SONG OF THE DAY: Kelis – Rumble (Breach Remix)

When I first heard “Rumble” a few months, it was a headscratcher. To go from her full-on electronic dance album “FleshTone” to this soulful, lo-fi rocking track produced by Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio) seemed like a major jump. Then again, when you listen to Kelis’ musical development over the years, she has always jumped around and experimented with different genres and producers. Listening to the song, it sounds more like a duet with two voices as Kelis sings with quite a deep, almost unrecognizable rasp on the verses – contrasting with the softer, prettier tone of the chorus sounding more like her recent releases. Maybe becoming a chef has made her focus on becoming a bit more rootsy and back-to-basics with real instruments and expanding her natural vocal range for her forthcoming ‘Food’ album coming on NinjaTune. Club DJs need not fear, though, as Breach (Ben Westbeech) has crafted a brilliant production essentially mashing his two recent singles – with the verse having the darker tone of “Everything You Never Had” and the chorus emulating the bouncy fun of “Jack.” Here’s hoping that all the songs on her upcoming ‘Food’ get the same tasty high quality remix treatment as well.

Image Courtesy of Ninja Tune.

SONG OF THE DAY: Duck Sauce – NRG (Skrillex, Kill the Noise, Milo & Otis Remix)

The last we heard from the Duck Sauce duo (Armand Van Helden and A-Trak) was Duck Dropping – a 4-track EP with tracks like “Louie the First” and “Party in Me,” which were pretty straightforward tracks built around ’70s/’80s samples. They weren’t bad, just not as special as “aNYway” or “It’s You.” Out of nowhere comes this remix of “NRG,” a track based on a vocal that could have come from a Boney M track (or be a sample replay) which starts like a late ’90s/early ’00s Illicit remix and then slams into modern and distorted electro. You can clearly delineate which parts are the original Duck Sauce production and which parts are more from the remix, and the interplay back and forth is quite refreshing. This is one of those tracks that will catch a dancefloor by surprise, and it has the kind of refreshing quirkiness that made “Barbra Streisand” such a fun leftfield pop hit. As much as I can’t wait to hear the original version of “NRG,” I have a feeling that this remix will be the version that every club DJ will be playing.

Image Courtesy of Casablanca/Republic.
Duck Sauce – NRG (Skrillex, Kill the Noise, Milo & Otis Remix)