Seven Lions’ first single of the year was one of the best releases of this past winter season and one of the best so far this year. It was a great embodiment of Jeff’s style: melodic, emotional and particularly heavy and gritty on the dubstep drop. Some fans call it a ‘comeback to his original style’. Los Angeles’ singer Runn plays the major role of giving us some heartbroken lyrics to immerse ourselves in while the instrumental cuddles and hits us at the same time.
Out of this newborn promising label, two remixes for the inaugural single surfaced a couple of weeks ago. I took some time to give them a deep listen and to compare them to the original.
Oliver Smith Remix
85/100
Anjunabeats’ new upcoming Oliver Smith succeeds in giving the melodic bass song a powerful progressive trance redefinition. The anticlimax at the start reminds us that progressive trance can be a very dark and heavy genre at times.
But this is a song about emotions. The eerie lead, Runn’s aching lyrics, those agonizing vocals in the background and a simple-yet-effective melody-driven drop shape up into a torrent of them.
Seven Lions himself is a trance producer and DJ in the star-filled roster of Anjunabeats, and we can see why he released this remix.
The major let down in this remix, though, is the last anticlimax, which kind of sounds out of place. But as I said, this is a perfect attempt at capturing the emotions of the original. From a producer who has been chosen as the support act of Above & Beyond‘s Common Ground North American Tour, I didn’t expect anything less.
Direct Remix
80/100
Alright. Round 2 of emotion. For those who are not familiar with this genre, this is chillstep and it’s a very slow and minimalistic remix. Another upcoming talent, Direct is an expert of slower genres with his Monstercat debut ‘Tranquility’ having over a million of views on YouTube!
This remix features some characteristic aching chords and some very well-placed piano notes in the background and the end. Something that struck me was its use of the vocal chops: surprisingly clever.
Maybe because I listened to this one at a different time, laying in the bed on a Sunday morning with a still dark room, but this simple remix impressed me.
It doesn’t matter how you look at it: ‘Calling You Home’ it’s one helluva great song, in any shape or form. I’m really looking forward to hearing more remixes of it, and I honestly can’t wait for the next The Observatory episode to hear some new Seven Lions’ favourites. This man is one of the best electronic music acts of this time.
What do you think?
Show comments / Leave a comment