It's not often we get avalanched by such a spectacular bundle of mixes on the same day! It's like all of my favourite female artists coalesced in secrecy to treat us to the ultimate muso feast during this otherwise bland and uneventful summer season of music...
First up, we have the unparalleled Irish Art Pop marvel Róisín Murphy who has been enjoying an enormous success with her latest house anthem "Incapable" ever since it dropped anonymously on a white label 12" back in December, swiftly becoming an underground club phenomenon. Following a wider digital release, a dual remix treatment by The Crooked Man himself, this incontestable house diva belter continues its expansion across the dancefloors of the world with the latest remix package featuring an impossibly euphoric, vintage flavoured remix by Dimitri from Paris and Aeroplane! Could this mean that 2019 will be the first year in the history of my 10-year old blog where the top spots for the Track and the Remix of the year will in fact go to the same song?
Robyn's 2018 album "Honey" was arguably her most artistically sophisticated and mature album to date. An eclectic selection of 9 superbly produced, excellent tracks which are now, in rotation, living their second lives with a stream of remixes by the likes of Kim Ann Foxman, The Black Madonna, Planningtorock, Soulwax, Louie Vega and now Yaeji! The Korean wonder-child claims "Beach2k20" to be her favourite summer-all-year-long bop and her rendition of this oddball slice of "Honey" is appropriately kooky and uplifting. This girl can seriously do no wrong.
To finish up we have a Scandinavian triptych and the first ever collaboration between Björk and Karin Dreijer who have teamed up for a trio of extraordinary and astonishing remixes which are available to pre-order on a limited edition 12" via One Little Indian.
The Icelandic mastermind turns Fever Ray's "This Country" into a completely uncompromising wall of electronic noise reminiscing Alec Empire's industrial interpretations of "Jóga". Björk adds her own vocals to the mix making it a particularly rare (and radical) treat.
Fever Ray depicts Björk's "Features Creatures" in their signature cold synth-pop way. It's a feast of electronic waves and distorted voices, beautifully amalgamated with Björk's goosebump-inducing vocals. It's also Fever Ray's first ever remix for another artist.
The cherry-on-top comes with The Knife's throbbing electro stomper version of "Features Creatures". Karin and Olof Dreijer turn this "Utopia" track into a multi-layered, tribal beat-laden, twisted dancefloor moment, bringing back the sonic memories of the Swedish sibling duo's "Shaken-Up Versions" re-visiting their own back catalogue back in 2014. Hands down one of the most staggering remixes I've heard in years.
