By Kavit Sumud | January 3rd, 2013
I’m a huge Mark Foster (and by extension Foster the People) fan. “Helena Beat” and “Broken Jaw” are two of my favorite songs, ever. So when he teamed up with A-Trak and Kimbra earlier this year on “Warrior,” he earned so much good will with me that I was willing to give even the soporific Kimbra a chance. Sorry, Shufflers. I know you love her, but I feel like her original singles wanted to be “Sister Wife“, but ended up being just conventional.
The original version of “Warrior” was wondrous. It had great lyrics: “My hands are tired/But my eyes are open /This modern denial/Has me broken/No hullabaloo/Just chemicals.” Plus, poor A-trak faded enough into the background to make the song feel like an outtake off a new FTP album.
So, What So Not had quite the task ahead of them if they were going to impress me. Could they compare to the RAC or Mansions on the Moon FTP remixes? I’m here to say, that, yes, indeed they do. What So Not put it best when they wrote, “[The Warrior Remix] sits at around 110 bpms, blurring between trap, dubstep and moobahton sounds; [and] heaves with bass, while still highlighting the infectious Kimbra and Foster topline patterns.”
Whereas the original had the endless fervor of a post-Rocky-air fist pumping-”We Are the Champions”-Mighty Duck victory march all rolled into one, this remix captures the same Foster-esque sentiment we saw on “Life on the Nickel” — that of the dead-eyed raver trying to emotionally interact with his or her world. And to top it off, the song is replete with an urban sound that Foster hasn’t been associated with yet.
What So Not are a duo to watch, though many of you likely already know one of its members (Flume) and will likely soon hear more about its other (Emoh Instead). If you like this track, grab a free download at their SoundCloud.