The Weekly Playlist: Remixes That Made It Better

My original title was Remixes You Don’t Know From Songs You Haven’t Heard Of, but all those capitals made my head ache and who am I to say you have not heard of any of these? Regardless, here are some mixes that made songs (which aren’t sub par by any means, but preferences are kind of a thing) a bit more favorable. It’s a playlist that one should absolutely have in their pocket if they were to host a formal brunch and are in need of some classy tunes to put on to cheers with their morning mimosas.

Or something like that.

Feed Me Diamonds – RAC Remix – MNDR 

I have to thank my roommate for introducing me into this song, as I don’t regularly look up for electronic tunes (synthpop especially), so I probably wouldn’t have found this song myself. It’s a sped up, funky electric mix of a very chill indie electronic song. And while the original is great in itself, I’m an absolute sucker for jazzy bass lines and subdued breaks right before explosive chorus lines. Also, if you for some reason feel a bit of 80’s even though it sounds nothing like the sort, please oh god comment and let me know I’m not the only one. I think it’s the synthesizer, but it could also be my insanity and inability to describe sounds accurately.

1940 – AmpLive Remix – The Submarines

Oh this one, this one is old school. I heard this one way back in the day, when I just started using Pandora and entering into a completely different world of music. So like 4/5 years ago. Anyway, I really enjoy the completely different approaches between the original track and the remix. The former is steady and eerie, very haunting – the latter on the other hand is more broken up and fast paced, like the song was hit with an adrenaline rush. It also (the remix) is layered with more intense mixes that push it forward and in a way, feels more intimidating. Take it like this, the original is a classic suspenseful ghost film where the supernatural is messing around and doing ghost stuff. The remix is the basically the same, but now the ghost is a slasher killer and is out to get your blood. Basically Scooby-Doo! v. American Horror Story: Murder House.

Awake – Dennis Rivera Remix – Electric Guest

I really enjoy how Rivera took his time milking out the intro. It’s one of those tunes that start off sounding far off (literally) and just progresses towards the foreground while adding a bit more until it goes back to that muffled underwater state and then explodes into what essentially was the beginning to the original song. This technique continues throughout the song, which keeps the sound interesting and varied. He also brings up the octave in the vocals, which usually is overdone and generally unimaginative but definitely works well in this piece. Overall, he creates a lighter uplifting atmosphere contrasting to the more heavy and grounded original song. A perfect workout jam if you will.

By Melina Diaz