Pit Of Diamonds

Usually I try to confine my remix festish to 'Stuck On Repeat' posts but, every now and again, a remix comes along that justifies a post all of its own.

Enter Passion Pit with their earth-shuddering 'Flex'd Rework' of Marina and the Diamonds' 'I Am Not A Robot'. The track sees Marina's original vocal manhandled by the Passion Pit boys and submerged in a sea of swirling synths and squelchy beats:



Brilliant.

Incidentally, it looks like Eimear and I will be making the journey down to Cork this weekend to see Passion Pit play at the latest Heineken Green Spheres gig. That's a distance further to travel than when we went to Carlow to see Marina play at a previous Green Spheres gig but I reckon it'll be worth it.

Passions Reignited

Good news for anybody without tickets to Passion Pit's sold-out gig in The Olympia on March 13th. Heineken Green Spheres are organising another one of their free gigs and have selected the American electronic outfit as their headline act.

The Savoy Theatre in Cork has been chosen as the venue for the gig on March 12th. This may involve a road-trip for the likes of me but, having caught the band at Electric Picnic last year, I reckon it's worth it.

I was lucky enough to catch Green Spheres events in Carlow (Marina & The Diamonds, Miike Snow, Digitalism) and Dublin (White Lies, Neon Indian) last year and had a blast at both. Click here to apply for tickets.

Meanwhile, an alternate video for Passion Pit's breakthrough track 'Sleepyhead' has been leaked. Apparently the video pre-dates the official video but was rejected by the band and their management. To be honest, I kinda prefer this one.

Sleeper Hit

Almost a year after the initial release of 'Sleepyhead' by Passion Pit, re-interpretations of the track continue to surface.

The latest version comes fromGoldsmith, AKA singer Ellie Goulding and producer Starsmith. Both collectively and individually, the pair have gone from strength to strength since I first fell for their work back in January and their midas touch certainly hasn't failed them on this occasion. This track sees Starsmith making his first appearance on backing vocals and you can hear the results here.

Also great is the version by alt-pop purveyors, The Mummers. This borrows samples from the original track, teaming them with funky brass backing and new lyrics. The lovely Matt from Stay Loose has given me permission to share the track.

Click here to listen and/or download.

Finally, Run Toto Run's mandolin-and-fiddle-driven cover, which I've previously mentioned, remains great. This seems to have gained the band more attention than any of their own great tunes but hopefully they can capitalise on the exposure.



[Image: Swedish Leon's Disko Club]

Friends Of Dorothy

A few days ago, I e-mailed my friend Nuala Soc to draw her attention to Run Toto Run, who I thought were very much her 'bag'. However, it would appear that checking her e-mail account is not Ms. Soc's 'bag' because, when I asked her what she thought of the band, she didn't have a spherical notion what I was talking about.

Hopefully, when she does get around to checking the Manchester-based four piece, she'll discover that they're quite lovely. Their music is very 'cutesy' but manages to avoid being overly saccharine or twee.

I'm particularly enamoured with their interesting take on Passion Pit's 'Sleepyhead':


One of the band members appears to be missing. Let's hope they've noticed.

[Image: Myspace]

New Passion Pit: The Reeling

Good song. Good video.

Oh, Crystal Ball

Following on from the last post, BBC have unveiled those in the race to be The Next Big Thing in 2009. The good news is that a couple of artists I've been championing have made the cut (Lady Gaga, Frankmusik). There are a couple of others I've heard promising stuff from (Little Boots, La Roux) and plenty I will be checking out over the next few days (er... everyone else.)

Here's the BBC Sound of 2009 list in full and a nice collage of the artists:

The Big Pink
Dan Black
VV Brown
Empire of the Sun
Florence and the Machine
Frankmusik
Kid Cudi
La Roux
Lady Gaga
Little Boots
Master Shortie
Mumford & Sons
Passion Pit
The Temper Trap
White Lies


Courtesy of: Persona Sauna

Even if he doesn't figure in the shortlist when it's announced over the next few weeks, at least Dan Black wins the prize for most boring name.

More info on Sound of 2009 here.