Mix of the Week 17/4: Souf’East TIMELESS MIXTAPE Volume 1
Melbourne DJs Actdafool and Yahboylilo have a relatively low profile online. That is except for this release on Soundcloud, which has received five thousand views this week and garnered their collaborative account over two thousand followers. The first volume in the Timeless Mixtape series combines old school Pop and RnB hits with a series of modern sampling and remixing techniques. The resulting mix is a fun trip down memory lane.
While it is easy for a mixtape of classics to be no more than a glorified Spotify playlist, Actdafool and Yahboylilo don’t take the easy road. Instead, this glorious collection of 60s-80s hits are all remixed and masterfully curated into an hour long set. The best of those older songs, being the timeless melodies and nostalgic fun they provoke, are layered over a modern sound through drum beats and sampled music. For example, Toni Child’s energetic ‘Stop You Fussin’’ and Cold Chisel’s legendary ‘Flame Trees’ not only have a contemporary hip hop drum machine throughout the tracks but they also sample Lady Gaga’s ‘Just Dance’. This both ties the songs together with the general theme of the mix, being the modernisation of these classics, but also allows them to seamlessly blend together. Other effective examples include The Eagles’ ‘One of These Nights’, which has the stylish bassline boosted and new instrumental layers added to compliment the original sound, and Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’, which has a stronger beat and some 90s scratch hip hop styled effects introduced to make it more up-tempo and exciting.
These contrasting classic tracks with modern sounds are a refreshing take on many of these songs, breathing new life into them. However, not every song needs these changes and are in fact hurt by them. Songs like Daryl Braithwaite’s ‘Horses’, which has a trap beat layered over it, fall flat and would be better off left out entirely. All in all this is a fun collection of tracks that present these classic tracks in an easily digestible hour long mix.
