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‘Cover’age, Vol. 1

November 30th, 2009

Nothing more but a bunch of cover songs that have been bubbling around in recent weeks. Enjoy!!

Tanya Morgan “Breakadawn”/ Skillz & Colin Munroe “Baby Phat” (De La Soul Covers)

Two highlight entries pulled from Mick Boogie & Terry Urban’s latest mixtape collabo, a multi-artist tribute compilation to De La Soul’s twenty-year strong legacy entitled Le Da Soul (download the full set here): the MJ-sampling groover “Breakadawn” see the unmistakably DLS-influenced Tanya Morgan cleverly weaving in their own spin to Pos and Trugoy’s script, while Skillz (assisted by longtime MM fave Colin Munroe) gives the curvalicious female sect a nice shout-out (“I like chicks thicker/ Imagine me dating a lil’ stick figure”) in a revamp of “Baby Phat”.

DL: “Breakadawn”

DL: “Baby Phat”

Ellie Goulding & Erik Hassle “Be Mine (Robyn Cover)”

In which two current blog-pop phenoms take a break from their respective on-the-rise careers for an acoustic guitar-backed duet rendition of Robyn’s 2005 single (best known for it’s drama-tastic spoken word bridge and one of the most heartwrenching opening lines ever put to pad-”It’s a good thing, tears never show in the pouring rain/ As if a good thing ever could make up for all the pain”).

Of course, for those who have heard Robyn’s own stripped-down take, Goulding and Hassle’s re-read won’t be that much of a mind-blower, but oh does their vocals meld beautifully when harmony time comes around.

DL: “Be Mine”

Snow Patrol “Ray of Light (Madonna Cover)”

True, the folk-y swing that Irish alt-rockers Snow Patrol build to on the hook of this Top 5 Madonna smash kind of feels pathetic when compared to the explosive epiphany Maddie brought to the table, but we must be honest with at least this much: hearing “Light”’s heavy verses under the band’s earnestly melancholy arrangement catches a pleasant lullaby-like mood we wouldn’t mind being soothed with at the end of a long and hard work-day.

DL: “Ray of Light”

VV Brown “Miss You (Rolling Stones Cover)”

Though England-born indie pop-punk/ soul-ster VV Brown was given a major hype push earlier this year when she was recognized as a Top Ten finalist in the BBC’s “One To Watch” poll, Sounds of 2009, she has so far struggled in earning much pop chart love (Out of four singles released, only one has managed to chart in the UK Top 40).

Still, we say keep following her. Not only because her critically-acclaimed debut album, Travelling Like The Light, has plenty of quirked-out, retro-pop/ rock/ soul goodies to offer (contrary to radio support), but also because she’s proven to be a hoot with her on-the-fly YouTube cover creations (check out her renditions of “Crazy In Love”, “Day N Nite” and “Best I Ever Had”).

There’s nothing silly about her take on the Rolling Stones’ 1978 classic “Miss You” though, which trades in the original’s bluesy-disco strut for a despair-drenched Southern-fried soul vibe.

DL: “Miss You”

Mumford & Sons “I’m Not Alone (Calvin Harris Cover)”

Part of the same London folk scene that has birthed the likes of Noah and The Whale and Laura Marling, the four-piece Mumford & Sons caught plenty of ears with their debut single, “Little Lion Man”, an enrapturing cut seething with self-loathing (“I really fucked it up this time/ Didn’t I my dear?”) and an edge-of-apocalypse hoedown rattle.

That same pluck-heavy furor is called upon for their surprisingly decent Live Lounge rendition of Calvin Harris’ ’90’s-dance tribute “I’m Not Alone”, their woodsy slant working wonders in an impressive mimicking of the same soft vocals/ loud music dichotomy that made the original so enticing.

DL: “I’m Not Alone”

Slim Twig “Behold A Lady (Outkast Cover)”

Toronto-based indie label Paper Bag Records turned seven this month (Happy birthday PB!!), and to help celebrate this event, they’ve unleashed the covers compilation, The Seven Year Itch, for free from their site.

Amongst it’s twelve-song tracklisting, plenty of fascinating grabs can be found (including Josh Reichmann’s rustic campfire take on Bat For Lashes’ “Daniel” and CFCF’s ’80’s new wave & vocoder-baked treatment of OMC’s quirky international fave “How Bizarre”), but the one perched atop our highlight picks would have to be a cover of Andre 3000’s The Love Below-housed tribute to the classy female, “Behold A Lady”, as handled by Canadian-born noise-art eccentric Slim Twig.

Sludging up the original’s lean digi-funk with a dense garage stomp and kooky, vampiric vocals that sound like they’re being emitted from a broken-down loudspeaker, Twig charmingly re-brands the song with a brush of his own unique “ice cold” cool, providing belated props to an oft-overlooked Below gem.

DL: “Behold A Lady”

Pixie Lott “When Love Takes Over (David Guetta/ Kelly Rowland Cover)”

Where David & Kelly’s original aimed to split open the heavens from it’s opening moments with all of it’s big dance diva grandeur, this Live Lounge version by English singer-songwriter Lott goes for a more organic lift-off.

Opening on a slow and meditative tip that plants a pleasant spotlight on the grainy squiggles of soul embedded in Pix’ pipes, the remake makes a better play at illustrating love taking over, growing more and more bold with each added layer of (mostly Coldplay-nicked) instrumentation and upgraded tempo notch until it explodes in a fireworks-like display of romantic euphoria.

DL: “When Love Takes Over”

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MSTRKRFT featuring Colin Munroe “So Deep (Alternate Version)”

June 9th, 2009

colin_munroeSubmitted for, and apparently denied entrance on, MSTRKRFT’s newest release, Fist of God, this alternate version of “So Deep” sees the Candian electro unit hooked up with our favorite on-the-rise pop star of the past year, Colin Munroe, and while we admit to being fans of the album version’s featured guest Jahmal (and all of his Terence Trent D’Arby/ Lenny Kravitz-soundalike-isms), we’re equally digging the way Mr. Munroe has managed to weave in his solid pop smarts amongst KRFT’s dizzying dancefloor rave-up.

Can’t wait for that next mixtape, Colin.

DL: “So Deep (Alternate Version)” (alt)

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Colin Munroe featuring 88 Keys “Last Cause (Cause N Effect Remix)”

February 23rd, 2009

colin

On Colin Munroe’s Unsung Hero mixtape highlight “Last Cause”, the promising singer/ songwriter/ producer found himself immersed in the uncomfortable void of a pointless twenty-something existence. Soullessly making his way through the day-to-day mundane, only to score temporary satisfaction from the brief highs of coffee, films and books (“…but then I’ll wake up feeling the same”), Munroe placed his lone shot at achieving some life meaning in the hopes that a “special girl” would hear his lyrical despair and run to his rescue.

For this more urban-leaning “Cause N Effect” remix, Long Island producer/ rapper 88 Keys (Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Musiq)  strips away the original’s summer-baked guitar breeziness, better sculpting Colin’s suffocating sorrow and melancholy permanence with the un-resolved looping of a crate-dug soul sample. Keys co-signs Munroe’s longing for that ideal Valentine with a couple (literally by the sounds of it) phoned-in lines: “I can’t…afford to let you slip right through these cracks/ I betchu iChat would let me get you/ Log on!”. Mmm…okay.

Overall, it’s Reason No. 113 why Munroe deserves to have a major pop breakthrough this year.

DL: “Last Cause (Cause N Effect Remix)” (alt)

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