UPFRONTBEATS

A year after The 2 Bears served up their latest and greatest full length, Southern Fried Records revisit its brilliant constituent parts and have a fantastic roster of producers remix them. Label favourites old and new all feature, as well as plenty of stars from across the electronic spectrum, and the resulting album is a treasure trove of contemporary dance brilliance.

Up first, up and coming German producer and DJ Emanuel Satie flips ‘Get Out’ into a big, bouncy and playful house cut with old school drums and colourful piano stabs. Then comes Glasgow’s Poisonous Relationship with his Journey To Hell Dub of ‘Angel (Touch Me)’, a skittish, restless cut full of incendiary filter action and off kilter hits and chords. Fracture’s Astrophonica Dub of ‘Money Man’ slows the pace to a dubbed out, reverb rich crawl, long time Chinatown Records boss Brennan Green goes for an authentically old school and funk driven remix of ‘Not This Time’ that is lush as you like and new Southern Fried associate Fluida do their deep and emotive thing on a version of ‘See You.’

Elsewhere there is contemporary r&b flavours from MOTSA on ‘Son of the Sun’ and freewheeling drum led grooves on the urbane Naum Gabo remix of ‘Unbuild it.’ Another rising star in Roscius cooks up a busy, colourful and harmonic storm with his take on ‘Modern Family’ and Seahawks Deep Love For All Mankind Remix of ‘Mary Mary’ is a brain soothing bit of gently rhythmical, richly melodic Balearic house that really is beautiful.

Innervisions main man and jazz house specialist Henrik Schwarz cooks up the soulful and epic goods on his deep and rubbery remix of ‘My Queen’ before studio genius Martin Buttrich turns ‘Run Run Run’ into a typically intricate and excellent bit of dark and compelling tech. Last but not least former Trouw resident Patrice Baumel rounds things out with the busy and subtly uplifting melodic house grover ‘The Night Is Young.’

This is a fantastic collection that breathes plenty of new life into The 2 Bears superb latest album and really provides lots to love for fans from all backgrounds.