Selah Sue - Together ft. Childish Gambino (Marlin Remix)

Belgian singer/songwriter Selah Sue's "Together" is a thoughtful, sultry endeavor into down tempo beats and plucky melodies that culminate in remarkably wide-ranging and well-developed track. Selah's voice is just sexy and smooth (just like Selah herself), which pairs so well with the half-time beat that's based on a cymbal hit on the 2 and a snare on the 3, that pretty much covers it except for the surprisingly active bass drum. Make no mistake, this is an electro-inspired track that capitalizes on so many different styles, and really demonstrates what options have become available for musicians today. If you can find a way to box this track in a "genre" I would love to see your process, because it's a futile exercise.

French DJ, Marlin, does a very good job of pivoting from the style of the original and applying logical steps to redefine the experience. Immediately, you're confronted with a pulsing, funky synth melody and a much more active percussion complete with 16th hits on the cymbals and a clap track. This adds some "activity" and pep to the remix. This remix would very easily be a dance track, but it doesn't completely eradicate the smoother elements of the original. For instance, at 1:30, Marlin decides to strip everything down to just the cymbal hits, the vocal, and a wonderfully velvety bass. That bass is a great change of pace, which contrasts really well with the reintroduction of the synth lines that accompany Childish Gambino's verse in the remix. I feel his rap verse actually fits a lot better in the remix than in the original, but hey that's just my opinion (I am a huge hip-hop lover when I'm not CasaSwooping). Anyway, take a listen to both tracks below and PLEASE comment below with suggestions or thoughts.