Romancing The Remix...Toronto Style

Swedish disco sensation Sally Shapiro, along with writer/producer Johan Agebjorn released their debut record Disco Romance last year on Toronto's Paper Bag Records.

People liked it a lot so they released Remix Romance Vol. 1 in April. People liked that a lot as well and the remixes kept pouring in from around the world. That resulted in the recently released
Remix Romance Vol. 2.

Since Paper Bag is based here in TO, there are a solid group of remixes made by local producers that deserve to be heard. Let's take a look at each of them.

"Find My Soul" [Holy Fuck Remix]

Adding their own drums, bass and trademark lo-fi effects to Sally's vocal tracks, Holy Fuck answer the question: "what would happen if Holy Fuck were Sally Shapiro's backing band"? They make "Find My Soul" sound more urgent and dark and like everything else they do, it sounds amazing.

"Anorak Christmas" [Woodhands Remix]

Like the Holy Fuck remix, this sounds more like Woodhands acting as Sally's backing band. You can hear Dan Werb's retro drum machine loops and Paul Banwatt's live drumming under Sally's vocals and some of the original synth tracks.

"Hold Me So Tight" [The Cansecos Remix]

I was pleasantly surprised when I found out these guys were from Toronto. This remix was one of my favourites. It makes me want to go to an old school rollerskating rink. For all you classic disco lovers, The Cansecos have a great mix posted on their blog.

"Jackie Junior" [Junior Boys Remix]

Okay, Junior Boys are from Hamilton. Close enough. They're great and this dark, electro interpretation of Sally's ballad is a really interesting listen. You might not be into the spoken word bits, but the rest of the remix is stellar.

"Skating In The Moonshine" [Solvent Remix]

Solvent gives this song the cold, minimal old school electro treatment. I bet this would be Kraftwerk's favourite remix.

"I'll Be By Your Side" [The Russian Futurists Remix]

Definitely the most leftfield remix of both volumes. It's more of a cover song. Matt Hart sings the entire song, backed by some vocoded harmonies. I would love to see The Russian Futurists perform this song live. It's short, lo-fi and very entertaining.