In a good way.
A great year for electro-indie artists remixing one another (and pretty much everyone else), as remix-only EPs sprouted left and right. Here are the best of the best, with kudos to remix guru Classixx and bedroom-pop auteur Passion Pit for double hardware in their trophy case.
Top 10 remixes of the year:
The original was perhaps the understated peak of Vampire Weekend's ubiquitous debut, but Miike Snow (a Swedish production duo whose previous claim to fame was engineering Britney's Toxic) dropped an LP of catchy electro-pop this year and followed it up with this masterpiece. The blips and chops serve to draw out the surprising beauty in the melody, stretching it across a bed of its own making, to wonderful effect.
Phoenix may be this year's Vampire Weekend. Yes, they have a track record dating back across the whole decade, impressing many of us when the lead singer landed Sofia Coppola and she let her main squeeze contribute to the gorgeous Lost In Translation soundtrack. However, their ascent to stardom, as measured by playing late-night network talk shows and breaking onto Clear Channel rock radio, was entirely a product of this year's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. How did they follow it up? That's right, they commissioned an entire album of remixes, landing indie heavyweights such as Animal Collective and Devendra Banhart. The pinnacle of Phoenix remixes this year was this airy, spacious take on Lisztomania, which wasn't even included on the remix album. For shame.
The xx and Florence and the Machine both dropped recent albums that number among the year's best. This track served as my introduction to Florence, and The xx quietly veil her fiery soul voice with their downtempo r&b, resulting in a wistful gem.
I thought we were lucky enough when masked madman/trailblazing rapper MF DOOM spent the decade seeking out and collaborating with producers like Madlib and Danger Mouse. The Mask definitely dropped an ill set of rhymes on the track Gazzillion Ear from his newest, Born Like This (under the DOOM moniker), but Thom Yorke's decision to showcase DOOM's rapidfire vocals over a spare, skittering beat and layers of Yorke's own distant howl serves up the rap remix of the year.
Chairlift's 2008 debut served up notice that, well, they were an even more iPod-commercial ready version of MGMT. That's about it. Passion Pit also seems to have noticed how catchy their sell-out single was, and pulled some tricks out of Miike Snow's playbook in blipping the fuck outta this song. Again, stretching the melody out and giving it space to breathe lowers the kitsch factor and pulls you in for a second listen. Is that an extended electro-instrumental breakdown? Yes, yes it is.
Classixx takes what already may have been the song of the summer and gives it their standard treatment. Sounds easy, but they have a knack for shifting and spacing an already-great pop song so that when you're done overplaying the original, you have an alternative that's more than worthy of inclusion on your next mixtape.
Dragonette are some of new wave electro's less glamorous players, but this Buffetlibre remix nails the soft-loud dynamics and swooping rhythms exemplified by the best of Royksopp.
Perhaps a bit of a cheat, as it was a rap remix/sequel track on the same charity compilation (Dark Was The Night) as the original, the 10-minute Sufjan electronic epic "You Are The Blood." Buck 65's atypical flow suits Sufjan's atonal composition and desperate voice, leaving everything unsettled.
While it's one of Bristol dubstep/grime up-and-comer Joker's least impressive compositions this year, this remix's addition of his signature deep bass fleshes out Simian Mobile Disco's slick electro-pop nicely.
Cheesy, yes. But still catchy, and a well-suited choice for falsetto romantic Passion Pit.
BONUS SECTION - 5 FAVORITE COVERS OF THE YEAR
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