Well we’ve made it through another weekend. We’ve lost an hour, but the evenings are lighter now and that’s a nice thing. Living in New York City, daylight is a hot commodity. Windows that actually face a street or backyard instead of some brick wall are just as important in apartment real estate as hardwood floors are — if not more important. We live and pass through daylight and nightlight seamlessly. The city lights create a pseudo sun and total darkness is rare. It’s one of the magical things about living in this metropolis, but it’s also quite dangerous. Nightlight, night air, and shutting down; distancing yourself from the world and disconnecting keep us in check and grounded — keeps us honest. The night time provides an excellent mask of reality. The yellow glow that bounces off strangers faces on the street, the flashing lights of a dimly lit dancehall, even the blue lights from our laptops, iPhones, and tablets work to disguise ourselves just a little bit. They’re veils of sorts, and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs gets it in his remix to Foals already brilliant single, “My Number.”
You don’t have my number We don’t need each other now We don’t need the city The creed or the culture now.”
Taking the first verse, Orlando Higginbottom spins the vocals over a deep deep disco-house meets chillwave beat. It’s the kind of beat you’d find in a tiny basement party that’s over-crowded , sweaty, and smoke filled. It’s the kind of beat that masks the listener’s person in a hypnotic groove. The production is consistant in its repetition and effortlessly induces a trance state. You can get lost in this remix if you’re not careful (although it’s quite an adventure if you do).
The urban fabric is a tricky one to weave through and exhausting. There are opportunities to lose yourself around every corner at any moment. You don’t need the city, like Yannis Philippakis repeats. There comes a time when the love affair ends and it’s time to pack up; make a new life in a new town that perhaps has daylight and nightlight that exist as separate entities. Personally, my affair is still going strong, but the need to escape is reoccurring — that’s where tracks like this come into play. I choose to get lost in sound rather than the world that’s just unfolding before me.
Foals – My Number (Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs Remix)