Phones Remixography
PREFACE: This is somewhat of a repost, as I already wrote and posted this back in January on the old GWFAS, but I’ve had consistent requests for more Phones remixes and access to the old ones, which have been unavailable since the old site went down last month. Thus, I’ve updated the post with the rest of the Phones remixes I have, which amounts to nearly his entire remixography, save for a few missing, impossible-to-find ones, namely his newest remix he completed for Simian Mobile Disco.
Phones is the remixing pseudonym of Paul Epworth, who moonlights as the UK’s hottest producer. Epworth has turned in near-flawless production jobs for Maximo Park, Tom Vek, The Futureheads, and most of all Bloc Party, thus earning him the prestigious title of my favorite producer. Though Epworth’s first love is production, he’s also been remixing and recording his own music since the age of 17. However, shortly after forming a band he “realised that the studio was the pinnacle of musical creativity, the place where the imagined becomes material… [and he] set about learning the laws, understanding the principles, and disregarding most of them in favour of instinct”. Phones is the name he works under remixing the songs of bands he’s produced, and according to his site, all remixes are created in 8 hours or less on his Apple laptop, and he hopes “they are as fun to dance to as they were to make”. This post will be a long one, but not enough can be said about Phones’ mastery of the songs he remixes.
Many of you are probably familiar with his “Banquet (Disco Edit)”, as it appeared as the final track on Bloc Party’s debut Bloc Party EP, but Phones has created even more incredible masterpieces for the likes of Tom Vek and The Futureheads. Like no other remixer, Phones completely reinvents the tracks to the point that they frequently can’t even be compared to the original. For example, at times I’m tempted to say that his “Hounds Of Love (Wolves At The Door Mix)”, which clocked in as our third favorite remix of 2005, surpasses The Futureheads’ original (which I know seems impossible), but the two are so different that comparison is futile. On his “Wolves At The Door Mix”, Phones isolates The Futureheads’ a capella yelps and then surrounds them by synthesizer squiggles, computer glitches, and all around techno-pop glory, turning the blissful original into a dancefloor masterpiece.
On his “I Ain’t Saying My Goodbyes (12″ Version)” mix he actually improves on Tom Vek’s original, turning it into a grinding industrial beast of a song. He leads you along with whirrs and bleeps behind Vek’s vocals until the 1:22 mark when all of a sudden the beat falls out and he hits you with the song’s vicious guitar riff, alternating the call-and-return guitars between the left and right speakers, in a moment of sheer visceral hotness. Phones also remixes Vek’s “Nothing But Green Lights”, transplanting onto it a driving percussion section and focuses everything on that twinkly-swirly-keyboard noise that makes the original so great, before dropping it like it’s hot at the 3:36 mark and adding a catchy-ass keys line (NOTE: I actually have no idea what instrument makes that twinkly/swirly noise but it’s awesome).
Epworth’s latest production project has been for White Rose Movement’s Kick, released last March, featuring hit singles “Love Is A Number” and “Alsatian”. The latter gets the Phones remixing treatment, and he takes the danceable original and well, just makes it more danceable, adding jarring percussion and all kinds of synthesized bells and whistles. Phones also turns in decent efforts for The Rake’s “Retreat” and Annie’s “Heartbeat”, but a decent Phones remix is still better than 90% of other remixes out there. Those remixes specifically mentioned in this write-up are the cream of the crop, but I’ve included them all for download below and there’s nary a bad effort in there. Download Phones’ nearly-complete remixography below, because seriously, dude can do no wrong.
MP3s:
“Hounds of Love” (Phones’ Wolves At The Door Mix) - The Futureheads ((highly recommended))
“I Ain’t Sayin’ My Goodbyes” (Phones’ 12″ Version) - Tom Vek ((highly recommended))
“Banquet” (Phones’ Disco Edit) - Bloc Party ((highly recommended))
“Retreat” (Phones’ Repeat Mix) - The Rakes ((highly recommended))
“Nothing But Green Lights” (Phones’ Madchester 90’s Remix) - Tom Vek
“Heartbeat” (Phones’ Maximo Remix) - Annie
“Fit But You Know It” (Phones Futureheads Mix) - The Streets
“Alsatian” (Phones Gone To The Dogs Remix) - White Rose Movement
“Ooh La La” (Phones Re-edit) - Goldfrapp
“Krafty” (Phones Reality Remix) - New Order
“Romantic Rights” (The Phones Lovers’ Remix) - Death From Above 1979
“Not Great Men” (Phones Extended Version) - Gang of Four
“Never Felt Like This Before” (Phones Volt Version) - Shaznay Lewis
“Love Is A Deserter” (Phones Cardiac Unrest Mix) - The Kills
“Thousand Cuts” (Phones Slasher Remix) - Wolf & Cub