Don Quijote X BeatRehab

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...

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...

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...