The Electric Swing Circus – Remixed
Volume 2 (Ragtime Records)
Celebrated sextet The Electric Swing Circus (ESC) are proud to unveil the Remixed Vol. 2 EP, a six-track selection of exuberant reinterpretations of their 2019 EP Connected / Invisible Man from an all-star cast of dance music stalwarts including Featurecast, Duke Skellington, C@ In The H@ and Wolfgang Lohr.
Having accrued tens of millions of streams on their latest album, 2017’s It Flew By, the Birmingham outfit now find themselves at the forefront of a second roaring ‘20s, with their distinctive brand of electro-swing paying tribute to the decadent jazz of yesteryear while pushing the sound forward for a modern-day audience. A firm favourite on the live circuit whose past appearances have included Glastonbury, Boomtown and the Legitimate Peaky Blinders Festival, the group have also made strides in the digital realm, remaining a virtually permanent fixture in Spotify’s coveted Electro Swing playlist and receiving editorial support from the likes of NME and Time Out.
First up on the new EP is a vibrant house version of “Connected” from house heavyweight Featurecast, who’s no stranger to the ESC sound, having taken on their hit “Remedy” back in 2018 for the group’s first Remixed EP. His spin on the song finds singers Vicki and Fe’s sparkling vocals set against feel-good piano chords and strident four-to-the-floor rhythms to make for a vibrant dancefloor anthem. Next comes a genre-straddling re-imagining of “Minotaur” from local talent and Ragtime Records co-director C@ In The H@, whose shuffling, breaks-infused remix utilises wobbling basslines and dubby delays, resulting in a playful production taking audible cues from glitch-hop.
Having previously impressed the band with his take on “Hit & Run”, taken from Remixed Vol. 1, Wolfgang Lohr reprises his role here with a fresh adaptation of “Invisible Man”, recasting it as a brassy, club-ready house number garnished with rapid-fire arpeggios. Past the project’s halfway point, Ragtime Records’ Duke Skellington tackles “Minotaur”, transforming it into an electrifying bass house stomper, centred around swelling, voweled basslines and drawn-out subs. Meanwhile, Bristolian label regulars Tuxedo Junction deliver a blistering jump-up drum and bass iteration of “Connected”, before The Electric Swing Circus’ very own Tom Hyland, best known as the group’s guitarist, makes an unexpected appearance with a shimmering, funk-laden remix of “Minotaur”, seeing out the EP with a bang.
The Remixed Vol. 2 arrives 6th April via digital vendors and streaming services.