When done creatively, bootlegs slap like no other track… That sense of familiarity, the re-contextualising of another genre, the general cheekiness of it, the fact they are generally free.
Inspired by The Upbeats’ stunning shake-up of Caribou’s Back Home which we ran yesterday, this week’s Six Of The Best rounds up six (well, technically nine) of the best bass music unofficial rubs in the last few years.
Enjoy!
Meridian Dan – German Whip (Truth Remix)
https://soundcloud.com/truthdubstep/german-whip-truth-remix-free-dowlnoad
(Lead picture) HUGE shake-up from Truth that scored major heat throughout last summer’s festivals, the New Zealand duo went in hard on the grime hit; retaining the same chords and menace but giving it much more metallic, bulletproof finish, it re-galvanised grime and dubstep’s close affinity with serious impact.
Skrillex & Alvin Risk – Try It Out (David Heartbreak Bootleg)
Pure sonic schizophrenia from the man like DHBK. Sonny and Alvin’s original was already slick and sick but, you could argue, is even better… Springy, fun, funky, the triplet swing and glitchy mischief ensured this got some serious rotation, even by Skrillex himself. This wasn’t the first time Heartbreak got his mucky bootleg paws on Skrillex – he also went to town on the Birdy Nam Nam remix a few years before. We won’t complain if he does it again too…
Zomboy – Terror Squad (Henry Fong Bootleg)
Zomboy’s controversial Terror Squad got the Fong flip late last year. The results speak for themselves; reducing the tempo slightly and switching the halftime swing for a robust 4/4, Henry must have scared the absolute Dickens out of any electro and house fans who didn’t know the original. Powerful.
ZHU – Faded (Delta Heavy Bootleg)
Unleashed just over a month ago, Ram henchmen Delta Heavy took last year’s unavoidable smash by ZHU and gave it a turbo charged 174BPM fix-up. Rolling with their trademark sonic silk, this has been nailed so well it sounds more like an official remix. Stunning.
Daft Punk – Get Lucky (TC Bootleg)
Rewind another year for 2013’s unavoidable summer smash courtesy of Daft Punk. TC is no stranger to bootlegs (he’s done loads from Julio Bashmore to Rihanna to, most recently, Fono) but this is one of his best. Giving D&B DJs a chance to embrace the irresistible force of DP’s disco gem, TC’s touch was Midas on this.
Knife Party – LRAD (The Prototypes Bootleg)
As highlighted by Zomboy in his recent Perfect Remix feature, The Prototypes hit the ‘ridiculous’ button so hard it’s stuck in gully mode forever. Turbo-charging Knife Party’s gamechanging with a sense of classic hardcore nastiness, this can shave your body hair from two festival arenas away. Epic.
Bonus bootlegs…
We really wanted to include these awesome reversions as well. It’s against all rules of this feature series, but they smack, they’re fun and they’re well worth saluting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae1NuCM96Is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvnNozH_eqs
READ
