Categories
Music Remixes

Depeche Mode – Dream On (Nu Sky Remix)

Sometimes I hear banger tracks and get really frustrated because they all sound the same. But the opposite is going on here. What I find with this remix, is something I’ve seen in few others. It’s what I talked about when we brought you that Polly remix by Bruno Be. It’s also what I think, a lot of Virgin Magnetic Material does with his remixes, which is an element that doesn’t necessarily tamper with the original. Instead, we hear a maximized sound, as if listening to a song on a regular car stereo, then listening to that same song on a surround sound speaker system. Magnification of details and elements you may not have necessarily thought of in the original. These types of remixes have become their own subgenre of electronic, I feel.

Now I’m all about Depeche Mode and I’ve been fortunate enough to find only good Depeche Mode remixes. I don’t know if it’s just because I am selective with what I choose to listen to, or if it’s because those who take on the feat of remixing anyone like Depeche Mode, Nirvana, Fleetwood Mac, etc. know that if they don’t do something right, they’ve royally screwed up. And they could be blamed for a disaster of grandiose, epic proportions.

Which is why this remix is fantastic. There’s a high pitched cowbell thing going on, and I love it. If I were Stefon from SNL right now, I’d probably say: “This track’s got everything — über sexual vocals, the entire ’80s club scene of New York City, snappy drums and a sparsely scattered beep of an answering machine.”

It’s actually got all of those things. Sorry if I offended anyone about ’80s club scene, I’m clearly no expert on that matter since it was before my time. But in my fantasies, this song exists in some ’80s club and together we’re in blissful harmony.

I’m in the suburbs for the holidays, and this song makes me want to jump up and down in my cozy house where everyone can hear everything in any given room. Life is laid back and mellow around these parts, forcing me to breathe a little slower, take in the surroundings, and listen more. But then I hear tracks like this which take me right back to the life that I also love in New York City, the life that isn’t so lavish but has plenty of love and cheers. This song speaks to that.

I can’t stop dinging with that high pitched cowbell. Live it up!

Depeche Mode – Dream On (Nu Sky Remix)

Categories
Music

EMPT Presents – S U M M E R : a n t i – w i n t e r 3A by Ryan Radler

Ah yes Monday, Sunday’s hangover returns once again…

In recent news, the S&P downgraded the U.S. Credit and apparently no one knows what that means, the stock market is in shambles and it’s only getting worse, Big Boy from Outkast got arrested on drug charges, great times all around my friends. Thankfully, Mondays on EMPT now mean the release of a new Ryan Radler mixtape and let me tell you folk, there’s nothing like some good music to keep your perspective in these times. Last week Ryan sent me an email kicking it about the inception of these wonderful mixes and I’m posting here because it sounds like me an all of my friends every weekend and listening to the tapes it couldn’t make more sense. Anyways, I gotta go work on the music for a few restaurants but press play on another wonderful mixtape, check out Ryan on Facebook and try to ignore the 25% loss on your portfolio, it will get better as usual. Enjoy.

Back in my loft, I began dreaming of Summers-gone-by. I remembered one of my favorite summers back in 2008 in Van Nuys, CA.
1. Crashed random friend’s house + Belonged to gay x-pornstar (Scariest/Nicest guy I ever met)
2. One very clean, but very ghetto “above ground” Pool + Floating blow-up chairs
3. Blistering hot valley sun + Not a cloud in the sky! 
4. 12 pack of Corona + 12 slices of lime
5. The Bestest of Friends + One great little Basenji Dog named “Ghost”
6. The “Western Electric” Summer mix PodCast + A really powerful set of surround-sound computer speakers 
Item #1 through #5 were enough to make the day a perfect “10”, but it was #6- my friends’ Summer mix music on the stereo- that made the day live on in my mind, Without the music that made the soundtrack of my Summer, I might have forgotten all about this glorious time in my life. The mix was filled with summery Rock & Roll, Electronic, and Folk music infused with 70’s loungy vintage organs and horns with conga breakdowns and dirty jazz tones.. The podcast spoke to me. It reached out and grabbed me by the floaties and slowly drifted me around the pool. It popped the caps of my beers. It took all my calls and forwarded them to voicemail. It held my hand and kissed me on the cheek and told me everything would be alright- and it was.
I have searched high and low for this mix, but to no avail. No one seems to know where it came from or how to get it back. It was at this moment that I decided that instead dropping into my usual winter depression, I would begin my own homage to this one summer day and resurrect the Summer mix that I had loved so much back in Van Nuys. 

S U M M E R : a n t i – w i n t e r 3A :

1. Jump in the Pool – FRIENDLY FIRES
2. Make You Mine – MIAMI HORROR
3. Pacific Theme – BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE
4. Un Homme Et Une Femme (Chant) – FRANCIS LAI
5. New Theory – WASHED OUT (RAC MIX)
6. Lisztomania – PHOENIX (Classixx Version)
7. Only Love Can Break Your Heart – I BLAME COCO
8. Puppets – DEPECHE MODE (ROYKSOPP REMIX)
9. Glad to Know You – CHAZ JANKEL
10. Heaven’s On Fire – THE RADIO DEPT.
11. Rad Racer – WORK DRUGS
12. Solitude Is Bliss – TAME IMPALA (MICKEY MOONLIGHT REMIX)
13. Zebra – BEACH HOUSE (RING TRACK REMIX)

EMPT Presents – S U M M E R : a n t i – w i n t e r 3A by Ryan Radler

Categories
Music Remixes

Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus (Alex Metric Remix)

Last week in Hollywood, I finally got the opportunity to catch a live set from DJ and producer, Avicii, who left me awe-struck with his energy-boosting/harmonic mixing which has given new life to the EDM scene over the last year. Avicii wasted no time when he jumped on stage by immediately utilizing his bottomless inventory of tracks he’s produced and remixed. One of the opening tracks caught me by surprise as the distinguished vocals of Depeche Mode were coming into play over a slow progressive buildup. I continued to dance in confusion and laughing to myself on whether this 80’s track was really being bumped into a EDM set. Two minutes later as the anticipation and energy built,  the crowd chanted in harmony, “…reach out and touch faith!” just then I knew Avicii just spun a gem of the past. The next morning, I tuned into Personal Jesus remixes, while Avicii dropped the Eric Prydz remix, I ended up enjoying this remix by Alex Metric the most.

As I do appreciate several artists of our past time, I’ll be the first to admit, Depeche Mode never really registered with my music taste, however, some of their tracks such as Personal Jesus prove through remixes, they can withstand the test of time. So while listening, put this song in perspective, given it’s been nearly 22 years since it’s release, that Alex Metric’s remix can make the dance floor groove as they once did in 1989:

Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess
I will deliver
You know I’m a forgiver
Reach out and touch faith

Your own Personal Jesus
Feeling’s unknown and you’re all alone
Flesh and bone by the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I’ll make you a believer
I will deliver
You know I’m a forgiver
Reach out and touch faith
Your own Personal Jesus
Reach out and touch faith”

The British DJ and producer Alex Metric has a handful of legit remixes and seems to be progressing quite nicely with each track he releases. Those into EDM, Alex teamed up with Steve Angello on a track a few months ago which I included below titled, Open Your Eyes. So reach out and touch faith while rocking out with your own Personal Jesus.

Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus (Alex Metric Remix)

Steve Angello & Alex Metric – Open Your Eyes (Original Mix)

– Joel

Subscribe to our newsletter