HOT 8 REMIXES
After wooing fans with the raucous charm of their debut album ‘Rock With The Hot 8’ (featuring that “Sexual Healing” cover) and the raw party energy of their live shows, Hot 8 Brass Band are back in town.
It’s been a busy old year – they completed a sell-out UK and European tour in February, appearing on The Culture Show (BBC 2); laying down a couple of tracks for the new Basement Jaxx album; and recording live sessions for BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6Music while they were over here.
Hot 8 will be touring the UK between 29th July – 10th August, including a high profile spot at The Big Chill festival (2nd August); gigs including Brighton (30th July) and London (31st) and a host of other festivals. They have also had requests to play on major UK chat shows and in the BBC’s Electric Proms so you may be seeing them from the comfort of your living room soon.
Available as a digital download-only release to coincide with their forthcoming UK tour, this remixes album kicks off with the seriously funky, hi-energy Lack Of Afro Remix of “It’s Real”, with wayward wah wah guitars and heavy hitting drums; ditching the vocal for a full on instrumental jam.
Tru Thoughts label-mate Natural Self applies his innately classy beat-making and production skills to “We Are One”, laying a stripped back, bassy reggae-style groove under the lush, multi-layered horns. Those who are familiar with Natural Self’s latest album ‘The Art Of Vibration’ – which came out in June to great reactions and radio play from Mark Lamarr (Radio 2) and Gilles Peterson (Radio 1) – will know that a strident, funky horn section is a prominent feature in his own compositions.
Hint’s rework of “Jisten To Me” has got his light yet energetic touch running right through it, transforming the flowing big brass number into a cheeky dancefloor track, isolating a single horn hook and fashioning a catchy break. All the tricks and quirky electronic touches that have made Hint’s own tracks, such as “At The Dance” and “The Tremmuh” such massive DJ weapons in recent years, are out in force. Hint’s hotly-anticipated new album ‘Driven From Distraction’ is out on 28th July.
The famously wonderful Hot 8 Brass Band cover of “Sexual Healing” features here too, edited to a slightly more manageable five minutes by Me&You – aka Tru Thoughts’ TM Juke and Robert Luis.
Unforscene seamlessly weave their trademark atmospheric textures through “Mish Mash” and give “Get Up” an eerie, ominous edge, cranking up the marching beat and the tension levels to eleven.Diesler takes the chunky jazzy hip hop of “Get Up” and gives it a dusting down for the dancefloor, while “It’s Real” comes out of Palov & Mishkin’s studio with a cheeky cut’n’paste hip hop vibe, scratching and a big ol’ beat. One of the most out-there remixes on this collection is Aldo Vanucci’s makeover of “What’s My Name”, with an insistent hook and a dancehall-style vocal taking it to another sphere.