- Wonder what the reaction round Minus towers was when the 'Mouth To Mouth' remix request came in? Was there a scramble or did they draw short straws? Whether you love it or are indifferent to the original (it's impossible to hate it, isn't it?) there's no denying it's a difficult one to remix. So doff the hat to Konrad Black and Heartthrob – the men to call when a dirty job arrives.
It seems Heartthrob couldn't make up his mind on whether to go to town on it, or just play it cool – so he did both. The ghost of the distinctive nagging bassline dances though his 'Mantap' version, bare-bones drums rattling around, carried by the confident, motorik hi-hats. As is Heartthrob's wont, the programming is unpredictable, meaning the track kicks into life intermittently with a 303 washing though and that searing synth, before pulling back to the bare groove again.
His 'Hot Breath Treatment' version is more stable, plunging in action with a fuller reinterpretation of that bassline, the accompanying loose hi-hat and echoing pads combining well for a full groove. Audion's original riff makes an almost embarrassed split-second appearance before slowly drifting back in. It's the most convincing rework here – made all the more appealing when Heartthrob cuts loose in the last two minutes, adding squealing stabs that run with the riff. If you're nifty with a sampler or Ableton, there's rich pickings here.
Konrad Black goes for a more conventional approach – making Matthew Dear's bassline the main element instead of the riff. Flipping and slicing it, it runs through the majority of the track, working well with the dark atmospherics. The drawn-out arpeggiated 303 adds a slight trancey feel in the middle section, but it makes sense when the chopped riff makes its dramatic reappearance. Admirable efforts all, but – when compared to the strikingly original original – they were always destined to fail.
Lista de sequência de músicasA1. Heartthrob's Hot Breath Treatment
A2. Mantap Mix by Heartthrob
B1. Whorenando's "Couch To Couch" Mix by Konrad Black