There are thousands of popular artists out there today, creating new singles all the time. With the increase in 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, "Viking Sword Bro- what?" This weekly segment will bring you the popular remixes and the never heard of "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.
Coming back from a summer filled with festivals, drugs, thugs and girls — Artist Remixed is in full swing to bring you your favourite artists and the endless bounty of remixes out there. This week Earmilk features The Weeknd with his smooth vocals and heavy, hypnotizing melodies.
FEEL GOOD REMIXES
Starting off this week we have some feel good remixes. The term "feel good remixes" I use lightly since any style of music can make that certain person really 'feel good'. I've narrowed it down more to an uplifting beat with smooth melodies and soft transitions. It just so happens that Chi Duly's remixes both happen to have an energetic feel. I found Chi's remix of "The Party" has more of a 'energetic feel' but Chi's remix of "Coming Down" is softer with calmer kicks and a gentle beat.
ALTERNATIVE REMIXES
For alternative remixes I tried to keep it constrained to softer, beat orientated remixes that flow with ease over the The Weeknd's vocals. Heartbreak puts an ambient spin on both tracks while Baers is very glitchy yet still works often with the synth from the original and a eerie beat.
CHILL OUT REMIXES
The chill out remix section is perfect for any last-minute summer days on the beach. Get Loose's remix seems to be made just for that, its melodic beat slowly draws you into an edited jumble of the vocals from the original, "Birthday Suit". What really stuck out to me with this remix is the choppy yet amazing work that Get Loose does with the vocals. Vin Sol and Charles McCloud make "What You Need" turn from a RnB hit to a stunning ambient mix of high kicks and washing synths. Heartbreak's third remix has more of a relaxed vibe using a piano riff to create that euphoric entrance. Sango's remix is, similar to Vin Sol and Charles McClouds, a very ambient track that has similar high kicks.
FUTURE BASS REMIXES
By future bass remixes some might say ambient bass or dream bass is a more appropriate title but I think "future bass" does enough justice for these soft yet eerily dark remixes. Sango's remix of "The Morning" is one of my favourites on the list, after mixing and tweaking the vocals Sango still manages to create a dark soundscape. MUTE's remix is less ambient but still has a deep bass and aggressive kick. Shlohmo's remix is a perfect mix of ambient waves combined with gentle beats and distorted bass, on top of all, with the Weeknd's lyrics to create a strange yet unwinding remix. Dolor's remix is full of ambient bass and heavy punches.
DUBSTEP REMIXES
The sheer amount of dubstep remixes forced my hand into splitting this section in two (with no particular order). Love Thy Brothers remix was first premiered on Earmilk, to which it was a huge success. The subtle vocals mixed with Love Thy Brothers energetic spin make this remix one of the highlights. SPL's remix is hectic and has a gruesome bassline that comes in and shakes the original "Wicked Games". Paper Diamond takes the original ambient track and speeds it up and adds a handful of bass. Tate la Rock and Troublemaker's remix was unqiue in the way that they combine their wobble with the Weeknd's lyrics and entwine the two to make an amazing masterpiece.
"High for This" is arguably one of the Weeknd's most famous songs; Flufftronix does it enough justice with heavy bass and shaking chords that go shockingly smooth with the beat. Downpour's remix on the other hand is a faster pace remix that models the same style of working side by side with the lyrics with just the right amount of wobble. The Weeknd's take on the classic "Dirty Diana" by Micheal Jackson, is enough of a treat on it's on. Sovereign Sect takes the Weeknd's cover of "Dirty Diana" and turns it into a hellish soundscape that has high kicks and scattered bass thrown everywhere. Drugula's take on "The Birds" was the only remix I could find of "The Birds" which comes heavy and hits harder than Mike Tyson. Mr. Larsson's remix wraps things up with a glitch-hop remix that has just enough deep bass to throw it in the dubstep section.
ELECTRO REMIXES
Das Heat starts off our electro list with a light sounding spin on "The Party and the After Party". Count Ninjula's remix is a happier yet fiery take on "The Morning". Using a deep kick and bouncy synths, Count Ninjula manages to make this track something new and exciting. Next with "House of Ballons" we have Nadastrom's remix that is high energy while using a washing screeching synth to play along with the lyrics. Last but not least, No Big Deal's gratifying remix of "Rolling Stone". No Big Deal has constantly impressed me with everything they release and this remix is no exception, using the vocals and building off the original rhythm they manage to create an energetic beat with a smooth synth layered on top.
PROGRESSIVE HOUSE REMIXES
Chi Duly's remix has an uplifting electronic build as it moves from The Weeknd's soft vocals to a progressive lift with a catchy beat.
MASHUPS
Gizzle's mashup of "Trust Issues" is a combination of Drakes original and The Weeknd's own remix, the two seem to have been made for each other since together both lyrics flow so well together. A JAYBeatz mashup is another amazing mix of Frank Ocean, Jhene Aiko and the The Weeknd. Faded Too Long's Mashup takes Andre' 3000's lyrics and smoothly slows them down and covers them over the beat of The Weeknd's "The Ride".
OVERALL FAVOURITE REMIX
My overall favourite remix is Cralias's remix of "The Morning". This remix absolutely destroys the original leaving a high energy, chopped and screwed, remix in its place. What really stuck out to my about this remix is how Cralias took the soft RnB track and turned it into a happier remix that's full of high snares and heavy kicks. But my overall favourite thing about this remix is how Cralias uses the vocals from the original to work so well with the new beat. By simply tweaking the lyrics a little and looping them at just the right points to match the beat he has added so much more. Great work Cralias, enjoy.
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