You would think that with Nina Sky covering one of the greatest pop records ever made, the twin sister duo would attempt to make it sound all “brand new” by attaching it’s classic script to some trendy, sub-genre sound (and because this group can virtually do no wrong in our eyes, we would’ve likely responded to such a remake with an overly giddy “THIS IS AWESOME!!!!”).
Much to our surprise though, the ladies opt on going the complete opposite route for their rendition of The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”, stripping it down to a simple (and very classy) vocals and piano treatment that might have made for a touching lil’ Valentine’s Day hyperlink present to our significant others if A) we had caught onto it earlier and B) actually had significant others.
By now you’ve probably heard the Major Lazer/ Nina Sky/ Ricky Blaze ’09 delight “Keep It Goin’ Louder” re-spun a number of wildly different ways, but have you ever considered how good it might sound when re-fashioned with a ’50′s pop Phil Spector/ girl group twist?
That’s the vibe Vancouver remixer DJ Kutcorners goes for, and awesomely nails, on this ‘Surfs Up’ revamp, which marries Blaze and Sky’s already blissed out vocals with a clap-happy and twinkling chimes-adorned Wall of Sound groove that’ll have you wishing you had some kind of sock-hop-themed event to attend.
Not to beat a dead horse, but it’s still so amazingly dumbfounding how Nina Sky continually release such great material with none of it ever able to bubble into commercial success. This past year alone they’re unleashed at least two well-acclaimed tracks (“On Some Bullshit” and their heavily remixed Major Lazer/ Ricky Blaze collabo “Keep It Goin’ Louder”) that are deserving of topping some pop single chart somewhere in the galaxy instead of just being the blog-crit/ club sect sensations they are.
Really, what do these girls have to do to score another over-ground hit? Could nicking an old hook from the Hall & Oates’ platinum-lined catalog be the answer? Probably not, but if it’s any consolation, “Here He Comes”, the “Maneater”-biting third single from B-more club hero Tittsworth‘s 12 Steps, has quickly risen up the rankings of our own personal Hot 100.
Tailor-made for a club-set scene in a CW tween soap, with Tittsworth’s light R&B-house thump carrying a distant bump as if to illustrate it’s source being outside the central camera shot, “Here He Comes” hones in on the inner-thoughts of Nicole and Natalie Albino, who are quietly going nuts as their crush casually brushes past them. “Tense up my body/ Can’t talk about it/ These feelings got me, got me…”, their forlorn harmonies trail off, the breathtaking appeal of their favorite boy so overwhelming, they’re rendered speechless.
The track carries such an alluring overall mood, that the fact that it breaks no new ground for the twins stylistically (these girls have managed to successfully marry every single human emotion possible to a “in the club” setting over the years), or that fellow featured guest Pitbull somewhat mars things with his needless misogyny (“I spread legs like a gynecologist”), don’t even begin to matter…all of which only makes it a bigger shame that “Here He Comes” likely won’t ever reach the massive audience it deserves.
You can sample the original below (in addition to a bonus Tittsworth remix of a beloved ’90′s R&B classic), but don’t forget to also cop the complete single EP, featuring remixes from AC Slater, Nadastrom, Stretch Armstrong & Jaimie Fanatic and Rico Tubbs & Will Power.
There’s something about the distant, sleepy-ish tone in twin sister R&B duo Nina Sky‘s harmonized vocals that, when attached to a danceable beat, creates the perfect summer jam. Yet despite a sustained presence in the mixtape circuit and various leaks from them over the years feeling like they have the potential to be the ideal follow-up to their irresistable breakout “Move Ya Body”, the girls have yet to release a proper follow-up album to their debut, an LP that dropped FIVE DAMN YEARS AGO!
What’s the deal? It’s understandable why a label would wait to unleash a full-length when the artist isn’t producing anything with a wide-enough appeal, but in the case of Nina Sky, these girls really should have been on their third or fourth near-or-at-Gold-selling disc by now.
Whatever. Trying to fathom the ways of a hopelessly lost music biz won’t get us anything but a headache, but what is completely understood right now is that Nina Sky once again have something catchy on their hands to satisfy listeners through the hot months with their latest gem, “On Some Bullshit”.
Supported by restless production that nods to 80′s freestyle with a slight tinge of Latin influence, the Salaam Remi-helmed “Bullshit” affirms itself as a fizzy delight almost instantly. Yeah, it’s half-baked lyrical plot about coming across a jerk of an old boyfriend bears little that’s arresting, aside from a few needless, albeit brow-raising, expletives (“Cause after all I thought you were a nice guy/ (Really you were a bitch)”), but the paired sound of the two ladies’ breezy melodies remains just as pleasant as they did when they mimicked Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam’s “Can You Feel The Beat” lines over that omnipresent Coolie Dance riddim way back in ’04.
From their forthcoming, yet (unsurprisingly) still dateless, sophomore collection, The Musical.
These Puerto Rican twin sisters helped push another hit out of the ubiqutious Coolie Dance riddim back in 2004 with the smash single, “Move Ya Body”, a slinky dance number that oozed so much sensuality and hook-laden bewitchery that even non-pop lovers brought down their snobbish guard to it’s allure. Of course, a single as huge as that from newcomers was hard to follow up and though Nina Sky sustained some level of success on the mixtape circuit, to most they were “one hit wonders” out of the gate. Naysayers can start eating their words now, cause it looks like the siblings are set to heat up another summer with their latest release, “Clothes Off”.
Anchored by the same ’80′s-centric new wave synth splashes that made songs like The Killers’ “Read My Mind” and Mario’s “Let Me Love You” sound hauntingly magical with a little freestyle glitter and booty bass thump thrown in for good measure, “Clothes Off” is a bonafide winner that instantly transfixes you in it’s electric aura. Yeah it’s a blatant biting of the dance floor flirtations lyric that “Move Ya Body” was based on, but it’s hard to resist the girls’ breathy harmony hypnotism and the daydreaming chorus (“What I wanna do/ I imagine you with your clothes off”).
Their spellbounding touch even extends beyond their own music as they answer Lloyd’s “Get It Shawty” with a killer feminine perspective on it’s sizzling remix. Looks like Geminis won’t be the only “twins” celebrating come this summer, cause it looks to be a major upcoming season for Nina Sky with career-reviving records like these circling the market.
As nice as it is to get free music, think of how much better your soul would feel if you purchased it the old-fashioned way.
*
Come on, use Amazon or iTunes and help support your favorite artists so they can continue to give us the great sounds we love.
*
(MP3 posts are for promotional and/ or previewing purposes only; if any artist or their representation wish to have the links removed, contact me and I will happily comply!)
You would think that with Nina Sky covering one of the greatest pop records ever made, the twin sister duo would attempt to make it sound all “brand new” by attaching it’s classic script to some trendy, sub-genre sound (and because this group can virtually do no wrong in our eyes, we would’ve likely responded to such a remake with an overly giddy “THIS IS AWESOME!!!!”).
Not to beat a dead horse, but it’s still so amazingly dumbfounding how 
There’s something about the distant, sleepy-ish tone in twin sister R&B duo 
Recent Comments