The Very Best Remixes of 2009

Relaxed in tempo, with Mimi using her lower register to great effect. There’s something very ‘morning music’-y about this mix, like a more deliberate take on what Futurecop! Did with their peerless mix of “In Time” by Robbi Robb. You can feel the spirits of dreamhouse and mid-80s Saint anthems flittering around in this mix, and it’s quite strange in a rather beautiful way.

Being from Tennessee (and having grown up in the town of Mount Juliet), I have a tangled and weird relationship with Kings of Leon. But then some brilliant person decides to get these guys on the remix game, and you get something as magical as this Reboot, which lets the grit of the vocal nestle in its soothing and anthemic programming. The end result is unique, and the song, even after being remixed to death and covered into submission, is a majestic example of thinking creatively in the remix game.

A glorious sense of interplay between the minor stabs and major vocals; this was remarkable in its simplicity- a great and propulsive groove matched with a strong song and a vibe that would work on floors from intimate tea dances to big room throwdowns.

An intimate dancefloor, filled with dozens of bodies, moving together but dancing apart. Pulses of multicolored light illuminate the dancers against the subtle wafts of a fog machine, and hearts break even as bodies shake. Brandy knows, hon. And Tom Neville brings the emotion out of this track with a delicate arrangement of sounds. He did just as good a job with Keane’s “Better Than This,” but that one goes a bit harder, and there’s something so comforting and defiantly hopeful in this track that I have to give it the edge.

And as a special bonus, Re-Edit of the year goes to whoever did the Monday Club Mix of Lama’s “Love is on the Rocks.” God, the brilliance it takes to find a mildly beloved track from two and a half decades ago, then subtly reshape it with only original sounds, while giving it a new sheen and a new aesthetic sensibility for today’s floors… It’s a difficult process, and there’s a phenomenal amount of talent working just in the re-edit field. There's also a bunch of folk going for quick cut and pastes (which can be effective as well), but, as with all creative expressions, there's an expansive field of variety and talent to work with. Show them some love, because there’s magic to be had.