mixtape maestro (2.0)

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”

The transition from Destiny’s Child contributor to solo star hasn’t really been all that smooth for Kelly Rowland State-side (leaving one to wonder why she even still bothers), but when you check her stats overseas, a different story is told: In the UK alone, she’s managed to produce 6 Top Twenty singles as a solo lead! With that knowledge, it’s not all that surprising that Kelly would take a break from the traditional (and quite overcrowded) female R&B/ hip hop scheme and hedge her bets in the continued pursuing of a more international-friendly pop sound.

Her latest single “When Love Takes Over”, a collaboration with French DJ David Guetta, shows that to be a smart decision, as, for probably the first time in her post-DC career, Kelly actually sounds like a true superstar.

Some will likely be immediately turned off by either the song’s epic-sized, Euro-dance template, blatant theft of the piano melody from Coldplay’s “Clocks” or majorly corny script about the power of love (“Under water/ Now i can breathe/ It never felt so good/ ‘Cause i can feel it coming over me/ I wouldn’t stop it if I could”), but those that do stick with the tune for it’s full length will be rewarded with a masterful Rowland vocal performance, one that exudes the kind of assured, top-diva confidence often lacking in her previous solo outings.

Peep the Cascada-y original, below, followed by a nice live acoustic performance.

With her lean, athletic build and pure tone, Kelly Rowland managed to build an audience of her own in Destiny’s Child’s later years even though she repeatedly came up distant runner up when Beyonce was in close proximity. But now that she’s going back down the solo route, why is she having such a hard time breaking out of her shell, like she can’t shuffle the background role?

Avoiding the alt-soul accents that riddled her mostly ignored debut, Kelly attempts a more accessible urban guise on it’s important follow-up Miss Kelly, insuring herself good fortune with a surrounding of the hip hop bankable. Lead single “Like This” features sudden top gun Polow Da Don in the producer’s chair and a recently returned Eve offering their support on a semi-charming anthemic record that re-defines the singer as a smoldering, sassy diva.

Tossing off weak-kneed boyfriends with the ease of the independent woman she once claimed to be (“The ring/ Let it go bout three months ago”), Rowland orders a ladies night out to celebrate sisterhood while the boys ogle on from the sidelines too afraid to dare interrupt them. Rocking an understated cool, she knowingly winks at those who underestimated her on a laidback hook (“Y’all didn’t think that I could bump like this”), but the inner fire she seems to hint at never comes to fruition. Only a sharp one-word outburst during the delightfully, jangly portions of the chorus find Rowland acting like she’s paid her dues and is ready to shine.

The rest of the track makes her feel hidden, stuck behind the curtain like if she truly goes for her all, Beyonce will erupt out of nowhere and trump her with some over-embellished note and sizzling booty shake. She even takes a backseat to Eve who brings a nondescript verse to the table she could’ve wrote in her sleep.

“Like This” still has the potential to be a modest hit, it’s wayward groove carrying a nice crunk-lite feel, but Rowland annoyingly doesn’t announce herself the way she had on DC smashes like “Soldier” and “Lose My Breath” or on the sexy “Like This” video clip. It’s true, she might not have as convincing a larger-than-life presence as her DC sister, but having a guarded up presence a la lesser singers Cassie and Lumidee isn’t a befitting move either. If Kelly wants to have a notable career away from the group, it’s time she drop the coy act and really bring it, or she’ll see her window of people actually giving a damn close indefinitely.