Double Standard out of Germany have just released a short, two-song EP featuring up-and-coming funk/pop masters Benoit & Sergio and relatively new American producer Slow Hands (not to be confused with the Interpol song of the same name). The EP, called The Covers, consists of exactly that–two cover versions of famous older tracks.
Benoit & Sergio kick off the A-side of the 12" with an extremely funky cover of Daft Punk's "Around the World." A much slower version of the original track, the skittering lead synthesizer sheds its funk over a groove accompanied by vocoding wet with reverb and lazy secondary synthesizing. Their version of "Around the World" sounds like it was dipped in a vat of liquid ketamine before being pulled out and subjected to any final touches–the hazy, lazy drive of the cover might suit a night of K on the couch; but I can only imagine.
There's also a pretty cool stop-motion video floating around the web that has been set to the song; not sure if it's 'official' by any means but here it is:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ya0XpOpAl0[/youtube]
The B-side of this EP is worked by Slow Hands who shares his version of Sade's "Sweetest Taboo," which was originally released in 1985. The original is typical 80s pop, but less familiar to most than "Around the World."
Slow Hands – Sweetest Taboo by GetDownGood
Slow Hands' version of the "Sweetest taboo" is a less obvious cover. He neglects to take any coherent vocals from the original and only uses the general mood and chord structure as a basis to his production. That said, the cover is a very laid back and sounds almost like modernized 80s pop designed for a beach vacation in the 2000s.
You can buy The Covers EP at the following online retailers:
Enjoy!
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