As Hardcore began to peter out in 1992, Richard Russell delivered one of the rave era’s defining remixes – Kicks Like A Mule’s 1992 version of Awesome 3’s “Don’t Go”. Earlier this year, anarchist Punk icons Crass invited Russell to re-work one of their classics, resulting in the acclaimed 2020 RLR remix of “They’ve Got A Bomb”, a song originally released on the Feeding Of The 5000 LP in 1978. It’s fair to say, Russell has always been a believer in the power of remix culture. Having poured his heart and soul into producing Gil Scott-Heron’s 2010 opus I’m New Here, Russell “let go” and handed the work over to a then more or less unknown Jamie Smith aka Jamie xx to dismantle and remix into We’re New Here. Ten years later he repeated the process, inviting Chicago jazz innovator Makaya McCraven to re-re interpret the album to create We’re New Again. Even before Richard had completed his most recent Everything Is Recorded album, FRIDAY FOREVER, he knew he wanted to initiate a remix collaboration with Bristol’s Hugh Pescod… aka CLIPZ.
The resulting album is titled SATURDAY SPECIALS and sees CLIPZ remixing FRIDAY FOREVER in its entirety. Released on 29th January via XL Recordings, SATURDAY SPECIALS is CLIPZ’s first album length project and is a drum & bass masterpiece, featuring a host of the original album’s vocalists and collaborators (including BERWYN, Maria Somerville, Infinite Coles, Ghostface Killah, Aitch, James Massiah, Sampha, FLOHIO, A.K. Paul and Crass’ Penny Rimbaud) weaving in and out of CLIPZ’s trademark future-facing productions. If FRIDAY FOREVER was a musically eclectic investigation into the universality of the Friday night experience – the anticipation, peak and fallout of the kind of night we’ve all experienced – then SATURDAY SPECIALS is its rowdy, bass bin rattling offspring.
LISTEN TO 2 NEW TRACKS ‘THE NIGHT’ AND ‘DREAM I NEVER HAD’ HERE
Talking about the album, CLIPZ says:
“To be asked by richard russell to remix this project was v special to me as like most people in music I have grown up listening to XL. To get my hands on this magic box of incredible vocals/instrumentation from a group of amazing artists and to have free rein to manipulate and twist the energies to mold something new out of it was a honour. 2020 was a mazza- No Clubs or Dances- but that will never stop what’s in my heart: making club music.”
News of the forthcoming album is today marked by the release of two new tracks from the record. ‘The Night’ features vocals from Trinidad-born, Romford-raised singer, rapper, songwriter and producer BERWYN, who features on the BBCs Sound Of 2021 list and is one of the year’s brightest breakout stars. Meanwhile, on ‘Dream I Never Had, CLIPZ strips away A.K. Paul’s vocals from the original, opting to build the hypnotic reinterpretation around Sampha’s delicate central piano line. Both are examples of an artist at the very top of his game, Pescod having rebooted the CLIPZ moniker in 2019 after a decade long hiatus. They’re the latest in a line of incredible CLIPZ remixes (including Koffee’s ‘Toast’, Disclosure’s ‘Energy’ and his own artist collaboration with Ms Banks, Jaykae and Ms Dynamite on ‘Again’) and a tantalising glimpse of what’s to come from the full remix album.
Saturday Specials – The CLIPZ Remixes track list:
- This World feat. Maria Somerville & Infinite Coles (CLIPZ Remix)
- Walk Alone feat. Infinite Coles & Berwyn (CLIPZ Remix)
- Dream I Never Had (CLIPZ Remix)
- Patients feat. Aitch & Infinite Coles (CLIPZ Remix)
- That Sky feat. Maria Somerville (CLIPZ Remix)
- Burnt Toast feat. A. K. Paul & Berwyn (CLIPZ Remix)
- Pretending Nothing’s Wrong feat. Ghostface Killah (CLIPZ Remix)
- Caviar feat. Infinite Coles (CLIPZ Remix)
- I Don’t Want This Feeling To Stop feat. FLOHIO (CLIPZ Remix)
- The Night feat. Berwyn (CLIPZ Remix)
- Lay Your Head (CLIPZ Remix)
- Jumpin’ Jack Frost – Saturday Specials DJ set live at Fabric
For more information:
Everything Is Recorded Official Site / Instagram
CLIPZ Instagram
