VCR, The xx (Four Tet Remix)

It struck me yesterday that since I've been posting on this blog, it's always been during the day. And I'm not sure if this is true for everyone, but what I listen to kind of changes according to the time of day, just as it does for certain seasons. Since this blog should be representative of what I listen to, I thought I'd post something I discovered last night, which is a remix of the first xx song I heard (probably about 2 years ago now) by the minimalist electronic musician Four Tet whose album Rounds I've just gotten into. Incidentally enough, they both attended the same school, along with Burial, who I will also mention in passing.

Firstly, it must be noted that this remix strips away the bare, naked sound The xx are associated with, and replaces it with a cheeky electronic beat. None of this takes away from the chilled out atmosphere though, even if the atmosphere might be completely different. Besides the obvious electronica which Four Tet brings to the song, what's most impressive is the way they mix the vocals. On the original, which I have also posted for those who haven't listened to it (where have YOU been?!?!), it's the stark contrast between the female and male vocal which is so astounding. But in this version, they are brought together, and are mixed so that the song carries a specific distorted sound which you'll find is really common in both Four Tet's music, and is becoming a trend, not only in electronic music such as work by Burial and James Blake, but also being incorporated into some modern folk music by musicians such as Bon Iver and Sufjan Stevens. It's a sound I'm extremely fond of as through producing vocals in such a way, it can paradoxically cause them to be more affecting than they originally were - the vocal now becoming a texture, and more of an instrument than it once was, becoming something that can be played around with in post-production.

It's about three times as long as the original, but that's a quality I really like, it kind of meanders without purpose, but at 3am, it's perfect listening - just allowing you to escape into this little slice of electro music without having to think about what you're going to put on next, you can just sit and relax for a bit.

Four Tet's minimalist electro is a huge contrast to The xx's original sound produced through organic instruments, and though it probably loses some of the impact and a lot of the sweetness of the original, I feel these two artists compliment each other wonderfully.