I love New Romantic and everything that had something to do with it (other than the make-up and the fop shirts, i guess). I also happen to love House. Ever heard of an 80's pop song called "Sunglasses At Night"? In the same sense that "Seeing Red" by Minor Threat is the essence of early 80's DC Hardcore and the Untitled song by Julia on the We've Lost Beauty: A Compilation For Christopher 12" is the essence of mid-1990's Post-Hardcore/Emo, the song "Sunglasses At Night" by Corey Hart is pretty much the essence of the whole New Romantic "movement". It's an amazing song, and I'll never understand why so many people hate it - it's one of those songs that inspire you and make you dream about things. Oh well. Most of the people who listen to good house music have heard of Tiga Sontag and his label, Turbo. And Even though only 3 songs by Zyntherius have been released officialy (Sunglasses At Night, Sweet Sedation and Dying In Beaty), the man behind Zyntherius is Jori Hulkkonen, who is a very well-known DJ and producer.
Here's some history: the original song was released in 1983, on Corey Hart's debut album, First Offense. The Tiga & Zyntherius cover was released on the 14th September 2001 as a 12" single on International Deejay Gigolo Records entitled "Sunglasses EP". More remixes followed in 2002, resulting in CD releases all over the world. Save for Asia, becuase Asians are weird and listen to Merzbow, and the states, because Americans only listen to bad hip-hop, and "indie rave". Seriously, fuck american hip-hop. It makes me sick. And fuck you if you disagree with me. Stuff like this or this should be banned in countries whose average population's IQ is greater than their myopia. Especially the first one, the make me want to stab myself . Or maybe it's some kind of inside joke i don't understand. Who cares. The song stopped getting airplay at around 2004, yet a lot of people have kept remixing it (and failing at it) ever since (See ViperXXL, who also happens to be a fine example of European whitetrash.)
In 2008, two 12" EPs were released on Turbo, with brand new remixes by Alter Ego, Konrad Black, Popof, Black Devil & D.I.M. Both of them were released in August #1 on the 13th and #2 on the 20th. A week later, a web release that includes both EPs and a couple of unreleased ones was released. What's so interesting about those three releases is that all the remixes are amazing. They all sound so good! And don't expect anything Vocal and poppy with a shitty trance chord progression like half of the stuff people tend to tag as House nowadays - this is the real thing. Every remix is a remarkable composition that in my humble opinion, should at least be taken seriously. Every track speaks for itself, so if you want to download one thing, Download the Sunglasses At Night Remixes album.
Anyway, what you get here is basically the famous riff of Corey Hart's Sunglasses At Night, with a house/darkwave feel. Not really a mainstream dancehall favorite, the original and its remixes would appeal more to fans of Electroclash/Post-House projects such as Alter Ego or Black Strobe (what an excellent band!) and modern Krautrock. Even if you're not a fan of electronic music, I suggest you listen to this, for it's simply excellent.
13 singles. 8 of them are official. 6 of them are on vinyl format.
Sunglasses EP 12" (2001, International Deejay Gigolo Records)
Features the Original 12" Version and on the B Side the remix by Chris Liebing, which is pretty bad. The Original: Love it or hate it. It's basically the original with a repeated bassline and a 4x4 tempo. I guess TGV and Medicine8 kind of ripped him off, becuase the basslines on their remixes sound ridiculously similar to this one.
Sunglasses At Night CD (2001, Low Spirit Recordings)
Features all versions of the original (Radio Edit, Extended Version and Original 12" Version) and the Chris Liebing remix. Kind of a pointless release. Oh well.
Sunglasses At Night Remixed 12" (2002, International Deejay Gigolo Records)
Features two remixes, the first one by TGV and the second one by Filippo "Naughty" Moscatello. Both of them are good. The B side gives the original a lounge twist. Blah blah. Both remixes "remain faithful to the original composition", as in this is nothing special. You're likely to enjoy these two if you're into the original.
Sunglasses At Night CD (2002, City Rockers)
Radio Edit, TGV remix and "Sweet Sedation". The latter is simply excellent, one of the best house songs I've ever heard. "Sugar coated razorblades..." It reminds me of all the post-industrial/cabaret/whatever stuff on labels like Punch. Get into it.
Sunglasses At Night 12" (2002, City Rockers)
A remix by Medicine8 on Side A, with Felix Da Housecat's vocals in the beggining (shit) and a mash-up called "Blue Sunglasses" by Tom Middleton on the flipside, which features the melody from "Blue Monday" by New Order. Apparently this was very limited, and I can understand why. Side A makes this the worst "Sunglasses" release in my opinion. It makes Corey Hart's ideas sound so generic. To the lions. The B Side is not that bad, it's just that the first 4 minutes and a half are just the original without any editing, which is plain stupid.
Sunglasses At Night CD (2002, Low Spirit Recordings)
The remixes by TGV and Fillipo Moscatello, as well as "Sweet Sedation" as a bonus track. Both remixes sound way better on this than in the 12". A very good release. The details of Naughty's remix don't sound as muffled as on the vinyl.
Sunglasses At Night CD (2002, 541)
The Radio Edit and the Extended Version. One of those releases that in my opinion should not exist. Released only in Belgium.
Sunglasses At Night (Damoks Vs. Morison Remix) CDr (2004, Self-Released)
I hate Techno, but fans of that kind if thing are probably going to like this. A classic hardstyle tune, with the usual tempo et al. A solid techno effort.
The 80's EP 12" - Amii Stewart/Tiga & Zyntherius (2005, Technoboots)
Bootleg. I read somewhere that Technoboots is bassically ViperXXL's bootleg remixes, but the B-side is Damoks Vs. Morison's remix. Side A is a crappy hardcore remix of some disco tune I haven't heard before. I guess it's well known.
Sunglasses At Night (Breaks Remix) 12" (2006, Big Deal)
Another bootleg. An interesting remix by an unknown artist, with a weird breakdown in the middle that gives it a "breaks" feel, even though I'm not 100& sure I know what "breaks" sounds like. Oh well. I like house songs with loud breakdowns in the middle. You'll like this too.
I Feel Loved Without My Sunglasses 12" - Tiga & Zyntherius Vs. Dave Gahan (2007, Self-Released)
Bootleg. The song on side A is a mash-up of Dave Gahan's vocals with a "Sunglasses At Night" remix by an unknown artist. Quite surprisingly, that remix, solely as an instrumental, sounds better than half of the 2002 remixes. Dave Gahan's vocals fit the song too. A great song overall, that deserves an official release. On the B-side, we have a dub remix of "I Feel Loved Without My Sunglasses", which is amazing as well. It sounds a lot like Eric Prydz, with some electro thrown in. One of the best "Sunglasses"-related releases.
Sunglasses At Night Remixes Web Release (2008, Turbo)
First, we have the Original 12" Version of the song, the full version of the club hit that was released in 2002. A dark and haunting House tune, that doesn't sound like anything you've heard before. The seconds track is a remix by Alter Ego. Their take is a 10-minute epic anthem. Roman Flügel & Jörn Elling Wuttke, the two masterminds behind Alter Ego, took the original and made something completely different out of it. At parts, it's reminiscent of New Order's early synthpop material with explicit references to the galactic sound of Giorgio Moroder or Patrick Cowley. Yet that's not it. In the middle of the song, the overfiltered vocals and other noises and bleeps come in, and you get to understand why every Alter Ego album is considered a masterpiece.
Konrad Black's remix is a hypnotizing track that will appeal to fans of Minimal House . Almost no vocals or melodies from the original composition are used, which amazed me, since it reminded me a lot of it. It's repetitive, without being bland. Then we get two remixes by Popof. Popof has been on fire of late, releasing storming releases for esteemed labels such as Acid F*ers Unite and Toolbox Killerz amongst others. Here, he transforms "Sunglasses At Night" into 2 outstanding, mutilated Electro excursions. Popof's first remix violates every aspect of the original, and offers you some of the most weird Electro I've ever heard. Using hypnotic, intertwining analogue synth sequences and understated shuffling rhythms he created a building, tense monster of a track. The second one retains some of the original melody while showing restraint in the drops and is more suitable for a more subtle and smooth set.
Moving on, D.I.M.'s interpretation is amazing. He combines his own distinct style of mutated Electroclash with the gothic ambiance of the original, and the results are brethtaking. I also liked a lot the vocal effects. To be honest, I've never heard anything similar to D.I.M. He cuts and chops the vocal parts in such a way that you believe that the singer is singing about something else. Also, he bassline is simply breathtaking. Retaining the original's key elements and structures and arranges his mix by building up the tension and anticipation which is eventually released by one of this year’s (soon to be) most memorable breakdown drops, while sucking the listener right into its infectious groove.
And here comes the Black Devil dub. This track is in my opinion the best on the album, besides the remix by D.I.M. Mr. Bernard Fevre, after quiting making music for 25 years, came back in 2004, and every release since then has been one of a kind. In this album, he adds another dimension to the package, implementing old-school disco stabs, a bouncing, funky chord progression and thunderous, cracking details, he re-interprets the track in his own unique style and invites the listener to an epic journey into the deepest electronic disco. Haunting vocals. The production is excellent as well. Groundbreaking and professional. An outstandingly inspired re-interpretation of the original that completes the package with style and class.
Sunglasses At Night (Tocadisco Remix) Web Release (2008, Hiss Recordings / Beatport only)
Two songs, which are basically the same thing. The first one is Tocadisco's "Version 1" (what an interesting title) remix, which is OK. There's a really nice breakdown that begins at 0:58 and it's really good. The second song is a "heavy" version of the original remix. It's better.
Here's the link: 444 MB In 11 .zip files ( ~ 42, 9 MB each)
Ps. Post comments please. If you believe this post sucks, i want to hear it. Please. What's the purpose of this blog if there's no communication going on.
