Top 20 Remixes of 2015

The electronic world is built on the remix. Since the early beginnings of dance music, producers and DJs have dissected, rearranged, mutated and reworked tracks, taking the originals to new, unprecedented, and sometimes strange heights. The remix is the ultimate challenge, allowing remix wizards the opportunity to step into the mind of a fellow artist and create a vision all their own.

A true remix tackles the original face-to-face and takes it on an audio journey where the final destination is a whole new world unto itself. Lasting remixes have the power to transcend the original and birth a new voice. This year saw remixers stack sounds and combine genres in unexplored territories.

These are the top 20 remixes of 2015.

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20. Tchami “After Life” (DJ Snake & Mercer Remix)

This French trifecta came together at the midpoint of 2015, and once it hit, heads were flying. The original from future house high priest Tchami is covered in the producer’s immediately recognizable style and bleeds his sound through and through via a cannon of piano chords that sound straight from space. Once his homies DJ Snake and Mercer stepped into the ring, they flipped it from a future house torpedo into a full-on bass A-bomb. The remix romps and stomps with no regard to the safety of your earholes. The onslaught of blatant electro stabs and traptastic breakdowns are luckily spaced out with milder interludes in between. The human ear can handle only so much bass.

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19. Ivy Lab “Sunday Crunk” (Mefjus Remix)

The entire Critical Music family was on fire this past year, but no other single had quite as strong an impact on the drum & bass scene as when this one dropped in April. Released as part of a Mef:Lab experiment that pitted Ivy Lab head-to-head with Mefjus for a pair of remixes of each others’ tunes, there was no way of knowing that Mefjus’ tricked-out, half-tempo re-lick of Ivy Lab’s “Sunday Crunk” would steal the show and open the floodgates for a whole wave of autonomic influences to bubble their way up into the drum & bass mainstream. It’s built on a playful retro hook that quickly elevates to a dizzying dive to what you think is going to be one of Mefjus’ signature tech-driven drops. It isn’t until the smoke clears that you realize you’re grinding it out to an awkward yet instantly addictive groove that’s equal parts silky smooth and straight-up gangsta. —Chris Muniz

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18. Matt Darey ft. Kate Louise Smith “See the Sun” (Dan Stone Rework)

With the most popular format of trance recently taking a backseat in the overall dance music picture, consequently, many of the higher-BPM subgenres have found room to move inward from the fringe. Uplifting is where the party has moved to, and Dan Stone’s rework of “See the Sun” perfectly encapsulates the beatific feel many artists are striving to emulate. Repurposing Matt Darey’s 2009 anthem, Stone sparks Kate Louise’s pristine vocal delivery with rolling basslines and radiant progressions that make me hope the rumblings of a trance comeback are really true. —Sam Yu

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17. Zomboy “Terror Squad” (Bro Safari & Ricky Remedy Remix)

Bro Safari and Ricky Remedy were tasked with giving “Terror Squad”—one of the top cuts off Zomboy’s Reanimated EP from 2013—the nuclear treatment as part of his Resurrected LP from this past year. While there were a few original cuts from Zomboy, the album was primarily centered on a wide range of artists remixing his classics. But none seemed to take the neck-snapping energy of the original to new heights quite like Bro and Ricky did. Not just content to inject their own dose of energy into the original, the pair stripped it down to its bare bones before building it back up into a twisting, spiraling, trap-tinged beast that stomped and blasted its way through festivals all summer long. —Chris Muniz

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16. Groove Armada “Final Shakedown” (wAFF Remix)

When Groove Armada released “Final Shakedown” around the turn of the century, its relentless, rump-shaking rolls, egged on by Red Rat’s snarling, taunting chants, were irresistible. It’s a brave remixer who attempts to best the original. wAFF does the smart thing: Instead of overdoing it on the energy, he tempers it by restraining some of the original’s high-octane vibes and creates a more sustainable and steady groove from its best elements. —Lily Moayeri

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15. Sweetland “Solanum” (Human Movement Remix)

There’s a sweet innocence to Human Movement’s remix of “Solanum,” from Melbourne techno rookie Sweetland, one which sees the Australian duo aiming for a level of perfection that’s perhaps unreachable. The flowing lullaby synth chords paint a dreamstate built on lush melodies strong enough to evoke IRL heartache within lovefools. For an almost-instrumental track with only four lyrics, this one is highly emotional. Reliant on strategically building momentum and a genius use of white space on this sonic canvas, the remix plays out like a romantic relationship: sweet and flirty in the beginning, exciting and new in the middle, and dramatic toward the end, leaving listeners with a hopeful feeling for more. Sweeland’s original is good. Human Movement’s remix is fucking great. If anything, the track leaves you with one lifelong mantra: Don’t think. Just feel. —John Ochoa

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14. GTA ft. Sam Bruno “Red Lips” (Skrillex Remix)

It’s been just a couple of weeks since Skrillex let go of his take on “Red Lips.” In that short time, he’s managed to secure headlines on every respectable outlet in the blogosphere. If you’re Sonny Moore, that’s nothing new. Even though the bulk of the hype right now has much to do with the release of the accompanying Grant Singer-directed video, which Moore cowrote, you should know the incessant demands for the remix itself came pouring in months before the visual even existed. Expending most of his energy in 2015 between his Jack Ü project with Diplo and churning out crossover beats for Beibz, Skrill appeases his OG followers by choosing to speak in his low-end language. Sam Bruno’s vocals are slowly warped to nightmarish registers before frenetic, synapse-splintering synths land smack-dab on your face like the kiss of death. —Sam Yu

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13. Disclosure “Omen” (Dillon Francis Remix)

Disclosure’s Caracal was one of the year’s bigger dance and pop moments. Thus, Dillon Francis crafting a sexy and swinging remix of Caracal single “Omen” to fit in his festival and big-room-running sets makes sense. He retains the original’s swinging, two-step funk but adds some low-slung and super fat trap breaks to give this remix just enough soul to remain a Disclosure track, but enough turnt-up feels to belong in his collection of bass-heavy, grooving tracks. —Marcus K. Dowling

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12. RL Grime “Kingpin” ft. Big Sean (Wuki Remix)

This was no doubt Wuki’s year. The Denver native rode into 2015 on tour opening for GTA and released music with Mad Decent, Punks and OWSLA. Wuki is breathing new life into the oft-forgotten genre of breakbeat and getting the nod from legends like the Stanton Warriors. Stepping up the tempo of the original and infusing it with a bouncy garage bassline, Wuki’s remix of “Kingpin,” from RL Grime with Big Sean, really amps up the energy, making it much more dancefloor friendly. Doing justice to the original, he’s kept the epic female vocal and just enough of Big Sean’s lyrics to give the song the gangsta edge it needs. —Alexander Dias

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11. Disciples “They Don’t Know” (Justin Jay Remix)

Along with graduating college this year, DIRTYBIRD rookie Justin Jay also graduated to the top of the list of your favorite tunesmiths. His outstanding year kicked off with his take on “They Don’t Know” from UK pop stars Disciples. Don’t let that tinkling synth in the highest register of the melody fool you. The real business in this remix happens in the bottom end, where Jay crafts a moody, heavy and dark stomper. Tech house with elements of trance thrown in for good measure, it’s one equally as potent at peak hour or at sunrise. —Marcus K. Dowling

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10. Etherwood ft. Zara Kershaw “Souvenirs” (Ulterior Motive Remix)

Ulterior Motive struck a chord with their twist on the already stellar “Souvenirs” featured on Etherwood’s Blue Leaves LP. With the ethereal vibes of the original still intact, Ulterior Motive added just the right dose of dark Metalheadz vibes to the mix to give this one a haunting, melancholy feel every VIP was using to crush. From the chest-rattling bottom end to the stuttering break-work that Zara Kershaw’s inimitable vocals seemed to float over, this one squeezed the feels right out of you when that initial bass bomb hit. Destined to stand the test of time, this one still brings on the chills and continues to serve as a prime example of a remix that elevates the original into something more. —Chris Muniz

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9. The Chemical Brothers “Go” (Claude VonStroke Remix)

DIRTYBIRD head honcho Claude VonStroke surprised us all with his take on the Chemical Brothers’ “Go.” Eschewing the wobbly, four-on-the-floor sound the label boss has banked on over the past half-decade for a hip-hop-heavy drum line was an impressive, albeit left-field, take that no one expected but paid off handsomely. Relying heavily on Q-Tip’s hip-hop vocals, the remix successfully reimagines the original without taking too much away from its vibe. As an ode to the Chemical Brothers’ old-school sound, Claude VonStroke’s remix of “Go” succeeds where so many other DJs would fail by not sticking to the plot. DJs are at their best when they surprise us, and no one thought VonStroke’s remix would sound so different from his previous output, which is a breath of fresh air. —Kevin Camps

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8. The Weeknd “The Hills” (RL Grime Remix)

Maybe save his other single, “I Can’t Feel My Face,” the Weeknd’s moody, trap-soul hit “The Hills” could’ve easily been one of the most ubiquitous sounds of 2015. Breathing refreshing life into the hit was the job of supreme trap master RL Grime, and he succeeded to an incredible degree. RL Grime’s remix makes expert use of wild synth runs that spiral throughout the melody alongside bombastic clapping builds. However, in maintaining the original’s seductive allure via smooth drops, this one is a heater. A big-room champion sound par excellence, this one track could easily synthesize all of the year’s most defining pop production concepts in one remix. —Marcus K. Dowling

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7. Tazer x Tink “Wet Dollars” (Redlight Remix)

The name Redlight may be new to some, but Bristol’s Hugh Pescod has been around since the early 2000s, initially producing drum & bass under the name DJ Clipz. It wasn’t until he released the Lobster Boy EP under his Redlight moniker that he found the ultra-funky groove we know from him. In a stroke of remixing genius, he works a short grab of Tink’s vocal into an infectiously melodic hook and adds his trademark shuffle for a build that drops into an unexpected walking bassline that is expertly locked in the groove. The slightly disjointed and oddball sound that is a result of putting the two parts together is what gives this track its dancefloor appeal. This is yet another example of the magic of both Redlight and Black Butter Records. —Alexander Dias

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6. Florence + the Machine “What Kind of Man” (Nicolas Jaar Remix)

On the band’s most recent album, How Big How Blue How Beautiful, Florence + the Machine turned up the drama with lots of horn-blasted bombast and symphonic arrangements. For his remix of the album’s lead single, noted deconstructionist Nicolas Jaar stripped the track down to a shuffling house rhythm before rebuilding it into a sprawling 12-minute epic that moves from stark Italo-disco, with Florence Welch’s vocals amplified through a megaphone, into a synth-drenched crescendo and back again. It’s the sound of Jaar flexing his considerable production chops into one of the most effective reworks of the year. —Scott Sterling

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5. ODESZA “Bloom” (Lane 8 Remix)

Lane 8’s remix of this summer’s go-to sunbathing track, “Bloom,” is a roadmap of how to build on an already well-received track. The German deep house producer stripped away the trip-hop elements of the original and, in its place, gave us a melodic deep cut perfect for late evenings. Making it more accessible for the dancefloor was obviously the goal of this remix, and Daniel Goldstein succeeded in spades. The key in any good deep house track is to give us a quality tune that does not put us to sleep, and “Bloom” never lets us out of its transcendent-like trance. Lane 8 has quietly become an in-demand deep house producer, and we cannot wait to see what he has in store for 2016. —Kevin Camps

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4. Sam Smith “Lay Me Down” (Flume remix)

Sam Smith could always use a good beat to give his sad sack love songs some bite. Flume obliges with his awesomely weird version of “Lay Me Down.” The Aussie wunderkind’s signature water-doused, glitchy rhythms drench Smith’s voice with some prog-rock style, Steely Dan-inspired synthesizers. In turn, Smith’s looped vocals sound more lost and miserable than ever, but they do so with so much more conviction than Smith ever did without Flume’s help. —Lily Moayeri

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3. Tame Impala “Let It Happen” (Soulwax Remix)

Soulwax takes Tame Impala’s flawless and iconic “Let It Happen” and extends it to an almost 10-minute epic. With an unerring touch, Soulwax uses the original as an occasional sound source from which it twists and distorts a bumping, spacey, funk-fused and psychedelic track. The vocals are similarly used in sample fashion. Echo-y and scratchy, they serve as punctuating reminders of the original, from which an inevitable floor burner has been created. —Lily Moayeri

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2. Escape ft. Daudi Matsiko “Just Escape” (Justin Martin Remix)

As one of the many highlights of 2015 from Will Saul’s ever-excellent Aus label, this was a moment of magic from DIRTYBIRD mainstay Justin Martin. The first release on the label by Scottish producer Escape, the slo-mo house of the original essentially revolved around the delicate vocals of Daudi Matsiko. Martin’s skill was to transpose this onto a new, dancefloor-friendly frame while keeping the feeling intact. Applying his low-end expertise with surgical precision, he served up a delicious, melodic bassline and nagging vocal hook to accentuate the groove, while also creating clever edits around the lyrics. The result is a tender track that, if you listen closely, also has a bass drop. —Joe Roberts

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1. Eric Prydz “Opus” (Four Tet Remix)

Tackling one of the best tracks of 2015 and somehow making it even better is just a testament to Four Tet’s genius. Kieran Hebden has the pick of the litter when choosing whom to remix, and a lesser producer would have tackled a track more in their wheelhouse. This is why it is so impressive that instead of another Jamie xx remix or the like, Hebden chose one of the biggest progressive house DJs in the world to remix: Eric Prydz. Hebden’s take on “Opus” is beautiful. Focusing on the top choice synthline for over 75 percent of the production was a bold move, making it all worth it at the 7:45 mark when he drops a powerful, garage-influenced beat that does not let up until the end. —Kevin Camps

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