RE:boots June - The best mashups of 2009
The summer has kicked in with intent and brought with it a teeming swarm of mashups and compilations. There’s been quite a harvest of tracks to sift through this month, but that means you can be certain only the very best mashups have made it into this month’s RE:boots.
1. team9 - Ministry of Sound Chilled [HTTP]
2. Party Ben - Machine Gun Shelter [MP3]
3. MadMixMustang - That’s All Right Now! [MP3]
4. Phil RetroSpector - A Thousand Secrets [MP3]
5. DJ Fac - The Creation That Feeds [MP3]
6. Mighty Mike - Human in St. Petersburg [MP3]
7. Various Bootleggers - 72 [ZIP]
8. Amoraboy - Fuck New York [HTTP]
9. Mashup-Germany - Generation Mashup [Z-SHARE]
10. Hi-Brid - Crazy Satellite [MP3]
1. team9 - Ministry of Sound Chilled [HTTP]
- A 12-track chillout mashup collection
Is it just a coincidence that team9’s glorious album of sun-drenched chillout anthems slipped onto the Net just before a major heatwave? Cause and effect, people. Cause and effect. Produced specially for Ministry of Sound, team9’s Chilled is a soft summer breeze of a collection, featuring track after track of laid back bootleg genius. Taking in artists like Massive Attack, Bob Marley, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Franz Ferdinand and the Jackson 5, this is an ideal soundtrack to the summer.
2. Party Ben - Machine Gun Shelter [MP3]
- The Commodores - Machine Gun
- The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
Although Gimme Shelter may be one of the most mashed up songs of the 60s, there’s nothing tired or overly familiar about it here. Alongside the feel-good funk of the Commodore’s Machine Gun - one of my favourite tracks of the 70s - it’s an infectious dancefloor-filler, which proudly bears the Party Ben seal of quality.
3. MadMixMustang - That’s All Right Now! [MP3]
- The Free - Alright Now
- Elvis Presley - That’s All Right Mama
Another vintage pairing that’s sure to set dancing feet an-itching, MadMixMustang’s That’s All Right Now! flawlessly blends Elvis with The Free’s rock classic. The end result is a funky live number that James Brown would have been proud of.
4. Phil RetroSpector - A Thousand Secrets [MP3]
- Leonard Cohen - A Thousand Kisses Deep
- Le Mystere de Voix Bulgares - Pritouritze Planinata
- Muse - Ruled By Secrecy
Phil RetroSpector has a unique talent for weaving together disparate musical threads into a deep and moving tapestry of sadness. A Thousand Secrets is overflowing with the touches that make Phil’s best tracks so unusual and striking - a deep melancholy and a beautiful lightness of touch. It’s no feel-good summer smash, that’s for sure, but it’s possibly the best Radiohead track that never was.
5. DJ Fac - The Creation That Feeds [MP3]
- Stereo MCs - Creation
- Nine Inch Nails - The Hand that Feeds
There’s nothing particulary special about NIN boots - there’s not exactly a shortage of them - but it’s not everyday you hear the Stereo MCs’ 90s classic Creation at all, never mind mashed up so effectively. Swiss producer DJ Fac has done a fine job here.
6. Mighty Mike - Human in St. Petersburg [MP3]
- The Killers - Human
- Supergrass - St. Petersburg
With Human in St. Petersburg, Mighty Mike has crafted one of the most natural sounding mashups I’ve heard in a long time. This subtle and effective combination strips away the froth from the Killers track and replants it in folk-tinged indie territory to great effect.
7. Various Bootleggers - 72 [ZIP]
- 72-minute mashup mix
One of the most ambitious mashup projects in recent years, 72 is a 72-minute non-stop mashup mix that sees the baton pass between Eddie Pedalo, pomDeter, Irn Mnky, Radioface, JamieCG74, GaraGara, 10,000 Spoons, Instamatic, World Famous Audio Hacker, CMCpress and MadMixMustang. Along the course of this rollercoaster ride through bootlegging it takes in over 200 samples, ranging from pop and rock, to hip hop and children’s TV, and scarcely leaves the listener chance to breathe.
8. Amoraboy - Fuck New York [HTTP]
- Lily Allen - Fuck You
- Frank Sinatra - New York, New York
Amongst the steady flow of mashups sourcing elements from Lily Allen’s recent album, Amoraboy’s latest number certainly stands out from the crowd. A deliciously laid back, almost drunken swing number, Fuck New York is a perfect set-closer.
9. Mashup-Germany - Generation Mashup [Z-SHARE]
- A 2CD, 35-track mashup collection
Generation Mashup is the second bootleg collection from Germany’s Ben Stiller, and it definitely marks him out as one to watch. Across the two discs of this compilation there are many standout tracks, but it’s the DJ Earworm-esque numbers in which he seamlessly blends together numerous vocal elements where he really shines.
10. Hi-Brid - Crazy Satellite [MP3]
- Tasmin Archer - Sleeping Satellite
- Seal - Crazy (Do You Know The Way To LA Mix)
We return to the 90s for the last track in our round-up. This time around it’s a clash of contemporaries - the inimitable Seal and the sadly-neglected Tasmin Archer. Despite the age of both tracks, in Hi-Brid’s hands this could have been recorded yesterday.
