Thirty Days of Music Day 10 - A Song That Makes You Fall Asleep

Zero 7 have been kings of downtempo for some time now, making great chilled out tunes with the likes of Sia and Jose Gonzalez as regular guest singers, and possibly my favourite song of theirs is the sentimentally lovestruck Somersault.  To be honest, I could have chosen pretty much any Zero 7 song, but Futures, Pageant of the Bizarre and The Space Between were extremely close contenders with this song.

The original song is a beautifully relaxing ditty about love and relationships, but the remix adds an entirely new dimension to the song.  Danger Mouse and MF Doom have combined to create an incredibly chilled out, perfectly synergised version - Doom's rapping fits perfectly with the tone of the song, lessening the over-the-top sweetness of the lyrics whilst keeping to the topic: 'the flutter of her eyelashes helped to clear the tension'. His delivery is so unique and his voice fits perfectly into a chilled out tone - the song is perfect to relax to without being as samey as some of the classic chill music you usually find.

I talked about this song in a earlier post about some remixes I had found on YouTube, but I couldn't help but use it again here because it's a more unusual approach to chill music that works so well and you can really see the skill of Danger Mouse and Doom when they remix a song like this.

Remixes

I found all of these remixes browsing through Youtube today. There's lots of stuff you can find by unknowns as well as famous artists, but there's also lots of stuff that's not particularly great. It's worth the effort when you stumble accross something really special, though.


Comin' Home - City and Colour (Remix by Incubus96)



I spent an age trawling through Comin' Home remixes before I found this one. I suppose it's good that lots of people have made attempts at remaking the song - it shows Dallas is getting the credit he deserves - but I was pretty disappointed with the general output that I found. My main issue was that the majority sped up the original, making him sound like a girl and subtracting from the serious tone of the song. Furthermore, the lamenting lyrics that characterised the original just don't seem right showcased in some of the pumping, driven tunes had been produced. This remix, done by a guy who I only know as Ben (incubus96 on YouTube), stood out because he left the song's speed relatively unchanged. Also, he was very careful with his production - only really adding simple drums and bass. This, for me, gives the illusion of an increased pace whilst leaving the emphasis on the awesome vocals and lyrics of Dallas.


Somersault - Zero 7 (Danger Mouse and MF Doom Remix)
This second remix is of an absolute Zero 7 classic - Somersault. Conversely to the first one, it is quite a popular remix already - probably due to the fact it was produced by Danger Mouse and stars MF Doom. I love Doom's low-key rapping over the top of the original Somersault backing; it remains, in the style of Zero 7, unbelieveably chilled out and seemingly effortless. Sia's sweet vocals still pervade the chorus and background of the song, a gentle contrast to Doom's deeper tones. My only gripe is that the verses were removed - the purest, most delicate, most sweetly sentimental parts of the original.Circles -

Thrice (Thrice B-Side Remix)

Thrice are one of my favourite bands, and have been for a long time. This is a remix they did of their own song Circles from Beggars (their latest album). It's from the Beggars B-sides that could only be downloaded if you bought a hard copy of the album and used the codes on the card you got with it. This remix works so well because they have kept the meat from the original - the emotional lyrics and melody - whilst improving upon the intro, backing and outtro. For fans of heavier stuff, the original might still be considered superior, but for me this remix surpasses it in almost every way. It enhances the ambient nature of the original, casting back to the style of Alchemy Index Volume II: Water. This is my favourite of the three remixes as it retains the contemplative, regretful tone of the original whilst bringing something entirely new to Thrice's already unique sound.