The Further You Fall, The Higher You Fly

The next few days will be highlighting some of my favourites from 2022, beginning with a selection of great remixes from the mass of singles that I've purchased (mainly on Bandcamp Friday) this year. 

 

Many DJs and producers could have warranted a 'best of' selection in their own right, given the quantity and quality of music they've released this year. An honorable mention then to those that only have one appearance here but easily could have had several: Andy Bell & GLOK, Bedford Falls Players, David Holmes & Unloved, Hardway Bros, HiFi Sean, Joe Goddard, Richard Norris and Rude Audio.

Albums by Mattiel, A Mountain Of One and Warmduscher have come recommended and appear in other 2022 countdowns in the blogosphere. I bought a lot of albums (mostly digital) this year but these are all still on my shopping list.

Continuing the 80s indie flavour, Andres Y Xavi make an appearance for the second year running with another track/remix featuring The Woodentops' Rolo McGinty. In a delightful and unexpected move, BMX Bandits' 2017 song Razorblades & Honey, co-written by Duglas T. Stewart and Anton Newcombe, was remixed by founder member, former Soup Dragon and DJ/producer par excellence Sean Dickson aka HiFi Sean. It's even better than you'd imagine it could be.

 

Jesse Fahnestock and Darren Bell are back as Jezebell (I warned you on Christmas Eve), breaking my own rule for this selection by appearing twice. In my defence, one is a remix of another artist (Ian Vale) and the other is a remix of one of their own songs by, er, themselves. Oh, why should I justify myself? They're both excellent!

 

In addition to an excellent album and clutch of singles with Unloved, David Holmes released the stunning single It's Over, If We Run Out Of Love featuring Raven Violet on Valentines Day this year, with a stunning remix package following at the end of March. Hard to pick a favourite to be honest, but Sean Johnston's brace of remixes won out.

 

Likewise, Richard Norris' pair of remixes of Sundowning by Mark Peters featuring Dot Allison released in late October are jaw droppingly beautiful. I've ditched the beats and gone for the ambient version to close this selection. 

 

All of these are available digitally, some on physical formats, via Bandcamp and other retailers. All highly recommended. 

 

More 2022 highlights tomorrow.

 

1) Subterranean Dub (Raf Rundell's Salty Man Dub): Mattiel

2) You Feed Me (Rude Audio Remix): Field Of Dreams

3) What Do You See In Me (Xavi Dub 2) (Remix By Steve Ellis): Andres Y Xavi ft. Rolo McGinty

4) Star (Yo Miro Remix): A Mountain Of One

5) Red Shift (Bedford Falls Players Remix): MAN2.0

6) Dimension Z (Pete Bones Remix): TR20

7) Razorblades & Honey (HiFi Sean Extended Revision): BMX Bandits ft. Anton Newcombe

8) Loft Music (Jezebell's DC Metro Mix): Ian Vale

9) It's Over, If We Run Out Of Love (Hardway Bros Live At The SSL Dub): David Holmes ft. Raven Violet

10) Wavygravy (GLOK Remix): Flyying Colours

11) Dancing (Not Fighting) (The Drop Acid Not Bombs Mix): Jezebell

12) Famous (The Reflex Re√ision): Parcels

13) Fatso (Joe Goddard Remix): Warmduscher

14) Sundowning (Richard Norris Ambient Remix): Mark Peters ft. Dot Allison

The Further You Fall, The Higher You Fly (1:27:08) (Box) (Mega)

Nothing But The Chances

More beat-laden beauties to banish your mid-week blues, three quarters of an hour (give or take a minute) of music from the 2020s to enhance your day. 

I was encouraged to check out the Rough Diamond EP by TR20 aka Joshua Tobin and Jack Rutherford after they contributed to Hyena Hopscotch Remixes by Pete Bones & The Stones Of Convention. Pete returns the favour on the EP, as do Bedford Falls Players on the title track. The original version of Rough Diamond is described as an "ALFOS aligned chugger" and they're not wrong.

Yes Father are also a duo - Dino Lenny and Francesco Farfa - and I originally picked up Everything You Say last year via Justin Robertson's Deadstock 33s Remix. I went back this summer to get their own remix of the track, described as "modern dance music meets new wave disco jam that’s upbeat without compromising style". A banger, in other words.

 

I've dipped into Versions: Remixed by Archive, which is packed with goodies by Andy Bell/GLOK and Richard Norris. Lights was originally the eighteen and a half minute title track from their 2006 album, recreated as a seven minute opener for Archive's 2020 Versions album and remixed here by Darkstar aka Aiden Whalley and James Young as a three and a half minute ambient interlude, dovetailing nicely into...

...Jezebell's dub reimagining of Elle Et Moi by Max Berlin's as Jezebelle Et Moi. I'm a big fan of this track and I think I have now featured all but one of the four versions on this blog. Jezebell aka Jesse Fahnestock and Darren Bell have pulled out all the stops, delivering so many great new songs and remixes in recent months that it;s easy to forget that Jezebelle Et Moi came out in 2022. All highly recommended.

 

Walking In The Sun by Andres Y Xavi (Glenn Fallows and Steve Ellis to their family and friends) is another track that's featured here multiple times in various versions since the remix EP was released last April. Alongside remixes from Coyote and James Bright, there are are a couple of remixes by Xavi/Steve, including this lovely sunset dub.

 

From there, Sydney Minsky-Sargeant of Working Men's Club teams up with Russ Orton (ex-Fat Truckers) as Minsky Rock to take on Baxter Dury. Say Nothing is grabbed by the lapels and dragged back to the 1980s, this vocal-free version described by Dury as taking "the basic cells of a sleepy spoken word number and [turning] it into a bastard 80s electro animal". An apt description.

 

Sticking with the 1980s and Rude Boy's cover of M|A|R|R|S 1987 one-off single and global smash hit. Rude Boy is Lee Groves and Kardi Tivali, with Pump Up The Volume remixed by Robo Bass Hifi aka Markus Kamma as a dub-inflected electro chugger. 

 

Rounding things off is the mysterious (to me, at least) From Beyond with Simulated Emotions, released on the excellent Paisley Dark Records in August 2021. The EP includes a braces of remixes by Bedford Falls Players (him again) and label boss John Paynter, delivering "A Space Age Freak Out Dark Paisley" version. I've gone for the original version of the title track, a low-BPM thing of beauty, all pulsing beats, bouncing keys and synth washes. 

 

Just over forty five minutes later and you have arrived at your destination. I hope you enjoyed the ride.

 

1) Rough Diamond (Original Version): TR20 (2022)

2) Everything You Say (Dino Lenny & Francesco Farfa Mix): Yes Father (2020)

3) Lights (Darkstar Remix): Archive ft. Pollard Berrier (2020)

4) Jezebelle Et Moi (Le Dub Et Moi) (Cover of Max Berlin's): Jezebell (2022)

5) Walking In The Sun (Xavi's Dub): Andres Y Xavi ft. Rolo McGinty (2021)

6) Say Nothing (Minsky Rock Remix - Instrumental): Baxter Dury (2020)

7) Pump Up The Volume (Robo Bass Hifi Remix) (Cover of M|A|R|R|S): Rude Boy ft. Kardi Tivali (2021)

8) Simulated Emotions (Single Version): From Beyond (2021)

2020: Everything You Say EP: 2

2020: Say Nothing EP: 6

2020: Versions: Remixed: 3

2021: Pump Up The Volume / Superstylin' EP: 7

2021: Simulated Emotions EP: 8

2021: Walking In The Sun EP: 5

2022: Jezebelle Et Moi EP: 4

2022: Rough Diamond EP: 1

Nothing But The Chances (45:57) (Box) (Mega)