There are thousands of popular artists out there today making new singles all the time. With the increase of bedroom producers, though, the ability to simply download a whole studio that you can use right on your lap has made original songs more scarce. Now it seems that you're finding tens of thousands of remixes by artists with more and more ludicrous names, leaving you wondering, "Transexual Viking Sword Bro- what?" This weekly segment will bring you the popular remixes and the never heard of "Transexual Viking Sword Brothers" remixes of a (common) artist's singles. From all these bedroom producers we are seeing one thing, and that is absolutely fantastic, manipulated, warped remixes.
This week I've tried something new; a new direction for Artist Remixed. I've decided to feature 5 artists from Skrillex's own label OWLSA. I could not gather enough enough remixes to compile a full list of genres for each artist and you would simply be here for days so instead I compiled a smaller list of remixes for each artist. Most of the remixes are either dubstep or electro, just as a pre-warning [all you indie lovers better head over to the Sabbath].
PORTER ROBINSON REMIXES
To start off this Artist Remixed, I'm bringing it in with one of the biggest electro house producers right now. Porter Robinson, at just 20, has toured with Tiesto and is set to perform at Coachella this year; his future career is only beginning. Schoolboy's remix of "Hello" starts off the list with its energetic filth. Schoolboy keeps the main riffs of Porter and Lazy Rich's beginning but adds his own high energy grime at the drop with a catchy melody and a slur of Sue Cho's vocals. Kill the Noise (who is featured later on) remixes "Spitfire" with their typical fast-paced grimey dubstep. If you had taken the original, thrown it in steel toe boots and then put the boots in the dryer, the sounds that mayhem would make would not come close to KTN's remix. Lazy Rich gives us a smooth electro house remix that has bouncing synths with electro fidget and a dinosaur on top of all this.
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Pierre Hubert's remix is a thrashy electro spin on "Spitfire" with a deep kick and a heavy synth that keeps the original melody but adds a classy build to the drop where he mixes things up completely. "The Seconds" was one of my favourite songs on the Spitfire EP because of Jano's delicate vocals but At Dawn We Rage takes the original and makes it faster, grimmer and smoother with a DnB pace. My overall favourite remix though (without question) is Knife Party's remix of "Unison", since they've mastered their own specific filthy sound. Knife Party manages to keep the classic melody from "Unison" yet add their whole new spin. Enjoy.
KILL THE NOISE REMIXES
Kill the Noise brings in such a unique sound of filth that seeing variations and remixes of is quite interesting. DarkGrey's remix is an electro thrash spin off of the original "Real Life" with some wobble and grime in the mix. Ultraviolet Sound's remix is a mix between smooth vocals and a filthy new structure to KTN's grime; this remix was one of the most popular remixes that I found but it didn't stick out to me especially, still a great tune regardless.
AntiChrist's remix of "Dying" starts off with a faster beat which goes straight to the drop where at first there are minimal changes but the real beauty of Antichrist's work doesn't come around until the second drop. Here we see how he's taken the original chaotic structure from the original and reconstructed it in glitch-step style. Koan Sound's (who is featured later on) remix was featured on KTN's latest EP and models their typical grungy style dubstep with a strong kick and bass and crunching sounds that have made them one of a kind. Alvin Risk's remix starts off slow with a similar melody to the original but when approaching the drop increases the suspense and brings down even harder. Alvin's typical high intensity laser beams and grimey dubstep make this a remix I often find holding my breath in awe when it drops.
KOAN SOUND REMIXES
Koan Sound's unqiue style of grime sounding as if it's been crunched, squeezed into a ball and thrown out is something never heard before. Antagonist's remix takes from "Meanwhile, In the Future" the unique sound, mixing and chopping it at the beginning, looping certain parts, then come the second drop picks up the BPM into a faster style. Stumbleine's remix is a very dreamy remix which uses a softer version of their crunch with soft vocals in the mix.
Kill the Noise's remix follows KTN's typical fast pace hectic structure. This is a great mix of a Koan Sounds signature sounds combined with Kill the Noises structure of making a remix. Blue and Max's remix is one of my favourite remixes of Koan Sound since it has a faster pace to the remix with a layered beat that adds a level of suspense the original was missing. Enjoy.
ZEDD REMIXES
Zedd's sound is so signature, taking electro house to a whole new playing field. Lucky Date is one competitor, their remix of "Anthem" is arguably one of the best builds in any EDM song. A slow-paced humming lifts the suspense for nearly 30 seconds then comes crashing down. 501's remix of "Shave It" was probably my most favourite remix on Zedd's EP The Aftershave, this remix is an uplifting dubstep track with just the right amount of melody and wobble to make it stick out amongst names like Kaskade and Tommy Trash. gLAdiator's remix was not as heavy but packs a nice kick with a dreamy fade away on the vocals. Keeping relatively the same structure of the track, gLAdiator changes the beat with a catchy kick pattern. Enjoy.
Velcoff's remix is a deep heavy bass remix, what more could you ask for? Velcoff changes the original "Shave It"'s catchy electro with a deep wobble bass line that has all the dinosaur rawrs and low growls you could ask for. Roro's remix is a little more aggressive than the original and adds a nice synth house to the single "Stars Come Out" with a club crushing beat. Scattavox's remix really stuck out to me because of its poppy spin on the original. The first drop has slight changes with poppy disco sounds here and there, it's really at the second drop that Scattavox's true sounds come out. Classi's remix, though, would have to be my overall favourite since from start to finish it shows signs of the original but adds it's own specific touch of electro house. This remix reminds me of something I would not be surprised to see under the name of Zedd himself. Enjoy.
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SKRILLEX REMIXES
So this may be my fourth time featuring Skrillex on an Artist Remixed since I've done a full blown Artist Remixed – Skrillex and not to mention Artist Remixed – Skrillex Bangarang EP [Part 1] and [Part 2]. This time I've included remixes of songs that aren't officially released so your mind is dulled by the typical "Scary Monster and Nice Sprites" remixes. The first remix I'm bringing you is Ben Woolsey's remix of "True Gangsters" which has a nice pace with a smooth beat that flows over the scratchy laser beam sounds of the original. The second remix I'm bringing you is PockX's edit of the Skrillex's mothership site teaser taking just the 20-second clip of sound and making a full blown 3 minute edit of what's to come.
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Blende puts a nice disco funk spin on the old yet never really heard of "Drop Dead" by Skrillex, this is a great look on a earlier sound of Skrillex's. The first version of Skrillex's remix of "Levels" was a live showing that lasted about a minute. I, as well as many others, it seems, preferred the heavier, grungier style of the live song instead of the official and final remix. Rami Ross does a fantastic job replicating the sound from the live unreleased version with small tweaks here and there. My overall favourite remix of Skrillex was just put out by Distantt and it's arguably my favourite remix in this whole post. They say save the best for last, do they not? Distantt's remix is a high energy pop electro remix that takes the small rip from Skrillex's live broadcasting a while back and makes it into a remix that has all the right suspense and power you could expect coming from Zedd himself. Great work!
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