Configa
presents – ReConfiga’d
By
Configa
This will be the first time I have
reviewed an album of remixes. And because it’s the latest from UK super
producer Configa – who has been working with Arrested Development on their last
two albums amongst many other big names on his resume, as well as winning
Producer of the Year via B-Boy Document magazine last year – it’s fair to say
that I’m looking forward to this one. I have decided to approach my review of
this album slightly differently.
For this review I’m not going to be
getting into the lyrics or the overall message of each track because that is
not the point here. The whole idea of a remix album is for the producer to
showcase his unique take on an original track. Remixing original tracks can
really help revive the music, giving it a whole new sound and vibe. With
Re:Configa’d, Configa has brought a fairly broad mix of tracks together with
his own distinctive style and flavour. My aim here is to offer my
interpretations of the musicality of these remixes and then consider how they
compare to my interpretations of the original versions. So, let’s get straight
into it…
The album kicks off with ‘Paid My
Dues’ by Big Stat, circa 2014. The original version is a solid boom-bap
track full of drums and synth/electronic notes. It’s the kinda full on head-nod
vibe you like to bounce to. For the remix, Configa takes orchestral strings,
horns, drums and piano notes, alongside some well needed cuts. That big
orchestral sound serves to kick this up a level by retaining that boom-bap
sound, but also refining it, giving it a sound that is almost soundtrack in
nature rather than street.
Up next is ‘Do This’ ft Canibus,
Be Kay and Chino XL from the 2009 mixtape, ‘The Foundation’ by German producer
Shuko. The original is a straight-up boom-bap track with drums and piano as the
main sounds with some impressive cuts thrown in for good measure. For the
remix, Configa takes drums and a funky guitar sound to give this a hi-energy
sound that would be at home in any club – there are also some slick stabbing
cuts to get the blood pumping.
It’s time now to dip into a classic 90’s
track with ‘Spam’, from the 1994 Album ‘Spam from Milk (Audio Two)’.
This one features AD Rock from the Beastie boys and, alongside the twos’ high
pitched rapping, the original is drum heavy with some flute notes, giving it a
very sparse sound that really focuses on the vocals. Configa’s remix brings a
far more musical tone to the track. He uses guitar and drums to give it a
head-nod vibe, whilst mixing in some organ notes that bring a concert hall/theatre
sound.
From the 90’s hip-hop sound, we move
forward with Planet Asia (as Medallions) on the track ‘Having Thangs’
from 2007’s ‘Jewellery Box Sessions The Album’. The vibe of the original is
very much on a street-banger tip, with some heavy drums, strings and piano
providing the sound. Configa’s remix takes drums, keys, cuts, and whistles to
give the track a much more chilled vibe whilst losing none of the impact of the
original.
With a quarter of the album done, it’s
time to step back into the 90’s with one of rap’s most infamous figures, The
Notorious B.I.G. with the track ‘Suicidal Thoughts’ from the 1994 album
‘Ready To Die’. The original musical vibe is one that is straight up head-nod
with drums and keys providing the musical backdrop for the deep subject matter.
The remix from Configa is a far more mellow affair that sees him also using
drums and keys to provide the sound. Configa also drops the phone conversation
aspect of the original, allowing the vocals to do all the talking while keeping
the dark head-nod feel.
Staying in the 90’s, the sound switches
to R&B superstar Mary J. Blige and the track ‘Be Happy’ from her
1994 ‘My Life’ Album. The original has a big funk/soul sound from drums, bass,
and strings carrying the listener alongside Mary J. Blige’s silky, soulful
vocals. For his remix Configa takes drums, strings and organ notes to create a
feel-good sound that is very much on a hip-hop/soul tip.
We stay in the 1990’s for another huge
track in ‘Let’s Get It On’, from the 1994 album ‘Let’s Get It On’ by
Eddie F & The Untouchables. The track features Heavy D, 2Pac, Grand Puba
and The Notorious B.I.G. and was one of the only times ‘Pac and B.I.G. shared
the studio together. The original sampled Barry White’s ‘You’re The One I Need’
and produces a real funky vibe with the drums, tambourine and guitar. For the
remix, Configa flips the vibe of this one into a proper street sound using
bass, horns, cymbals, sparse drums and, as the emcees trade bars, you can
almost feel the cars creeping with their lights off.
Bringing things back into the new
millennium, we find Configa working with the diss track, ‘Gucci Gang’,
by Joyner Lucas. The original track saw Joyner sample and diss Lil Pump over
one of his own trap beats. With trap being most definitely not my thing, I was
not keen on the original beat, but on the remix we get treated to a far more
suitable hip-hop beat, coming from drums, bass and keys, which (for me anyway)
is head and shoulders above the original.
Next to get the remix treatment is Fat
Joe’s ‘Murder Rap’, featuring Armageddon, from 2001’s ‘Jealous Ones
Still Envy’ album. One of the strongest tracks from the album, this has a big
NY sound with its heavy beat and synth notes. Configa’s remix takes the
roughness out and gives it a more polished vibe with drums, keys, and strings–
the drums being unapologetically boom-bap and the keys giving it the air of a
soundtrack.
Time to bounce back to the nineties to
2Pac’s, QDIII produced, ‘Hellrazor’ from the 1997 album ‘R U Still Down
(Remember Me)’. QDIII’s original production was very much on a soul/funk kinda
vibe, being guitar heavy over the drums. The remix is very much a nod to the
original and keeps it head-nod but, being more piano heavy over the drums, this
kinda tweaks your nerves and deepens the sound's impact.
Stepping back over the Millennium line
we get the single from Nas’s 2002 ‘Godson’ album, ‘Made You Look’. The
original is one of those big anthem style hip-hop sounds, packed full of
classic samples that make you turn the speakers up and play it loud. Configa
expertly keeps that anthem style sound for the remix but gives it an almost
big-band vibe on the chilled tip with horns, guitar, strings, and some deft
cuts. This needs to be played at equally high volume too.
Next, we move to 2005 and the
‘Triangulation Station’ LP from Hieroglyphics and Souls Of Mischief member,
Opio. The track is ‘Fist Full’, and its original sound is a nice deep
head-nod vibe with bongos, drums, and synths. The remix sees Configa take the
vibe to somewhere between the streets and the clubs. With a slightly rawer edge
than the original, with drums, bass, and keys, it still keeps you moving.
We move into the final quarter of the
album with Cella Dwellas and the track ‘Land Of The Lost’ from their
1996 album, ‘Realms ‘n’ Reality’. The original sound of horns, organ notes and
drums has a floaty kinda vibe and comes from the underground NYC music scene
known as the Mystic Rappers, which featured artists such as Funkdoobiest.
Configa keeps that floaty vibe but gives it a jazzier feel with keys, drums, xylophone,
and horns– a newer mystic vibe, if you will.
It’s now time to bring it forward to
2012 and a track from the ‘Raw’ EP by Nipsey Hussle (R.I.P) and Blanco. The
track is ‘LA Confidential’ and features YG on a sound that is very much
a nod to the G-Funk era, in my opinion, with pounding drums and electronic
sounds. On the remix, Configa keeps elements of that original G-Funk sound and
mixes it with piano, drums, strings, and those electronic sounds, whilst sampling
2Pac on the hook, to bring music that takes us from the streets of 2012 and
lands us in the LA sunshine of 2022.
We now slide back to another track from
1994’s ‘Ready To Die’ album from The Notorious B.I.G. That track is ‘Friend
Of Mine’, with it’s big club sound of drums, synth and bass. For the remix,
Configa creates a mash up. He takes bass, drums, horns, and claps to bring a
lighter jazz/Latin funk sound, and then mixes in and cuts up a sample from the
1989 Biz Markie single, ‘Just a Friend’, to really bring an emphasis to the
‘friend’ aspect.
The album ends with ‘True To Hip-Hop’,
from the 1999 album ‘Cold Water Music’ by AG and produced by AIM. The original
sound is one that is undoubtedly head-nod but, with a big-band jazz vibe.
Configa’s remix takes guitar, bass, and drums to give it a huge funk vibe. In
fact, this one is so funked up, it is red hot!
What can I say about Re:Configa’d
overall? Well, humour me here, I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s and the 80’s was
a decade when the remix was a big part of putting out music. Vinyl was still
huge, and artists would release 12” singles and EP’s that featured remixed
versions of their singles and certain producers became sought after for their
remixing abilities. As we moved into the digital age, remixes became less
abundant especially as vinyl took a dip in its availability and use. I’m still
a fan of the whole remix genre and always like to hear how a fresh
interpretation of a track can change its whole vibe and imbue it with a
completely different impact. So, I have to say that I really loved this album
and the challenge it gave me in reviewing it.
Some of the tracks I was familiar with
and others I had never heard. It was indeed a challenge to listen to both
versions of each track and move from a feel for the original musical vibe
through to the remix vibe, before analysing how the former transformed into the
latter with Configa’s unique touch. Configa does an amazing job here in taking
each track and reworking them to suit a far more hip-hop focused sound. He
takes nothing away from the original tracks and, in the case of several,
actually seems to improve the sound, in my own humble opinion that is.
Now, there are many who will say that
you can never improve on the original sound and that might be so but, there are
times that the remix can so change the musical qualities and the feeling of the
original that it sounds like a totally different track. It might actually give
you far more enjoyment than the original and so, in enhancing that original sound
does a remix simply change a track or actually improve it?
Anyway, let’s not digress here…
Re:Configa’d is a masterful example of what can be achieved if a producer
focuses and trains their ear for musicality and then gives tracks a melodic
make-over that allows the listener to re-appreciate that track. It makes you
want to listen to the original again to see just how it differs. If we consider
Re:Configa’d and the rest of Configa’s body of work with Arrested Development
and many others, I can see no reason why he is not gonna become one of the most
in demand producers in the UK, regardless of whether it’s for brand new
production or for his quality remixes.
Re:Configa’d is out now on Configaration
Records. Sadly, CD copies are currently sold out but digital is available.
It’s time for me to be outta here!
See Ya,
Steve.
LINKS
Get ReConfiga'd on Bandcamp Here:
https://configa.bandcamp.com/album/re-configad
Configaration Records on Bandcamp:
https://configaration.bandcamp.com/
Configa on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Configa
VIDEOS
Made You Look (Configa Remix) - Nas
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