I love what The Sway has done with ‘Feasting,’ not only because it reminds you of what a great remix can achieve, but also because it makes me a bit nostalgic for how the whole process evolved. Having taken the original ‘Feasting on my Friends,’ a 1992 B-side (remember those), and put it into the very capable hands of Harry Kook (son of the band’s guitarist Jim), what was a slower, anthemic, almost shoegaze-heavy slice of indie has been transformed into a piece of energetic, restless and powerful dancefloor action.
But more than that, it reminds us that although the remix has its roots in the 70s dance world, rock crossover bands (New Order is a perfect example) sought out those pioneering producers to take their music somewhere new, often out of the basement clubs and into the mainstream. (Check out Norman Cook’s remix of Cornershop’s ‘Brimful of Asha,’ against the original, and you will see what I mean.) Although technology is affordable enough now that anyone can remix anything, this musical makeover of a decidedly rock song into a euphoric clubland ‘banger,’ as I believe the kids say, seems to echo those times when such bands were happy to blur the lines between pop and a hard place.
And even if you are not aware of the original or care that much about how we got here, the result is still a remarkable piece of music – the weight of rock meets the groove of the dancefloor, drive meets sophistication, poise parties with pace…and as eyes of the sonic storm go, that isn’t a bad place to find yourself, is it?
(And I can only apologize for using Party as a verb; it won’t happen again.)
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