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“Crashing” by Illenium and Bahari, who remixed it better?

April 4, 20199 min read

After wrapping up 2018 with a rich collection of fan favorite live material, Illenium started his 2019 discography with “Crashing”, an electro-pop release which featured Bahari’s sentimental vocals.

Needless to say, a fraction of Illenium’s fanbase has been itching for some satisfying remixes ever since – especially after having been blessed with bangers like the “Say It” live edit and the “Lost” trap edit from the aforementioned collection – and this past weekend those prayers have been responded to.

The official “Crashing” remix package includes remixes from KLOUD, Rock Mafia, DROELOE, and a “Stripped Audio” version which functions as a semi-acoustic version of the original. In this review, GhostDragon, BearPawBeats, and JVNA’s remixes will be included as well in order to find who remixed “Crashing” better.

Another premise. While all the remixers tried their best at remixing the latest Illenium’s hit – who for better and who for worse – it must be underscored fairly average songwriting and lyricism and a leaning for pop consumption make up the DNA of “Crashing” and that is the obstacle any present and future electronic music remixer of the original has to overcome.

It will always be hard to elevate averageness.

DROELOE
37/100

The Dutch duo is known for their mellow and chill sound textures, a quality that makes them a perfect addition to San Holo’s bitbird label as well as some chill-oriented playlists on Spotify and such. The outro to their latest EP “The Choices We Face” called “Looking Back” is an insightful yet playful gem that best represents the boys in top production shape.

Unfortunately, this remix for Illenium brings nothing special to the table. The little trap elements here and there do not help the embarrassing radio direction the entire piece takes.

A disappointment by DROELOE.

Rock Mafia
40/100

Antonina Armato and Tim James are a power duo of songwriters and record producers who have worked with Eminem, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and other high caliber mainstream names. Tim James’ vocals have been featured on Armin van Buuren’s “Hands To Heaven” on his “Embrace” album and on Illenium’s very own “Take You Down”.

From a pair of production superstars of their caliber a listener could expect a revolutionary approach to “Crashing”, a perfect piece of material to experiment with. Instead, the Rock Mafia with their remix join DROELOE’s attempt in the race to bleak electro-pop mediocrity and go toe-to-toe with them.

Heck, they even missed the opportunity to follow the “Take You Down” path and use Tim James’ pitched up vocals to craft a cover from the ground up.

BearPawBeats
52/100

The two previous remixes fail at raising the quality of an already questionable original mix. They follow a crushingly bland pop/pseudo-future bass formula and get outclassed, if not outright eclipsed by all the other songs on this list.

Norway’s BPB’s underrated remix doesn’t quite nail the coffin in terms of future bass creativity, since he spent his time messing up the original with a whirlwind of playful plucks and drums but it still manages to please.

The previous two were composed by expert producers and BPB’s amateur attempt still outclassed them, therefore it deserves a more positive score.

Illenium
60/100

The original mix by Illenium himself stood in line both sonically and lyrically with his attempts at more personal storytelling “Take You Down” and follow-up “God Dammit”.

Reception from fans and critics has been mixed as the song comes off as a mixed bag. It has potential as a radio Top 40 entry and for Illenium’s newfound storytelling purposes; from a different perspective, “Crashing” pales in comparison to other better sonically designed e.g. “Leaving”, “Fractures”, or “Afterlife”, and even the newly released “Pray”.

GhostDragon
64/100

An 18-year-old from California and opener at Gryffin’s recent Gravity tour, GhostDragon originally passed under the EDM Reviewer the radar with his excellent remix of “First Time” by Seven Lions, SLANDER, and Dabin feat. Dylan Matthew. The tune surpassed the original and set the expectations high for the young artist.

GD’s take on “Crashing” doesn’t do a good job at representing his originality as a producer, though. The remix follows a Said The Sky-ish, almost old school Marshmello pattern where the drop hits with melodic 808’s and chops the vocal multiple times. Overall, the song is still a few steps above the original thanks to its infectious energy and lively approach.

Stripped Audio
72/100

A warm heaven of acoustic guitars cradles the ears of the audience. The full potential of Bahari’s double vocal performance and of the lyrics provided by Julia Michaels gets unleashed for an overall solid and very welcome acoustic mix.

This enjoyable alternative version carries the perfect spirit to a sunset, unwind playlist.

JVNA
78/100

Hands down, JVNA, a Californian multi-talented artist who caught quite the momentum with her Twitch live sets, came up with the best concept for a ‘Crashing’ Remix, or rather, melodic dubstep cover. The execution fell a lil’ flat.

This certainly isn’t the most polished melodic dubstep song out there and its replay value gets hampered by the somewhat simplistic sound design – specifically, the drop feels cookie cutter and short. Can’t really complain, though. JVNA’s room for improvement is there and she has the capability to become an established talent.

Straying away from the melodic, fantasy vibes of her stunning “Weight Of The World” Remix for NieR: Automata, JVNA brings progressive, anxious plucks that complement well the drum-filled, shadier of the song. She puts the cherry on the cake with her own vocals, succeeding in conveying a more provocative feel to the lyrics.

JVNA gives quite the demonstration of her potential with the second best rating in this list.

KLOUD
81/100

Coming hot off a destructive Remix of deadmau5’s “Raise your Weapon” three weeks ago – which caused strong backlash from the mau5 subreddit members for a number of reason – and Swedish House Mafia’s “Save The World”, Trap Nation-supported KLOUD returns as an Illenium remixer since his/her/its remix of “Crawl Outta Love” from last year with inarguably the best visual video of his/her/its videography yet.

Intertwining G Jones-levels of punch, some REZZ, and throwing in the mix Daft Punk’s “TRON” vibes for good measure, KLOUD masterfully assembles pieces of a dark, exotic puzzle of trendy sound design with acid reminiscences from the “Raise Your Weapon” remix that few expert producers can hope to rival.

Its drawbacks are minimal, really, like those unsatisfying synthless pockets of time in the drops and the unfortunate friction between the lyrical theme and KLOUD’s sound.

Overall, this Remix comes not too short of reaching the heights set by The Glitch Mob’s remix of Illenium’s “Crawl Outta Love” last year.

It can be expected of Illenium to include such a nasty tune in his upcoming festival sets.

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