Miike Snow, the Swedish pop trio, has been shaking around and denting up the music scene this past 2009. When the band came out with the debut of their two singles “Burial” and “Animal” earlier this year with remixes by DJ Mehdi and Treasure Fingers in tow, people were perplexed as to what this entity “Miike Snow” was. The band had emptiness on their myspace, there was nothing on Wikipedia or anywhere on the internet for that matter. Nobody knew if “Miike Snow” was a band, DJ, solo artist, etc. A mystery that indeed helped build a buzz around them. Eventually, the covers were lifted and light shone on them as a pop trio from Sweden that not only produced stellar songs but also remixes galore.
The group consists of singer/songwriter Andrew Wyatt and the producing team of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg, also known as Bloodshy & Avant, that have produced such tracks as “Toxic” for Britney Spears, as well songs for Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, and Kylie Minogue. Miike Snow released their self-titled debut album this year and have kept busy remixing tracks for man prominent artists.
.Miike Snow – “Burial”
“Burial” feels like a modern day classical song, beautifully starting off with soft pianos. The notes are matched with deep and encompassing vocals, all continuing on the mid tempo, emotional notes that is Miike Snow.
.DJ Mehdi Remix
This is a great remix by Mr. Mehdi; airy, summery, electrofied pop, tinged with an elated nostalgia. It’s intricate, featuring stretched vocals, plenty of synthesizers (as all mixes do), and light bounces on a piano. It was my favorite track earlier this year.
.Miike Snow – “Animal”
A mid tempo track with a simple style that builds into muted drum beats, emotive vocals and cool, emotional pop. Andrew Wyatt’s vocals are touched with a little auto tune and the harmonies project far and wide during the chorus. The instrumental portions of the track feature airy pianos and vocal hymns for a gentle pop feel.
.Peter Bjorn & John Remix
This is by far my most favorite remix of a Miike Snow track. It’s stripped down, fast, raw and sharply accentuates Andrew Wyatt’s vocals. And Andrew Wyatt has some awesome vocals. Lines like “There was a time when my world was filled with darkness, darkness, darkness”, are so bare boned, surrounded only by splashes of drums and pulsing percussion, it creates an amazing effect. The mix takes Miike Snow’s airy, sweet, sounds and throws plenty of edge into them.
.Treasure Fingers Remix
Upbeat and lush is the best way to describe Treasure Finger’s remix. It plays around with the vocals, chopping them up on the cutting board for the always appreciated stuttering effect. In fact, most of the vocals are left out for more of an instrumental tune. All that is featured vocally towards the end of the song is the chorus. Musically it features extremely strong percussion, plenty of synths and a slightly quicker version than the original.
Miike Snow: myspace | @ beaumont | @ lolla 2009 |
