Milk & Sugar “Ready or Not” (Club Mix)

Most artists would kill for the longevity Milk & Sugar have secured within dance music. They’ve been dealing out dulcet dancefloor offerings for well over a decade now, and the German house duo is nowhere near ready to call it quits. Their latest treat comes in the shape of “Ready or Not,” a sweet single being wrapped as part of their double-sided compilation House Nation Ibiza 2015.

The track feeds off their influence of disco, soul and funk, sampling and speeding up the infectious hook from the Delfonics’ classic (of which you probably fux with the Fugees rendition). The string and brass phrases do most of the heavy lifting here, while Kevin Knapp and Tasia Bennet lend their vocal chops to give the cut an added layer of extreme catchiness.

Available via Milk & Sugar Recordings.

If you were to describe this track as a scent, a signature fragrance as it were, what would it be called? If it were to have a tagline, what would it be?
The track’s groove has a ‘70s-feel, deep-house style, so it would probably look like a mocked-up US muscle car with a V8 big block and would probably smell of adrenaline, oil and gasoline. The name might be something like Challenge, Mustang or Firebreather.

Was there one particular moment in the recording or mixing process of this track that made you feel as though you were creating something pretty damn special?
The goosebumps moment? Actually, our first idea about this track was in 2012, and we only made a quick sketch without mastering, etc. When we pulled it out of the drawer again after a long time, we felt we had something very special in our hand. We quickly finished the production, always careful to maintain the original spirit.

Do you think advances in computer technology and gear have affected your creativity?
Definitely! In the past, we would waste days bouncing software synths and effects on disk, just because there was not enough processing power. Nowadays, if creativity flows there are basically no limits! Also, working parallel on a number of projects makes things a lot easier. In the good old times of analogue mixing boards, a song had to be finished and recorded before you were able to put the next project on the mixer.

Who is the ideal person to remix this track?
This time, KANT. He surely knows how to handle funky music. He has the funkiness we always liked, and we think due to that, he will deliver a hell of a great remix.

How do you measure the success of a track?
When you sit in a plane somewhere on this planet, and some guy comes in singing or whistling your song—that’s real success!

Creatively, how did the work on this track stack up to previous studio sessions? Was this more challenging to complete than others?
The production of the backing track was quite easy, but we spent a lot of time on the vocals. We had five singers recorded, both male and female, and many different vocal lines had been written. In the end, we had the feeling that it would be best to stick to our first version.

If this song were a color, what color would it be?
Probably the colors of a flower field you would pass cruising in your Cabriolet.

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