Nicolas Jaar’s free ‘Edits EP’

Check out the review and the forum thread relating to the 2.5 score RA gave to Soul Clap‘s ‘R&B Edits’ (12″ release consisting of three simple edits of a couple of Jamie Foxx, Kanye West and R Kelly tracks), labelling them as lazy productions. The forum comments start with some polite disagreement… before it all descends into that inevitable forum tenor: a circular angsty collection of rants and raves. One overexcited user comments: “best EP of the year!”, whilst Gadi Mizrahi himself even chips in to ungratefully have a dig at the RA reviewers (“fuck RA”), whom he seems to have forgotten have placed him and his label on such a high pedestal for the last few years.

If you want my opinion (which you probably don’t since this debate’s gone on far too long), I’m on the RA reviewers’ side. They get unending flak from commentors. Rarely do the ungrateful public ever pipe up with a ‘thanks – good review RA’ (its usually more along the lines of: “what the fuck?!? You give this release a 4!? This should easily be a 4.5! You suck, RA!”). Admittedly, I don’t agree with the review, but it does make some valid points. Adding a kick drum to a familiar tracks doesn’t make it ‘EP of the year’. But at the same time they are edits and as such do exactly as they say on the tin: they’re just fun, and RA have unsurprisingly taken a serious, technical approach to the what should be a light-hearted review of a light-hearted release.

Now new Wolf + Lamb golden boy Nicolas Jaar (check my post on him a month ago here) has thrown out a package of similarly slowed down, sexed-up house edits of pop tracks. The free handout is in association with RA: as if to atone for their review; a peace offering of sorts. To the original reviewer’s credit, what everyone seems to have forgotten is pop edits can be something truly original – which Soul Clap’s R&B edits aren’t really. No mention was made of Soul Clap’s blinding 2009 ‘Pop Edits’, an altogether more professionally tweaked and tinkered set of re-edits (of the famous ‘Wicked Games’ and an inspired rain-drenched touch-up of Fleetwood Mac). And don’t get me started on the beauty of Henrik Schwarz’ pop edits (though arguably classed as remixes)…

Similarly, this freebie package of pop edits from Nico Jaar cannot be accused of laziness:

Nicolas Jaar – Edits EP zip [pelski highly recommends]

My favourite has to be the short but sweet ‘Mini Calcutta’, which if I’m not mistaken is a mashup of Dave Brubeck Quartet’s piano rendition ‘Calcutta Blues’ and Ricardo Villalobos’ stripped back, slighty wonky drum workout ‘Enfants (Tambours)’ -a longer version of which can be heard on his recent RA mix:

Nicolas Jaar – Mini Calcutta [pelski highly recommends]

‘Come n Get It’ is more in the familiar Wolf + Lamb vein: seedy, sexy house, with slow, smooth grooves equipped with typically funky kick drums:

Nicolas Jaar – Come n Get It [pelski highly recommends]

Familiar and deliciously dusty vocals chirp cheerfully alongside the unapologetically upbeat, swinging house beats:

Nicolas Jaar – Stay In Love [pelski highly recommends]

The vocals from Nina’s Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’ are always a winner, and, here, perfectly fit Jaar’s bassy, impossibly slow house, evocative of the low-slung lumber of ‘Time For Us’:

Nicolas Jaar – Nico’s Feelin’ Good

A re-edit of Grateful Dead’s ‘Shakedown Street’, enforced with plenty of disco-flecked guitar samples and a chopped-up vocal lead. Real funky house:

Nicolas Jaar – Shakedown

Stripped of their vocals, New Order are given some beefy snares:

Nicolas Jaar – The Beach