Artist: Slam
Title: Azure (Remixes)
Label: Soma Records
By: Ryan Simoneau | 27 November 2007
Tracklist:

• A: Radio Slave Mix
• B: Samuel L Sessions Mix

Slam "Azure (Remixes)"

Legendary techno act Slam delivered one of the year’s biggest tunes when they dropped “Azure” from their exceptional long player, “Human Response” this past summer. The tune found favor in just about everybody’s set list and now the remixes have been unleashed.

Matt Edwards, better known as Radio Slave, has become a remixer du jour of late. Here he slows the beat down and adds a little extra ambiance in the background but what remains is actually very similar to the original. Edwards obviously adopted an “if it ain’t broke…” stance on this one. Unlike his recent rubbish remix of UNKLE’s “Burn My Shadow,” Edwards keeps what made the original great and does well to leave the rest alone. However, at thirteen minutes and no real changes throughout to speak of, this feels a bit long in the tooth.

Samuel L. Session delivers his take on the tune and opts on the housier side of things. The tempo is closer to the original mix but Samuel adds in his own piano riff over the top giving “Azure” a little extra funk. These subtle additions add extra flavour to an already outstanding track and make this one an absolute “must-have” for all you deep house heads out there!

It’s always a daunting task to remix something classic and nothing was going to top the original but these mixes are solid if unspectacular. I’d certainly say the Samuel L. Session’s mix is the better of the two especially if you’re down for deep house.