Whenever a remixer/producer says they are going in a new direction, it always catches my attention. Recently, Bimbo Jones unleashed an insanely aggressive electro mix of Zedd’s “Stay the Night” which sounded more like a Beatport big room workout than anything they’ve done since “Questions.” The original version of Little Nikki’s “Yo Yo” sounds like vintage Rihanna (in her “Pon de Replay” mode) with a bit of drum and bass in the mix. Westfunk somehow manages to revive the ’90s pots-and-pans tribal/X-Beat sound (think Razor-N-Guido or “Junior Vasquez”) by infusing it into big room electro and making it sound better than it ever did before… This is coming from someone who detested pots-and-pans the first time around- so for me to say this offshoot is good really is saying something. The vocals sound pristine and the playful theme of the lyrics fits better than you could imagine over the scorching production by Westfunk. I have to admit that pots-and-pans tribal was the one dance music genre that I hoped would not be brought back as part of this current ’90s revival but leave it to the Brits to make it sound better the second time around.
Little Nikki – “Yo Yo” (Westfunk Remix)