I’ve never really been a Groove Armada fan, mainly because I’ve never given them a fair listen. However, the other day I listened to these two remixes of Groove Armada’s new track “Drop The Tough” and I loved them and just had to share them — which is why this post is slightly shorter than usual, since there are only two remixes of this song. The funny thing is, I haven’t even heard the original track. It’s impossible to find. Groove Armada paired up with Bacardi on their B-Live project to share/distribute their new EP, Drop The Tough. You sign up, one track is unlocked and to unlock the others you have to share tracks. That’s too much of an effort, so who knows what the original sounds like, but the remixes by The Twelves and Van She Tech (both currently two of the best remix groups around) are spreading across the blogosphere like wildfire.
Groove Armada – Drop The Tough (The Twelves Remix)
I think what makes this track (in both remixes) is the vocals, which are sung by Sister Saviour of The RGBs. Her voice sounds young but full of edge and attitude. And she has a wide range in vocal skill, from a light rapping, to punked up singing to a smooth and silky melody. Musically, this is a pure disco track. The beats are heavy and the guitar riff is full of funk. A very enjoyable aspect is the stuttering of the vocals that come in towards the end of the song that matches nicely with the understated percussion.
Groove Armada – Drop The Tough (The Twelves Remix)
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Groove Armada – Drop The Tough (Van She Tech)
This mix takes a little while to get into the core, over a minute actually, but when it does it becomes a proper Van She Tech effort. And it hits hard. Again, the vocals are the same, but when compared to the Twelves’ mix, the music is faster, choppier and more techy. Towards the end it’s a pretty amazing mix with heavy, I say heavy, club beats and a sound that just speeds through with splashes of all sorts thrown in for a very Euro sounding dance track.
Groove Armada – Drop The Tough (Van She Tech)
Photo: Ray Kilpatrick
