Listen Before You Buy

Listen/Download: Usher - Climax (Contrakids Remix)

I’m not going to lie: Usher’s “Climax” caught me totally by surprise. There I was sitting pretty, having totally written him off as dull and derivative, when along came this dramatic, ambitiously minimal monster that lodged itself firmly in my head and is currently holding fort near the top of my tracks of the year list. Sure, it was probably Diplo’s production that did most of the leg-work, but credit to Usher for being bold enough to go along with it.

What I’m saying is I like the track; so when I heard that long-standing site favourites Contrakids had given it the remix treatment I was pretty excited. It’s a fitting choice for them; right back when we first wrote about them over a year ago it was their minimal aesthetic that really jumped out, and they were definitely ahead of the curve on getting that feel into their music.

What the boys have always been good at is doing a lot with very little: as sparsely instrumented as their tracks are, there’s just something about their synth lines that makes them feel absolutely massive. Where the original of “Climax” was a real triumph of restraint, it’s nice to hear it unleashed a little bit here; it’s definitely a dancefloor-friendly take on the track.

You can stream below and download it here - and as always, if you haven’t already taken the chance to check out Contrakids, hit up the links for more stripped-back dance goodness.

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Original Article