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A study in remixes (music)
Jan. 13th, 2014 03:26 pmA little exploration of what happens when you do fairly different things with one track and why I have a hard time answering questions like "What's your favorite song?"
https://soundcloud.com/deathsandicate/adam-ellis-napalm-poet
In 2013 Adam Ellis created this vocal trance piece called "Napalm Poet." Despite the title it made peoples' lists as one of the best uplifting tracks of the year. Ellis is new but he's hit that sweet spot between melodic and electronically powerful that makes me love vocal trance. This thing soars and it rocks. I wish I could figure out who the vocalist is.
https://soundcloud.com/adamellisdj/napalmpoet
This is the Kearnage remix, which has much more of a driven feel to it. The vocals are muted but still there. The beats are harder and faster, with a lot more thump to it.
https://soundcloud.com/predrag-darmanovic/adam-ellis-napalm-poet-bryan
Going still farther up that spectrum is Bryan Kearney's edit. The icon for this one is "I'm not afraid of 140" which refers to 140 bpm. Technically that's still trance, but it's a frenetic pace that leaves almost no room for the vocals. Or even for drawing a breath, really. You really feel it around 1:40 where the beats take a break and the singer gets to hold the stage. It flashed me back to "Temple of Love" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMETa77dUrg) which is the earliest piece I know that combined this kind of hard beats and soaring voice. That aside, I'm not all that fond of this mix.
https://soundcloud.com/gal-dahan1/adam-ellis-napalm-poet-angry
Then you get this "Angry Man Remix" that has a slight dropback in bpm but trades out the vocal trance feel for hard-edged electro production values. This is the sort of thing I'd expect to hear in a Blade Runner-esque noir future movie. Even the vocal drops are toned and styled like polished chrome.
https://soundcloud.com/magdelayna/napalm-poet-chilled-remake
Finally, a "chilled remake" of the tune, as if to give your ears a respite from the intense assault. Much slower, with earlier and more serene interpretations of the vocals. I think this is my favorite of the remixes. It's the kind of thing you play to come down from a long night. Listening to it I found myself slipping into a meditative breathing cycle. Magdelayna is (I believe) the UK trance producer Ada Rodziewicz and I plan to sample more of his stuff soon.
https://soundcloud.com/deathsandicate/adam-ellis-napalm-poet
In 2013 Adam Ellis created this vocal trance piece called "Napalm Poet." Despite the title it made peoples' lists as one of the best uplifting tracks of the year. Ellis is new but he's hit that sweet spot between melodic and electronically powerful that makes me love vocal trance. This thing soars and it rocks. I wish I could figure out who the vocalist is.
https://soundcloud.com/adamellisdj/napalmpoet
This is the Kearnage remix, which has much more of a driven feel to it. The vocals are muted but still there. The beats are harder and faster, with a lot more thump to it.
https://soundcloud.com/predrag-darmanovic/adam-ellis-napalm-poet-bryan
Going still farther up that spectrum is Bryan Kearney's edit. The icon for this one is "I'm not afraid of 140" which refers to 140 bpm. Technically that's still trance, but it's a frenetic pace that leaves almost no room for the vocals. Or even for drawing a breath, really. You really feel it around 1:40 where the beats take a break and the singer gets to hold the stage. It flashed me back to "Temple of Love" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMETa77dUrg) which is the earliest piece I know that combined this kind of hard beats and soaring voice. That aside, I'm not all that fond of this mix.
https://soundcloud.com/gal-dahan1/adam-ellis-napalm-poet-angry
Then you get this "Angry Man Remix" that has a slight dropback in bpm but trades out the vocal trance feel for hard-edged electro production values. This is the sort of thing I'd expect to hear in a Blade Runner-esque noir future movie. Even the vocal drops are toned and styled like polished chrome.
https://soundcloud.com/magdelayna/napalm-poet-chilled-remake
Finally, a "chilled remake" of the tune, as if to give your ears a respite from the intense assault. Much slower, with earlier and more serene interpretations of the vocals. I think this is my favorite of the remixes. It's the kind of thing you play to come down from a long night. Listening to it I found myself slipping into a meditative breathing cycle. Magdelayna is (I believe) the UK trance producer Ada Rodziewicz and I plan to sample more of his stuff soon.
