Blind Arcade meets Super Weird Substance In the Morphogenetic Field Tour Flyer – check out the tour mix here.

“Re-Edits have increasingly become a part of the dance music landscape since I started up again as a DJ in 2003, and these new takes on what went before have been invaluable in helping me re-establish my career after a two decade hiatus, both with my own edits and those by other DJs and producers. They’ve enabled music from the past to become current once again, avoiding the nostalgia trap and connecting with a new generation. DJ-friendly versions made precise via the technology now available to everyone on their home computers, with mixable intros and outros, plus, quite often, further contemporisation via additional beats or bottom end. The best edits and reworks respect the originals – they don’t look to better them, but to adapt them to the club scene now. It’s all about DJs wanting to play great older music, but in a new way, a way that chimes with the present. Here are a selection of 10 key edits for me, none of these versions officially available, but each a bona fide floorfiller. I’ve arranged them in the order I might play them.” – Greg Wilson.

Ahead of the final Super Weird Happening show this weekend at Oslo in Hackney with Greg Wilson, Blind Arcade live and special guest speaker Lloyd Bradley, Greg presents his top ten re-edit playlist:

 

Zed Leppelin – Whole Lotta Love (V’s Dub Edit)

“Perhaps the most legendary rock band of all, Led Zeppelin’s drummer John Bonner found posthumous acclaim via his famous ‘When The Levee Breaks’ break, which became a Hip Hop staple. With this in mind, V’s take on ‘Whole Lotta Love’ gets right into the groove, whilst expertly exploiting Bonham’s classic percussive break to maximum dancefloor effect before those beats kick back in and take the track home.”

Sister S – Living Ecstasy (Norington Remix)

“Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards, whose own band Chic were stacking up hit after hit in the late 70s, were also, at the same time, producing a string of hits for Sister Sledge, including ‘Thinking Of You’. The Norington Remix employs a monster bass, making the track far dubbier than the original, whilst constructing a new hook out of the line ‘just keep on doing what you’re doing to me, oh, it’s ecstasy’.”

Henry Greenwood – Buffalo Dance

“Back in the 80s Neneh Cherry, for a short period, was the perfect pop star. The Spice Girls might have preached ‘girl power’ a decade on, but Neneh was the real deal and ‘Buffalo Stance’ her best loved tune. Henry Greenwood’s update is the perfect example of how, whilst retaining the essence of the original, a little jiggery pokery can breathe fresh life into a track previously lost, to all intents and purposes, to the past.”

Michael Jackson – Rock With You (The Reflex Revision)

“Whilst most of the inclusions are put together from the original stereo recordings, or existing remixes, The Reflex is all about working from the original stems (multi-track parts), treating the individual sounds that were put to tape in his own way, contemporizing the tracks through different methods. Not adding any additional instrumentation is his objective, and this wonderful version with its slow build intro gives a much-loved classic a fresh magnificence.”

MFSB – Love  Is The Message (Edit by Mr. K)

“This late 80s edit by Mr. K (aka NYC DJ Danny Krivit) is a cornerstone track as far as the re-edits movement is concerned. It combined ‘Love Is The Message’ by MFSB with a later derivative, ‘Ooh I Love It (Love Break)’ by The Salsoul Orchestra (the link between the 2 tracks being arranger / producer Vincent Montana, Jr.) to create what is now the definitive club version of a track that, in its original 70s form, was a New York Disco anthem.”

Chic – I Want Your Love (Todd Terje Edit)

“Todd Terje, who’s recently had big success with his own original material, not least ‘Inspector Norse’ and ‘Strandbar’, first came to wider attention via this edit of the Chic favourite. Taking the original, as well as Moodyman’s variant ‘I Can’t Kick This Feeling When It Hits’, he created a new vital hybrid that resonated its way through sound systems throughout the world.”

Fleetwood Mac – Everywhere (Psychemagic Re-Edit)

“Summoning the Balearic spirit, Psychemagik brought Fleetwood Mac’s infectious sing-a-long, ‘Everywhere’, bang up to date – the sonic assault of the intro setting the tone for a solid re-interpretation, which would soon become a festival anthem , a joyous ode to togetherness, which seems particularly uplifting in outdoor spaces.”

Prince – I Wanna Be Your Lover (Dmitri From Paris Re-Edit)

“Taking the original version and a live recording, Dimitri From Paris fashioned a fabulous new version of this Prince favourite. The crowd atmosphere at the intro really infects a club / festival audience, and when the drums eventually kick in the track is enormous – it takes people’s breath away, even when they know what’s coming.”

Brad Shitt – Casbah Breakdown (Edit by Mr Lee)

“Mr Lee is Dave Lee/Joey Negro, a  DJ who undoubtedly helped pioneer the current Disco movement, as one of its main proponents during the 90s. His edit of Clash anthem, ‘Rock The Casbah’, with its exciting percussive opening, can well and truly bring the house down in an explosion of energy once that chorus finally drops.”

The Beatles – Tomorrow Never Knows (Leftside Wobble Edit)

“Although it’s regarded as one of their greatest works by Beatles aficionados, ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ isn’t a track you’ll casually hear coming out of a radio. Even though it’s approaching 50 years of age, it still sounds radical – a remarkable aural achievement. It’s a glorious edit, which could only have been done by someone who both adores and respects this titan of a track.”