The only thing that bothered me about Boys Noize’s The Remixes 2004-2011was that it forced the little voice in my head to keep screaming, “need to see him live” over and over again. This was quite the frustrating [something], as it kept interrupting the flow of incredible productions to my brain. Boys Noize (aka Alexander Ridha), knows exactly what he is doing when it comes to remixes. For evidence, please proceed to to Exhibit A, The Remixes 2004-2011.
Full disclosure: one of my favorite songs of all time is “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode. I fully admit to searching YouTube (on countless occasions) for the best “Personal Jesus” remixes. Evidently, there is something wrong with my internet, as I never stumbled across Boys Noize’s amazing effort thereof. The synthesizers and textural additives pair perfectly with the track’s original vocals (which are thankfully not modified). The intensity of the background tune grows and shrinks in harmony with the classic melody. Considering the vast amount of other, lesser, efforts that have surfaced in recent years, Boys Noize easily gets an “A” for his remix of “Personal Jesus.”
Of course, it’s no surprise that Ridha continually displays his prolific ability to cleverly insert new samples into tired-and-true cuts throughout this collection. For instance, “Trick Pony” opens up with a guitar, tambourine, and “ooooh, ooooh” vocals, before switching over to what amounts to a completely different deep-house rendition of the track. . Considering that it’s more reserved than the remainder of The Remixes 2004-2011, this is the perfect example of his ability to practice restraint. Nothing destroys a remix quite like over synthesizing and this could have been the case with the delicate track “Trick Pony”. Fortunately for listeners, it was not. [The wording here is a bit awkward, but I like the idea]
Honorary mentions go to “Happy Up Here,” ” Lights and Music,” ” L’Amour,” “Swoon,” “End Of The Line,” and “Putting Holes in Happiness.” [Pick three of your favorite tracks] I didn't love “Happy Up Here” upon first listen, due mainly to the highly-repetitive, futuristic beat and robotically-redubbed vocals. However, the second time I heard the track though, something clicked; I realized that Boys Noize isn’t just capable of producing super-catchy electro bangers, but also complex slow-burners.. It’s no coincidence that this is now one of my favorite tracks from any album Listeners looking for other interesting productions would be wise to check out “Putting Holes in Happiness.” Instead of creating “just another” happy bippity-bop remix as other producers may have chosen, the song remains dark and gothic, just as Manson created it to be.
I don’t operate under the fictional idea that everyone enjoys electro house remixes of their favorite songs. There is much potential for a remix to destroy the original track (and in most cases it does just that). Contrary to other DJs though, Boys Noize is able to sidestep this (far too common) fate with phenomenal talent, an abundance of research, and careful track selection. Ridha has a gift when it comes to remixing music, changing the templates in a way that only enhances the original musician’s work. Though there is no such thing as perfect, it’s unmistakable that practice makes as close to perfect as it can get. The Remixes 2004-2011 is the proof of that.
Track List
1. Röyksopp ‘Happy Up Here (Boys Noize Remix)
2. Feist ‘My Moon My Man (Boys Noize Classic Mix)
3. Depeche Mode ‘Personal Jesus (Boys Noize Rework)
4. Late Of The Pier ‘Focker (Boys Noize Terror Re-Did)
5. N*E*R*D feat. Nelly Furtado ‘Hot-N-Fun (Boys Noize Remix)
6. Snoop Dogg ‘Sexual Eruption (Boys Noize Remix)
7. Cut Copy ’Lights & Music (Boys Noize Remix)
8. Modeselektor feat. Nazizi & Abbas ‘Monkey Flip (Boys Noize Remix)
9. Sebastien Tellier ‘L’Amour Et La Violence (Boys Noize Main Version)
10. Editors ’You Don’t Know Love (Boys Noize Classic Mix)
11. David Lynch ‘Good Day Today (Boys Noize Remix)
12. Justice ‘Phantom Pt. II (Boys Noize ‘Unreleased’ Turbine Remix)
CD2
1. The Chemical Brothers ‘Swoon (Boys Noize Summer Remix)
2. Teenage Bad Girl ‘Cocotte (Boys Noize Rework)
3. Scissor Sisters ‘Invisible Light (Boys Noize Remix)
4. Daft Punk ‘End Of Line (Boys Noize Remix)
5. Gonzales ‘Working Together (Boys Noize Dub Mix)
6. Marilyn Manson ‘Putting Holes In Happiness (Boys Noize Remix)
7. Charlotte Gainsbourg ‘Trick Pony (Boys Noize Remix)
8. Kaiser Chiefs ‘Everyday I Love You Less And Less (Boys Noize Remix)
9. Djedjotronic feat. Spoek ‘Dirty & Hard (Boys Noize’s Jump If You’re An Idiot Mix)
10. Maurice ‘This Is Acid (Boys Noize Rework)
11. Para One ‘Dudun-Dun (Boys Noize Remix)
12. Apparat ‘Arcadia (Boys Noize Reprise)
