mixtape maestro (2.0)

New York singer-songwriter/ The Knocks road dawg Samuel has long been touted as a future pop sensation in the making amongst the music blog scene (we hyped him here two years ago), and later this year we’ll finally get to see if those predictions prove correct once his Columbia/ Startime-backed debut Trains To Wanderland arrives.

Current single “I Heart NY” (from Samuel’s new EP, available here and here) hints that mainstream success shouldn’t be that tough of a hurdle, its sugary ice cream truck plinks, infectious “da-da-da”‘s and charming lyrical snapshots of growing up amongst the “street lights” and “golden summers” of the Big Apple all adding up to one hard-to-resist summertime soundtracker; but if that’s somehow not reason enough to keep your ears tuned to what Samuel’s cooking, you might at least get a kick out of hearing him tweak Drake’s Top Ten ballad “Find Your Love” into a fuzzy, lite funk-pop groove.

Grab both below.

DL: “I Heart NY” (alt)

DL: “Find Your Love (Drake Cover)” (alt)

Ellie Goulding‘s lightweight wisp of a voice may adhere well to her “Starry Eyed” single’s tender, child-like perspective on first love euphoria, but it’s in NY singer-songwriter Samuel (previously hyped here for his acoustic remake of The-Dream’s “Shawty Is The Shit”) and production team The Knocks‘ cover of the track that a far better song is crafted.

While The Knocks bring a much-needed heft to the tune’s fine, but slightly underwhelming, twee-tronica shimmer in their application of atmospheric synth washes and a toe-tapping downtown strut, Samuel’s breathy tenor acts as the perfect compliment to Ellie’s bird-like chirp, the combined power of their married vocals nicely illustrating (and making far less corny) the giddy lyrical visual of a newbie couple feeling like they’re being struck with lightning from eachother’s caressing touch.

Catch the original’s video below, followed by an MP3 of the Samuel/ Knocks remix.

Goulding’s debut Lights arrives in the UK in March; Samuel’s recently completed LP Trains To Wanderland is set for a later 2010 release.

DL: “Starry Eyed (Knocks Remix/ Cover)” (alt)

Here’s a slew of new remixes that were either crammed into our uber-stuffed in-box or caught our attention via some other corner of the World Wide Web. Enjoy!!

Beyonce “Ego (The Twins Remix)”:

You may remember The Twins from their twinkly keyboard-decorated re-haul of Drake’s “Best I Ever Had” that premiered a while back. On their latest hot-like-fire project, they completely strip away the old-school R&B influence of Beyonce’s “Ego”, giving the double entendre-laced ditty a Timbaland-like futuro-club sheen complete with hard knocking drums, synth sine waves that seem to fold in and out of eachother and re-processed vocals that re-imagine Mrs. Carter as this icy, stiletto-toed cyborg-diva.

DL: “Ego (The Twins Remix)” (alt)

Jackson 5 “The Love You Save (The Knocks Remix)”

We’ll never get enough of today’s producers/ DJ’s giving our favorite MJ records a brand new twist. Our latest favorite: Those consistently entertaining Knocks cats bringing an energetic new spirit to the Jackson 5′s 1970 classic, “The Love You Save” without losing sight of the original’s prized candy-soul magic.

DL: “The Love You Save (The Knocks Remix)”

Florence + The Machine “You’ve Got The Love (The xx Remix)”

It’s amazing how an inspirational-themed tune originally recorded in the 1980′s solely for a direct-to-video documentary has managed to enjoy so many chart lives over the following decades through mash-up-after-remix-after-remix-after-cover. The song’s latest incarnation involves ’09 music darlings The xx deliriously chopping up bits from the magnificent Florence + The Machine cover version then adding in their own signature unisex vocal treatment, and it’s arguably the best take of the song yet.

DL: “You’ve Got The Love (The xx Remix)”

Chew Fu & Steve Clisby “Purple Rain (Prince Cover)”

Take an old Prince staple, a solid funk-dance construction by one of the hottest re-”fix”-ers of today, and a fuzzed-out (and oh-so-soulful) vocal performance from a guy more people should really be aware of, and what do you get? A “Purple Rain” you’ll want to be showered over with again and again.

DL: “Purple Rain (Prince Cover)”

Sugababes “About A Girl (Serotonin Thieves Remix)”

From their recent line-up changes to the horrid, Pussycat Doll hand-me-down that was “Get Sexy”, the Sugababes’ 2009 attempt at coming back/ re-invading American shores has been met with so much disaster in it’s beginning stages, we really don’t understand the purpose of the girl group even continuing on (that is, unless they change their name entirely and start over from scratch).

But, in an effort to spin some strand of positivity out of their current troubles, we will say that we like their new single “About A Girl” a thousand times better in the remixing hands of UK duo the Serotonin Thieves. In this frame, the record grasps an appreciable early Madonna-like feel that couldn’t at all been heard in the original’s pounding and waaayy over-produced Red One-helmed theatrics.

DL: “About A Girl (Serotonin Thieves Remix)”

Lloyd featuring Pusha T “Pusha (Alternate Version)”

Less an actual remix than it is a simple switcheroo of guest rapper (Lil’ Wayne out, Clipse’s Pusha T in), this version of Lloyd’s controversial R&B simmer is basically one for the folks tired of hearing Weezy on every damn thing, and the dopes who think a song called “Pusha” featuring someone named Pusha is a “cool move”.

DL: “Pusha (Alternate Version)”