How Can It Be Remixed?

45 minutes of glacial Norwegian pop, courtesy of a-ha.

Most of these are 12" extended versions from the 1980s, including a couple that remained unreleased until 2016. I've also opted for one contemporary 21st century remix, plus revamps of their two biggest songs from the same decade.

Mark Vidler aka Go Home Productions is perhaps best known as a master of the mash-up, but also turned his hand to some (unofficial) remixes. The Sun Always Shines On T.V. appeared on a GHP compilation in 2007 but dates from 2-3 years previously.

The Twelves are a pair of Brazilian boys, clearly inspired by the likes of Daft Punk and Justice, who released music on the trendy Kitsune label and did tons of remixes for the hip and beautiful likes of New Young Pony Club, Black Kids, La Roux, Groove Armada and Fever Ray. Their remix of Take On Me appeared on a Chevrolet (Brazil)-commissioned promo for the Vectra GT sports car. 

Of the rest, you get Morten Harket's vocals on full display, be it for ballads, club tracks or rockier numbers (or at least, Norway's singular take on the genre). I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of a-ha, then or now, but they knew how to write and play songs laden with hooks, for sure.

Happy Friday, everyone!

1) The Sun Always Shines On T.V. (Go Home Productions Remix By Mark Vidler) (2007)

2) You Are The One (Dub Mix Edit By Justin Strauss & Daniel Abraham) (1988)

3) Cry Wolf (Extended Version By Magne Furuholmen, Paul Waaktaar & Gerry Kitchingham) (1986)

4) Stay On These Roads (Extended Remix By Alan Tarney & John Hudson) (1988)

5) I've Been Losing You (Extended Mix By John 'Jellybean' Benitez) (1986)

6) Summer Moved On (Remix By C.L.A.S.S. Production aka Andreas Herbig) (2000)

7) Touchy! (House Mix By Paul Simpson) (1988)

8) Take On Me (The Twelves Remix By João Amaral & Luciano Oliveira) (2009)

1986: Cry Wolf EP: 3

1986: I've Been Losing You EP: 5

1988: Stay On These Roads EP: 4

2000: Summer Moved On EP: 6

2007: GHP Unofficial Remixes 2: 1

2009: Vectra GT Remix EP (promo CD single): 8

2016: Time And Again: The Ultimate a-ha (2x CD): 2, 7

How Can It Be Remixed? (45:39) (KF) (Mega)

We Don't Really Need A Crowd To Have A Party

Another 45-minute selection of eclectic Eighties 12" mixes to shuffle in the weekend. 

I was an avid consumer of remixes as a newly minted record collector in my teens, spending a disproportionate amount of my hard-earned Saturday and holiday job money on 12" singles. My tastes were broadening from the outset: I had no problem parting with cash for Hi NRG, Pop, Goth, Electro, Rock, Indie or D.I.S.C.O., often within the same shopping trip.

For all that, I can say confidently that I didn't own a single one of today's selections until the advent of the internet, eBay, nostalgia-driven 3CD 12"/80s collections and as importantly, if not more so, music blogs.

Suddenly, things that had passed me by or were just out of reach were more readily available. Pre-Brexit and/or the sky-rocketing of shipping fees, I'd acquire tons of music from sellers in Europe and the USA. Without music blogs, would I ever have heard of Shona Laing? Or been able to deep dive into Joseph Watt and Art Maharg's Razormaid archive? Probably not.

Some of this selection may be familiar, it may trigger some fuzzy, happy memories or it may be music that you've never heard before today. If it's none of the above but it gets you shuffling and shimmying around the kitchen, then that's good enough for me!

 

1) Dancing In Berlin (Extended Version - Dance Remix By Giorgio Moroder & Richie Zito): Berlin (1984)

2) Flying North (Razormaid Remix): Thomas Dolby (1988)

3) So Bright So Strong (The Kissing Side) (Remix By Phil Harding & Paul 'Wix' Wickens): Nitzer Ebb (1985)

4) Big Fun (Juan's Magic Remix By Juan Atkins): Inner City (1988)

5) Work It Out (Acid Dub): Steve 'Silk' Hurley ft. M. Doc aka Marc Williams (1989)  

6) Beat Boy (Dance Dub): Visage (1984)

7) Soviet Snow (Meltdown Dub) (Remix By Justin Strauss & Murray Elias): Shona Laing (1987)

8) Our Darkness (Remix By Anne Clark & David Harrow): Anne Clark (1984)

We Don't Really Need A Crowd To Have A Party (46:22) (KF) (Mega)

Devotional

Side 2 of a Depeche Mode mixtape, recorded sometime around September or October 1998.

The triumphant return of the boys from Basildon with this selection focusing on a decade of mixes from 1988 (not 1989 as advertised above) to 1998, bridging live compilation 101 through to their second singles collection, the rather functionally titled The Singles 86>98.

 

Headstar is a good example of Mode's stock-in-trade B-side, an instrumental that could easily have wound up on a US TV drama soundtrack. World In My Eyes is remixed by The Beloved's Jon Marsh, tucked away on a limited edition single back in 1990.  

 

In Your Room wasn't a particular favourite of mine as a single/album track but the remixes were better, including the one here by Jonny Dollar and featuring my first encounter with Geoff Barrow working under the Portishead moniker. 

 

Wrapping up Side 2 - and the compilation - a rare occasion when I used an alternative to the definitive single version of Enjoy The Silence on a mixtape. Poor old Dave Gahan doesn't get a look in until the closing minute or so, but it's a good mix nevertheless. 

 

I haven't yet got around to buying the latest Depeche Mode album, more a reflection on the ton of great albums that have already landed in 2023 so far. 

 

1) Headstar (Single Mix By Tim Simenon & Robin Hancock) (1998)

2) Nothing (Zip-Hop Mix By Justin Strauss & Eric Kupper) (1988)

3) World In My Eyes (Mayhem Mode) (Remix By Jon Marsh) (1990)

4) I Feel You (Babylon Mix By Supereal aka John Crossley) (1993)

5) Barrel Of A Gun (United Mix By Paul Freegard & Marc Waterman ft. Vanessa) (1997) 

6) Home (LFO Meant To Be) (Remix By Mark Bell) (1997)

7) In Your Room (The Jeep Rock Mix By Jonny Dollar & Portishead) (Edit) (1994)

8) Enjoy The Silence (Ricki Tik Tik Mix By Daniel Miller & Phil Legg) (1990)

Side Two (46:22) (KF) (Mega)

 

If that's left you hungry for more Mode, here are the previous selections I posted in August 2021 and May 2022.

 

More Than A Party

Moving Violations

 

Take A Glimpse Of The World

Dusting off more old tunes that haven't popped up on my playlist for a couple of years, predominantly propelling beats with a brief change in pace and (bendy) bass before a rousing run off into the weekend. 

 

My family is sleeping peacefully, Friday is a day off from work and I have a long weekend to look forward. So many do not have that luxury. I continually remind myself how fortunate I am. 

 

Peace be with you all.

1) Going, Going, Gone (Mindwarp Mix By Scott Christian): Information Society (1993)

2) Little Bird (The Brian McCombs Blue Jay Anthem Mix): Annie Lennox (2013)

3) San Francisco (Fred Falke Remix): Citylife ft. DD (2008)

4) The Great Commandment (Acid Commandment Vocal) (Remix By Justin Strauss): Camouflage (1988)

5) Isolation (Time Tunnel Mix By The Grid aka Dave Ball & Richard Norris): Parchman (1993)

6) Hook R: Fortran 5 (1993)

7) Bendy Bass: VCMG (Vince Clarke & Martin Gore) (2012)

8) Rapture (Armin Van Buuren Remix): iiO (2001)

Take A Glimpse Of The World (56:06)

A Promise Of Heaven Or Hell In Your Song

Hot on the heels of the triumphant Soft Cell tour late last year and their imminent new album *Happiness Not Included, Marc Almond has announced 5 solo concerts for March and April.

I've only seen Marc Almond live on stage once, in October 1988 promoting The Stars We Are. The album had only been released a few days prior to the concert and ultimately matched it's predecessor, Mother Fist And Her Five Daughters, peaking at #41 in the UK. The previous month, Marc had enjoyed his highest UK singles chart placing in three years when Tears Run Rings made it to #26. Follow up Bitter Sweet didn't fare so well but the next single, re-recorded as a duet with Gene Pitney, would see Marc back at #1.

The Bristol Studio Ballroom sounds grand, doesn't it? It evokes images of faded glamour and a building steeped in history, a perfect setting for Marc's evocative tales of grit and glitter. The reality was a bit different. The Studio was at the top of a multi-storey building, above a cinema and adjoining an ice rink. The Studio itself generally had a main space for the lager louts and pop dance toons, with occasionally some great DJs passing through. There was also a very small side room, with sweat-dripping walls and minimal lighting, for anything deemed "alternative" (for me, this was invariably goth). The main space was where gigs would happen. I don't remember The Studio with any real affection as a building/space, but I had some great times there with some great people, and the collision of queues to get into the various destinations was always interesting, to say the least.

The other significant memories of the Marc Almond gig are:

(1) I ended up going alone and I didn't see anyone else at the gig that I knew; and 

(2) I ended up having to leave early to get the last bus home. 

 

I do recall that it was Tuesday night, I had the work the next day, I was flat broke and I couldn't afford a solo taxi fare as I lived in some godforsaken suburb, miles away. I'd passed my driving test by then but hadn't yet been able to afford a car and no way were my parents going to lend me theirs to drive into the big bad city.

So, my euphoria at what was a brilliant concert was tempered by being really pissed off as I sat on the bus, rattling my bones with every pothole on its interminable, roundabout journey back home. 

Marc Almond was fantastic. Oddly enough, although I was familiar with his songs, particularly the singles, at that point I don't think I actually owned any Soft Cell, Marc & The Mambas or solo albums, so a fair chunk of the songs were new to me. As the ticket proudly states, there was no "supporting artiste", so it did mean that I managed at least two thirds of the set before having to dash to the bus stop; I definitely made it to Anarcoma, but it's a bit hazy after that. Marc was supported, as on the studio recordings, by La Magia aka Annie Hogan, Billy McGee and Steven Humphreys. The three plus Martin McCarrick had been The Willing Sinners and Hogan, McGee and McCarrick had also been members of Marc & The Mambas, and brought a cinematic lush quality to underpin Marc's singing and storytelling.

There isn't a setlist available for the Bristol Studio gig, so I've referenced the show at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London a few nights later. I've not replicated the full set for the simple reason that I still (still!) don't have all of Marc's earlier albums, including The Stars We Are (and I've long lost the C90 copies of those I did). Instead, today's selection is singles-heavy, plundering 1995's Treasure Box collection, 12" remixes and rarities. 

 

From the latter, I've included the version of Melancholy Rose from the Videos 1984-1987 (on VHS!) as I love the introduction. Not a spoiler, but I keep mishearing "Circus of Sighs" as "Circus of Size", which always makes me smile. I've also included the Pitney-free original album version of Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart, which was how I first heard the song, on a friend's copy of The Stars We Are, although I missed it being performed live. 

 

The set was liberally sprinkled with Jacques Brel covers, preceding Marc's 1989 album Jacques, and closed with If You Go Away. I don't have that particular version, so I've gone for the earlier take from 1982 by Marc & The Mamba, in truth just Marc singing and Annie on piano, to stunning effect. Brel's original 1959 song Ne Me Quitte Pas was translated by Rod McKuen in 1966 and the version included here is spine chilling. 

Marc's upcoming concerts will finally provide an opportunity to perform songs from Chaos And A Dancing Star, released in January 2020 just before the pandemic hit. It was one of my highlights of the year but, let's face it, it's going to be a fantastic show whatever he chooses to sing.

1) The Stars We Are (Full Length Mix): Marc Almond with La Magia (1988)

2) Melancholy Rose (Video Version): Marc Almond & The Willing Sinners (1987)

3) Bitter Sweet (The Big Beat Mix By The Extra Beat Boys): Marc Almond with La Magia (1988)

4) Anarcoma: Marc Almond & The Willing Sinners (1986)

5) Tenderness Is A Weakness (With Instrumental Overture) (10" Version By Mike Hedges): Marc Almond & The Willing Sinners (1984) 

6) Ruby Red (Special Re-Recorded Extended Dance Mix By Mike Hedges & Marc Almond): Marc Almond & The Willing Sinners (1986)

7) The Sensualist (Ultimate Ecstacy Mix): Marc Almond with La Magia (1988)

8) Tears Run Rings (The Just Rite Edit By Justin Strauss): Marc Almond with La Magia (1988)

9) Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart (Album Version By Bob Kraushaar): Marc Almond with La Magia (1988)

10) If You Go Away (Cover of Jacques Brel): Marc & The Mambas (1982)

 

A Promise Of Heaven Or Hell In Your Song (1:01:29) (GD) (M)