essence of the original and providing his own "future bass" spin to it with a lot of added production quality. The track was released 2 and a half weeks ago. Let's start with a quick analysis of Daft Punk's original. What gets me about this track is the effortlessness with which it moves through a number of different styles in a short time period. Right from the start, you're met with an exciting, yet cleanly...

Bruno Cardoso is absolutely KILLING the game with the release of his 10-track Album “1975”. Cardoso is a Portuguese prodigy having done collaborations with a wide-range of fellow Euro-producers into the whole Latin-beats and marimba based house (Nico Jaar), never lacking in overly sexy female vocals and obviously the beloved Spanish guitar chords accompanied by prolonged solos twisted with a grungy electro rock vibe, one big I don’t give a fuck vibe, I smoked Cigarettes in middle school attitude, and that ladies and gentleman is how you make music that sounds authentic in today’s world. As for the songs that stood out in the album, I personally fell in love with “Mom and Dad” and obviously the single named after my hometown and natal city in Colombia, “Bogota”. Although the available track in Xinobi’s Soundcloud is only a short preview of the whole thing, its more than worth giving it a listen, I know its been on repeat on my phone for the past couple of hours. The entire album has...

Craig David, and even more specifically this track "Fill Me In," were very important parts of my musical (and personal) development at the ripe age of 14-15 years old. That's why Norwegian sibling duo, KREAM's remix, released about a month ago, is just so damn exciting. I'm gonna be honest with you all this is all really just an excuse for me to listen to Craig David a ton in the name of musical enlightenment. His original is just such an important song for me. I don't really know why, but for whatever reason this song is kinda how I always pictured incognito lover relationships to be like (I've been a few myself). At this point, I've listened to the track 3 times on repeat (in this sitting) and I'm not even tired of it. Craig's vocal is just so damn silky smooth, then you get this R&B beat with this groovy set of strings (I assume violin but I can't be sure) providing some melodic support in the back. The whole track is just perfect...

In honor of the MAB show today, I decided it would make sense to feature a track from either Danny Brown or Cashmere Cat. Ironically (considering Cashmere Cat's Electro rep), the best thing I found was a remix of Danny Brown's "Blunt After Blunt" by long-time CasaSwoop favorite, Parisian DJ Stwo. I'm not upset that I found this song, in fact quite the opposite, I'm really glad we can share yet another fantastically well done electro remix of a hip hop track. Granted, Danny Brown's "Blunt After Blunt" is definitely not playing around with any lowkey electro style or catchy melodies, this is a dark banger no doubt. I really like this track, for reasons other than the obvious "Blunt After Blunt" excuse, mainly because it isn't afraid to throw some shit in your face. It relies on a standard rhythm and really no melody to support a heavy, passionate rap lyric. It sorta reminds me of the heavier rap track from the late 90s. Danny doesn...

We've been on a bit of a cln. binge lately but it's hard when he keeps pushing out so many amazing tracks. His remix of GRMM's "Electrify" is no exception to that trend. Yet again, we have a couple of Australian producers on a remix/original collaboration (big surprise there). GRMM are signed to Neon Gold Records, the kings of the burgeoning Electro scene in Australia. With such a great pedigree, how could these two tracks not be amazing? Let's start with the original. Perhaps my favorite part of this track is the melodic piano line, which sort of smoothes out the track and keeps it from getting too bogged down in electro moments. Of course, when the time is right, particularly in the bridge segments, the electro comes through in full force with a nice textured synth line that mirrors a 1/32 rhythm in the hi-hat. It's this type of "laid-back" trap style that makes this music so exciting, it adds a lot of layers to the tracks and contrasts with...

So this review is really just a way for me to get my fingers back on the keys and write something with some flow. We've been absolutely slammed with work and this is a great opportunity to get my touch back, so here we are with a pretty old track (about a year old), which is Wayward's remix of Joel Compass' track, "Run." London based DJ duo, Wayward, did a great job of developing a remix that really takes an entirely different approach from the original and creating something that ultimately ends up better. That being said, let's start with Joel Compass. This track is, at its core, a pop track featuring everything from a simple driving 2 and 4 drum beat to a few repeated strongly accented piano chords. To be completely honest, other than the lead vocal, this track is just boring. It really could have done with a few more rhythmic elements to keep the listener engaged, which is the problem when you create an entire track at "half-time" or when your vo...

It’s the holiday season and most of us are back home from work and school, back to our families and old friends, back to that which is so familiar yet now seems vey much alien to us. The food, the routine, the conversations, all a somewhat surreal déjà vu, we are no longer sure if we belong. Anyhow, the holiday season has this magical aura about it where the old and the familiar meet collide with the new and ever changing. We keep coming back home, more changed with every passing year, more different than ever. This very concept is what brings us to today’s post on CasaSwoop: a clash of classic and modern, and get ready because its gonna make you try to moonwalk all over your house. That’s right, no shame, because its MJ baby! Michael Jackson’s melodramatic yet funky hit song ‘Remember The Time’ (yeah that’s the one with the music video where everyone’s like a kinky Egyptian Pharaoh. But if you thought that was hot back in the day, you are in for surprise as soon as you listen to D...

British DJ, salute, delivers a well balanced and innovative remix of Drake's "How Bout Now," a track that has a ton of soul packed into a simplified beat and minimal melodic support. As with most rap/R&B tracks, Drake's lyrics get most of the focus, but what makes the original compelling is that it actually has  a ton of elements, but none of them are too complicated. In fact, perhaps the most interesting part of this track, is that most of the verses don't have a beat underneath, but rely on the bass line to provide rhythm. I can pick out 7 different elements, when the drums are present: drums, bass, two synth lines layered over each other, and 3 vocal lines including Drake's rap. It's a really interesting, well layered track that benefits from that simplicity. Salute's approach, perhaps predictably, adds quite a lot in terms of complexity. First, you notice he adds a lightly staccato synth line (which almost feels like a xylophone) that adds ...

"Say My Name" might be the most over-remixed song in the history of electropop. I wish I could tell you why. I guess from a nostalgic standpoint, this song holds a special place in pretty much everyone's heart aged 19-28. It has an amazing vocal (times 3 really, hooray girl bands), a pretty fantastic percussion beat, and a wonderfully funky wah wah rhythm guitar. Let's clear the air, I'm the first person to stand up and say that popular music, for the most part, lacks any real musical substance. When I hear some prepubescent boy say "baby" and "oh" more than 10 times, I have to physically hold back from strangulating myself. That being said, this song is decidedly NOT that. Anyway, I'm not going to sit here and talk about a song we've all been listening to for over a decade, what I  will talk about the Parisian producer, A.L.V.Y's, progressive dream pop take on the R&B classic. This remix is wonderfully balanced. It doesn't...

Oh man, I fucking love this remix. It's just so damn cool. Fareoh, a New York-based producer, has been on my electro-radar for quite some time for his edmt.com mix that was honestly a slice of electronic music perfection (I'll link it below, don't worry). So, when he popped up on my SoundCloud feed, I had to give this track a listen, and I found myself completely blown away. It was a completely fresh take on remixing mainly because the original is a passionate ballad from UK singer-songwriter, Birdy. The original is a simple piece with nothing more than a piano and a sweet, pleading lead female vocal. It's popular song, at least that's what almost 15 million listens on SoundCloud would suggest, so it's even more impressive that Fareoh is able to put his own unique flair onto it. You must be thinking to yourself, "Seriously CasaSwoop? An electro-house remix of a singer/songwriter track? What the fuck is wrong with you? What have you been smoking?" But b...

We love Warsaw producer, Chloe Martini, and her silky smooth remixes. In our previous reviews of her remixes, I've always been blown away by her rhythmic abilities. Particularly in making rhythms pop off the track and grab attention. Jay Prince's sultry and thoughtful R&B track, "Polaroids," incorporates sustained synth lines and a progressive percussion punctuated by Jay Prince's own ultra smooth rapping flow. It's a surprisingly melodic track that relies on an understated instrumentation to support Jay's really wonderful vocal. This original is like biting into a dark chocolate truffle, smooth and sumptuous, with a velvety finish. This would constitute one of those songs that promotes the "less is more" attitude, by allowing the track to stand on not much more than just complex rhythms and a consistently ear-catching flow. Chloe Martini's remix is decidedly different in terms of "mood," but relies on incredibly similar methods...

Two weeks ago, Oliver Nelson dropped a new remix of The Wombats' pop-rock jam "Greek Tragedy." This one was a bit more fun for me than our regular reviews. First, and less important, original has the word "Greek" in the title so I'm ethically and morally bound to reviewing it. Second, I went through a seriously angsty pop-rock phase from 12-16 yrs. old and this song taps into the nether-regions of my soul and hearkens me back to the days of Papa Roach, Nine Inch Nails, and other bands who make me cringe oh so slightly when I remember them. To be fair, The Wombats are not so fully entrenched in rock culture, they obviously draw considerably from electronic concepts, especially with regard to incorporating toned rhythmic elements at the upbeats between their "heavier" rock chords. On the other hand, they do dedicate a good 20 seconds in the middle to a simple vocal and 2-4 drum beat: the mark of the late 90's rock band. So let's just call thi...