Mikhael Paskalev returned late last year with the dreamy new tune Witness, and today, we’re bringing you a brand new remix courtesy of Donny Benet.
The Norwegian artist will be dropping his second album later this year, with Witness being our first taste of what’s to come.
The original track (and its dramatic video) was a glitzy romp through multi-layered synths, chugging rhythms, and Paskalev’s radiant, intoxicating melody. On the track , he explained that Witness is “pretty much about finding that release from whatever hurt or self-doubt you’ve been holding. That calming that comes from losing yourself in the moment. When it was time to make the music video, I really wanted to make something that felt sincere, but daring.”
Benet’s remix steps it up a notch or three, stuffing the track with new sounds and rhythms, a great contrast against the original, which thrived in its relative sparsity. A heady bass begins to bubble and bulge beneath the surface, pushing the atmosphere forward with racy suspense. Meanwhile, strings and other bright layers creep in and fill every pocket of space until the full rhythm kicks in, eventually culminating at a joyous, wild peak. All in all it’s a really cool new take on the song – I daresay I may even prefer it to the original.
Image: Supplied
Tear Council, Anywhere
I recently wrote about this excellent song, a new collaboration between Matt Van Schie and Michael Di Francesco (aka Touch Sensitive). The video clip has just come out, and it’s really entertaining. It’s very retro, kinda film noir, and really hilariously creepy. Highly recommend watching the whole thing. Really looking forward to seeing more from these guys!
Donny Benet & Kirin J Callinan, The Edge
You can’t go wrong when something involves these two. Like Tear Council these guys have fully embraced the ’80s retro revival. This is an excellent synth-pop track with a driving beat and a video that wouldn’t have been out of place on early 1990s MTV – and that’s a good thing.
Loon Lake, Surfin’
And now for something completely different. Loon Lake’s new song is frantic and fun punk rock.The video features a series of skater clips, alongside cruisin’ in the car, sweaty live gigs and generally having A LOT of fun. Short and sharp at 2 min 35, this makes me wanna go and jump around a mosh pit.
Future, Just Like Bruddas.
Fresh off his recent Beast Mode mixtape, Future has dropped the video for this deliciously nasty-yet-soulful track. It’s pretty much your run-of-the-mill hip hop video: clubs, homies, limousines, bling. All in all a big loved-up bromance celebration. Ohh, that piano. I love this track. PS download the mixtape here.
Grimes, REALiTi
Apparently this was considered a “scrapped” track – never meant to see the light of day. But it obviously has, alongside a lovely little video clip. Self-directed and edited during a 2013 tour, the angelic electro-pop track is set to trippy visuals, gorgeous scenery and lots, and lots, and lots of bright colours. The track itself is fucking lovely. Lets hope we’ll be finally hearing more new Grimes soon!