Here is an inspired cover version. Many of us first heard the dark, folky “Reach Out of the Darkness” by Friend and Lover when Mad Men used it in an episode this past May. Next up was Jocelyn Alice & Right the Stars, who updated the classic with an indiepop, Pizzicato 5 feel, keeping the hooks in place – this is the “So Groovy Now” that Target is using in their recent series of commercials. Entering the scene is London group Patrolla, who have remixed the likes of Paulina Rubio and Agnetha Faltskog, who take the Jocelyn Alice version and give it a club/dance radio-friendly beat with a nice buildup in the middle. If you were around in the ’90s, this would fit the trend of ’90s house acts that embraced ’60s sounds- like Soho and Deee-Lite. The resulting track is quite sexy and groovy, with a funky feel that is retro and modern at the same time. Funny enough, I first heard this track when Seamus Haji dropped it in his mixtape and I was like, “oh cool, a dance mix of that Target song!” Seamus’ mix ups the BPM a bit, adding some more housy keyboards and builds, while keeping the full vocals in place for the drop out. The big beat elements he uses are just about perfection. Patrolla have a full album coming next year and I definitely look forward to hearing what they are going to sound like, as their website features old school hip-hop, old school house, and breakbeat mixes. On a side note, for the house heads, this isn’t the first time that “Reach Out of the Darkness” has been used in a dance record. Krush, the girl group behind the classic “House Arrest,” also sampled it for their 1992 single “Let’s Get Together.”
Image Courtesy of Universal/Island.