Let me count the ways that this remix got me real excited. First off, we all know that I am among the biggest Miike Snow fans in town and that I love their remixes just as much as their original tunes, so a new Miike Snow remix was smile worthy on its own. But Amadou & Mariam are another act that hold a special place in my musical memory, as their 2009 Bonnaroo performance was near the bottom of my list as I had no idea who they were but turned out to be one of the most fun, most energetic and overall most enjoyable sets of the 4 day festival. And as Miike Snow has been known to do lately (see this La Roux cover for more evidence), they took the road sometimes less traveled and didn’t blow this one out of the park but instead spoke with their subtlety. In fact, I posted this song earlier this summer (right here) but to be honest hadn’t really listened to it since, so I had to pay pretty close attention to even hear the Miike Snow influences, but then they became crystal clear. The consistent beat of this song works perfectly into the trademarked Miike Snow chords that rhytmically find their way into so many of their tunes. The other good part is that this puts Miike Snow within two degrees of Damon Albarn, the hit social connection game that is taking over the internet.
Let’s play an example round. Let’s pick someone at random. How about….Fred Savage – star of the hit family drama “The Wonder Years”. Fred Savage was in The Wizard with Jenny Lewis. Jenny Lewis was in Rilo Kiley. Rilo Kiley performed on “Later…With Jools Holland” with Jack Penate. Jack Penate toured with Miike Snow in the fall of 2009. Miike Snow remixed “Sabali” by Amadou & Mariam, which was produced by, you guessed it, Damon Albarn! With the 30+ people the Gorillaz are touring with right now, the connections are growing exponentially.
That was fun. Anyway, this track is one of three “Sabali” remixes from a full album of remixes aptly named Amadou & Mariam Remixes due out in January.
