Shit Robot - Take Em Up

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  • Marcus Lambkin's "Take Em Up" was the poppiest song on 2010's From the Cradle to the Rave. The challenge when remixing it, then, is deciding whether to preserve those hefty pop overtones, or take the track into more obscure territory. Each of the three producer's tasked with making that decision here place similar levels of emphasis on the former by opting to retain the original's jovial vocal, supplied by frequent DFA collaborator Nancy Whang. It'd be hard to imagine a different outcome, because, really, Whang's vocals made the song. Veteran Englishman Mark E's "Black Country Dub" is up first, and chugs along with a heavy synth injection while a sampled guitar lick serves as the only instrumental link between it and Lambkin's original effort. Newcomer Marcus Marr offers up the highlight on this package. The multi-instrumentalist's diverse musical background shines through on his maiden entry to the DFA catalogue, churning through synthesised funk, 8-bit glitch and reductionist nu disco in an expansive effort that simply does more than the original or either of the other remixes. Barcelona's John Talabot gets cosmic, stretching Whang's vocals out alongside his own Balearic platform, while Michael Mayer reworks the similarly upbeat "Tuff Enough" in typical Mayer style. Jilted synth riffs combine with the original's lyrics for a result that, despite coming off a little flat, matches the curious workability of Lambkin's own production.
  • Tracklist
      01. Take Em Up (Original) 02. Take Em Up (Mark E Black Country Dub Remix) 03. Take Em Up (Marcus Marr Remix) 04. Take Em Up (John Talabot Remix) 05. Tuff Enough (Michael Mayer Remix)
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