I wrote on Boy & Bear a couple weeks back, and the post was extremely popular. This came as no surprise, because the band is nothing short of awesome. (While on the subject—did anyone manage to catch them at SXSW?) Great news, now I've got some more for you! The other day I received a track in my dropbox from a producer named Snapdragons, who had remixed Boy & Bear’s single Mexican Mavis. To be honest with you, when I saw this combination, I was a bit skeptical. Boy & Bear have such an earthy, down-home feel, that I thought to add electronic elements to one of their tracks by remixing it would completely muck up the integrity of it. After all, Mexican Mavis, with its wafting harmonies and strong, percussive guitar, feels so much more of an on-the-prairie than in-the-studio type of production.
But then I actually listened to the remix and remembered why those kind of will-this-work? judgment calls are best left to the professionals. Snapdragons turned my skepticism on its head with and a great, shiny midtempo remix that, yes, deviates from the mood of the original but uses the original elements in such a way—take for example the excellent, pulsing, chopped edit of those aforementioned wafting harmonies—that this deviation feels not only unforced, but quite excitingly fresh. Snapdragons describes his style as ‘electronic music pretty heavily influenced by indie music,’ which may be simplistic but for all intents and purposes is the best summation. It’s clear that, although he works in an electronic medium, he has a strong respect for more traditional compositions and song structure. That’s why this remix works so well. It still functions as a rock song, it just simply isn’t one anymore.
Snapdragons is an upstart producer out of Australia, with his first album coming digitally later this year. We’ll let you know when he releases it. In the meantime, check out his Soundcloud to hear more of his work.
Mexican Mavis (Snapdragons Remix)--Boy & Bear
Bonus Original:
Mexican Mavis--Boy & Bear
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