Remix Archives - Haulix Daily

In the world of internet remix kings there are few names more recognizable than Electric Bodega. The product of a collaboration between two music wizards, Mike Cash and DJ Klutch, Electric Bodega has been providing the world with club-ready remixes of music’s biggest hits for the better part of the last half decade. At the dawn of the new year, the group took their musical pursuits one step further by sharing their first original material, “Faded,” with the world. That single came with the announcement of the group’s debut EP, which will soon be available, and we knew we could not wait any longer to talk to the duo about their current projects and future musical ambitions. So, emails were sent, schedules exchanged, and right before the start of February we hopped on the phone and made this feature happen.

It’s hard to explain what it is about Electric Bodega’s music that we find so endless fascinating, but we know the recipe to their success begins with energy. The material Electric Bodega creates, be it a remix or an original, always carries enough energy to wake a coma patient, and we mean that in the best way possible. It is impossible to hear the music of Electric Bodega without immediately feeling your spirits life and your feet begin to move. They are a cure for the modern blues, and with their debut EP right around the corner they seemed poised to be everyone’s favorite DJ/production duo by the end of 2016. Take time now and get familiar with their story:

Haulix: Thank you both for taking time to speak with me today. How is New York handling the winter?

Electric Bodega: We’re in Staten Island right now. Its been crazy so far, but you never really know what is going to happen. They amp the weather up for weeks and then nothing happens, or it rains (laughs).

H: How has 2016 been treating you so far? Seems like you’ve been pretty busy since you dropped “Faded” right around the beginning of the new year.

EB: Yea, things have been good for us so far. We’ve been trying to get our debut EP together, which is pretty much done right now, but that has been taking a lot of our time. We have this other single, “Locked Up,” out right now. It’s also on the EP.

H: I was reading about that song. Can you tell me a little more about it?

EB: Yea, so with this record we linked up with Netousha Monroe, who is the featured guest, and we basically built the song around her performance. It’s a song that has been a favorite of ours for a minute now, and we are really excited to share it with the public. Compared to “Faded,” it’s still a club record, but I would say this is more of a song for the ladies. It’s on more of an RnB vibe where “Faded” was more of a turn-up record. We really want this record to showcases everything we are capable of.

H: Let’s talk about the EP a bit more. You said the record is basically finished at this point?

EB: Yea, we were just in the studio doing some mixing, but everything else is pretty much complete. We were hoping to have the full EP out by the end of January, but “Faded” started to gain some traction and we didn’t want to rush out the record if we didn’t have to right away. We’re looking to have the record out by the end of February now, but its all for a good reason. “Faded” has been getting love from places like Hot97, so we feel we can spread everything out a bit.

H: Just to be clear, this is the first proper EP from Electric Bodega?

EB: Yes. This is the first EP from us, and it contains all original material.

H: Is this something you have been working towards for a long time? I know remixes have pretty much been your bread and butter for a few years, so I’m curious if original material is what you want to pursue more and more in the years ahead.

EB: Definitely. The remixes, for us, were more of a way to get our names on the map. It is way easier to get someone to take a chance on a remix of a popular song than it is to sell them on original ideas. That is how Electric Bodega came to be, in a way. We were both getting a bunch of love through remix work, that’s where we come from, and we eventually to combine our skills. This EP made sense now. People have been feeling our work for a bit, and sometime last year we really felt like we reached a point where focusing on our original material was what we had to do in order to grow. We want to collaborate with artists, and it can be hard to get people on your remix. We’ve had a few big names, like French Montana, but with original material we’re hoping to do even more collaborations moving forward.

H: I’m sure remixes will stay play a part in your career, right?

EB: Of course. We’re working on two big remixes while we speak.

H: Can you tell me the songs?

EB: One is a Hopsin track, and then the other is The Weeknd’s “Might Not Make It.”

H: What is the usual turnaround time for a remix?

EB: I think we’re pretty quick. We basically decide to work on something and we do 90% of the record in one night, then it takes up to a week for us to do the other 10% (laughs). It’s a really fast process for us now, but after that first big push it can take us a couple days to finish things up and make sure everything is just how we want it to be.

H: With everything you have planned material wise for 2016, can we expect to see Electric Bodega hitting the road as well?

EB: We’re definitely trying to take our show on the road. We have been in talks with people from Arizona, California, and everywhere else. We will get out there eventually.

H: What would you say are your main goals for the year ahead?

EB: Touring, Grammys. We’re really trying to spread our brand and push more original material. As a group we have been known for our remixes, so we’re excited to see how people react to us once they hear our EP. I don’t think it sounds like anything we’ve done, and as a result it’s going to take people by surprise. We’re more than remix artists, and that will be clear once we get this material out there.

H: One more thing before you go. When we started promoting the fact we were having this chat with you people begged us to ask whatever became of the Electric Bodega Soundcloud account. You had a thriving page once, but it’s no longer available?

EB: [in unison] They’re the worst. A lot of people are going through this right now, a lot of producers, but they just pulled it. They pulled everything from our page in one big move. We do have a meeting with them about getting it back up soon, but yea – they took it down like they have many other pages.

We are on Audiomack, and while it isn’t as big as Soundcloud it is a very dope platform and company that we have been able to work with a lot so far. If and when we have our Soundcloud back we will still keep our Audiomack page, and everything we have released to date is available there, as well as downloads. We probably won’t be allowed to post remixes on Soundcloud anyways, so using Audiomack might be a better option.

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

Music is a very subjective thing. Every album you love is hated by someone in the world, and every album you hate has throngs of fans in various cities and towns. The song that makes you happy may make others sad, or you may cry while everyone else starts to dance. Subjectivity is part of what makes any form of art great, and in the case of music it also makes most things very personal. The vast majority of musicians tries to connect with listeners by sharing their most emotional moments, and that is how it has been since the dawn of popular music. Far more rare are popular artists whose music exists to promote meaningful change, but if you look hard enough they can be found, and their message needs to be heard.

Enter Shikari are Rage Against The Machine for the kids born during, after, or just before the Zak De La Rocha lead band first burst onto the national music scene in 1992. They’re UK bred world travelers who see the planet as one global community and write songs promoting unity through compassion and hard work. They want to better the world, but understand real change starts within. Through a one of a kind take on punk they convey their battle cries to a fan base of thousands eagerly waiting for the next piece of perfectly balanced, yet undeniably anarchic rock based life advice to be released, all while pushing the genre boundaries to the absolute extreme. The band’s latest release, The Mindsweep: Hospitalised, is actually a remix record, and they’ve brought along some of the most promising names in electronic music to help alter their work.

Now there are two very important things happening here. First, Enter Shikari are furthering the potential reach of their message by attempting to appeal to a new set of music fans while giving current followers something new to enjoy. Second, and perhaps most admirable, they are bringing a number of hardworking musicians into the thriving community of passionate music supporters they have been nurturing since their inception. Enter Shikari are broadening the horizons for both their fans and professional friends, all while potentially furthering their career at the same time, it’s a win-win for everyone involved, and it comes at a time when the world desperately needs a band focused on something more than romance and heartache.

This may be a simple music industry blog, and Haulix may be a small company in the big scheme of things, but are better off than 90%, if not more, of the world’s population. We live in the richest nation, we never worry about having food or water, and we all have access to health care at a moment’s notice. On a more personal level, we know we are loved. We have the confidence to be who we are because we have family and friends who believe in us, and as cheesy as it may sound there is not a lot else you could really demand out of life. We have everything when most have barely anything, so it’s on us to be the force for positive change they need, and the same goes for you. If you’re reading this now you have more power than most of the world’s population and you have a responsibility, perhaps even a moral duty, to use it for good. To help your fellow man, woman, and child to live a life as good, if not better than your own.

Enter Shikari urge listeners to consider all of this, as well as what they want out of life for themselves, and then provide the soundtrack for your efforts to change. They’re there with you, rooting for you and reminding you that this global community is looking out for you as well, and we have to hope we get as good as we give. We have to believe that is we welcome are fellow humans with opens arms and minds that they will treat us the same. If not now, then in time, and while we wait we can strive to further better ourselves. Life is about the constant pursuit of happiness, and that means you are always in motion, always making the most out of life. To do that you have to be honest with yourself about who you are, how you could be better, and what you need to do to get there. Again, Enter Shikari exist to provide the soundtrack.

You may not consider yourself a fan of EDM, but that doesn’t mean the latest Enter Shikari release is not for you. On the contrary, I’ve found it’s often the albums that most challenge our comfort zone that most influence change. There is something about the way those records force the listener to engage with the music that helps further reinforce a song’s message, and in the case of Enter Shikari that means learning to see the world around you in a whole new way. As vocalist Rou Reynolds once wrote, “Countries are just lines drawn in the sand with a stick.” You are part of a global community, and whether you choose to believe it or not your well being is connected to every other individual on this rock we call home. You may be a citizen of whatever town you call home, but you are also a citizen of the world, and as such you should take an invested interest in what is happening to our shared home. Be the force for change you want to see in the world and you will influence others to do the same. Then, and only then, can we start to better existence for ourselves and our fellow man. Enter Shikari know this already, and with releases like The Mindsweep: Hospitalised they are trying their hardest to make sure that message is spread far and wide. Don’t miss out.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.