Joel Compass- Run (Wayward Remix)

So this review is really just a way for me to get my fingers back on the keys and write something with some flow. We've been absolutely slammed with work and this is a great opportunity to get my touch back, so here we are with a pretty old track (about a year old), which is Wayward's remix of Joel Compass' track, "Run." London based DJ duo, Wayward, did a great job of developing a remix that really takes an entirely different approach from the original and creating something that ultimately ends up better. That being said, let's start with Joel Compass. This track is, at its core, a pop track featuring everything from a simple driving 2 and 4 drum beat to a few repeated strongly accented piano chords. To be completely honest, other than the lead vocal, this track is just boring. It really could have done with a few more rhythmic elements to keep the listener engaged, which is the problem when you create an entire track at "half-time" or when your vocal follows at 2/4, when your percussion or instrumentation is at 4/4. The blending in the instrumentation feels a bit sluggish because of this. Wayward, however, do a great job of identifying areas to improve from the original and making it even more intriguing. First off, I mean at it's most basic, this track is just produced better than the original. Listen to the blending of sounds and the crescendoes used to really settle the listener into the rhythm of the track. To allow the inherent beauty of the vocal (which Wayward actually modulate down a key) to be supplemented by an intricate dance based rhythm. It's sort of amazing that they were able to isolate which elements of the vocal were so compelling from the original, primarily the beautiful riffs and nice accidental minor tones, and adding them to a faster-pased, more sophisticated, set of instrumentation. Let's not forget the style of the nice "bus-stop" sample at the beginning and end, call me naive, but I find these effects really nice. Listen to them both below and tell us what you think!