In the mood for something dark and dubby? In the tradition of tracks like Danny Tenaglia's legendary Elements and, perhaps, Junior Vasquez's Sound Factory staple X, comes The Funhouse. With a heavily-filtered spoken vocal from half of the Raw Deal duo, Funhouse is one of those deep, sleazy tracks that, when dropped at the right time by the right DJ, can really set the mood for the night. The original is one part electro and one part circuit-style house with a little tech-y spice thrown in for good measure. The vocal, not being something that immediately grabs your attention, floats effortlessly over the sizzling bassline and flanging synth-hook. However, does it have the staying power of other such classic anthems?
Unfortunatly, the remixes included with the package don't do much to add to what the original created. The Twisted Dee and Jamie J Sanchez (who's been on fire lately) set up a good beat but, without a definate hook, don't really go anywhere or do anything. The Finbar Massi mix, on the other hand, seems to be completely out of place among the other progressive tracks. It sounds like something you would've heard at a rave in 2000. The odd piano breakdown and European trance keys don't do anything to the vocal but make you wonder why they were put together. Giving him credit, the mix doesn't incorporate the entire a cappella; the mix that gets the award for most creative use of the vocal definatly goes to the Blaine S meets Hefty Lefty mix. It doesn't stray to far from the original and is a great alternative take on it. Sound Du Jour's simple, deep mix also works great with it's huge bassline and clanging drums.
The Funhouse isn't as catchy as Raw Deal's previous release but in the right set, it could definatly work. Reed McGowen and Warren Rigg definatly have talent coarsing through their veins, I would just like to see it translated into stronger material for remixers to work with.
