In the second half of the ’00s I was living in Berlin, spinning vinyl records in clubs such as Lovelite, Delicious Doughnuts, Rosi’s, Privatclub, and many others.
Precisely at that time Tiger HiFi was making its name. Lead by Kraans de Lutin, who was soon to become one of the most sought-after producers in Germany, the band made tasteful dub-reggae versions of pop hits, such as Madonna’s “Music” or U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday”. Their self-titled debut album, released on Island Records in 2007, was a bomb! Sadly, it was also their last. Interestingly enough, in the same the year two albums sharing a similar vision saw the light: Mark Ronson‘s “Version” and Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra‘s “Hits The Hits”. This leaves even more regrets about Tiger HiFi’s dissolution in 2009.
One day – I don’t remember the exact circumstances – I met Tiger HiFi guitarist Peter Barton, who invited me to remix one of its songs, a cover of Weezer‘s “Hash Pipe”. A demo was presented during a showcase that included different sorts of remixes by other artists.
Recently I took the remix project from where I had left it. While maintaining several elements from the demo, such as vocal chops, which were topical in house music of the time, I aimed for a more contemporary sound. The recorded tracks had a lot of analog warmth, which is further emphasized in the remix – e.g., the bass track is pretty distorted, Alexa Voss’s vocals are crispy and airy, the electric guitar is cutting as a razor blade.
Importantly, I wanted to keep the energy of Tiger HiFi’s version while spinning it a bit faster – but not too much, in order to achieve a satisfactory blend between house music and funk. Like most house music, the structure of the remix has some repetition, but there are also parts that come only once so that you need to keep listening till the end to get the full picture.
I still play Tiger HiFi’s songs in my DJ sets and they sound as fresh as fifteen years ago. This remix, therefore, is also a way to continue celebrating their music.
Credits:
Kraans de Lutin (Tiger HiFi) – producer
Peter Barton (Tiger HiFi) – electric guitar
Alexa Voss aka Miss Flint – vocals
Jo Weissgerber – electric bass
Uwe Breunig – drums
Les Jeux Sont Funk – remixer
Mixing: Carlo Nardi @ SoundMusicProduction
Audio mastering: Doug Krebs @ Doug Krebs Mastering
Artwork: Chris Ball @ Deep Groove Design
Remix produced by Les Jeux Sont Funk
Executive producer: Marcos Flores @ Red Night Recordings