Fever Ray ‘Seven’ Twelves Remix
As far as I’m concerned, there are two kinds of (good) remixes:
1)The Additive mix. This remix philosophy begins with an idea of ‘don’t fix what isn’t broken’. In other words, you have a pretty great tune to start off with, and people are likely already dancing to it somewhere out there. So there’s no need to reinvent the wheel on this one. But maybe the time signature is a bit funny, or it has a floating intro or an abrupt finale. So all you’re setting out to do, as a remixer, is to add a few flourishes, even out the beat, and make the whole affair just that much more dancefloor/DJ friendly. A great example of this school is Stuart Price a.k.a. The Thin White Duke. Despite whatever elements he might adjust or add, the original song is almost always recognizable beneath it all.
Other Additive Remixers: Tommie Sunshine, Andre Anjos, Rory Phillips, The Slips, DIOYY
2)The Kitchen Sink mix. This approach essentially throws out most of what’s immediately identifiable with the original track and essentially creates an entirely new song. Not even the vocals are sacred in this method. This is the riskiest of the two approaches, as you might end up with something that’s so far removed that no one likes it – not the fans of the original song, nor dancers looking for a fix. Infamous examples of a failed Kitchen Sink approach include the up-to-that-point reliable Simian Mobile Disco’s take on Muse’s ‘Knights of Cydonia’, as well as any MSTRKFRT remix post-2006.
Successful Kitchen Sink remixers: Alan Braxe & Fred Falke, Erol Alkan, SebastiAn, Phones
The Twelves tend to straddle both remix schools, but this new remix of Fever Ray would certainly qualify as a Kitchen Sink mix. An incredibly successful one, I might add. While Karin Andersson’s vocals are left intact, they’ve somehow managed to turn a sort of otherwordly dirge into a disco inferno.
Fever Ray – Seven (The Twelves Remix)
Tags: fever ray, the twelves
