Annie & The Caldwells is a family band from West Point, Mississippi, lead by Annie Caldwell and her husband and sideman, Willie Joe Caldwell, Sr. Backed by musicians including daughters, sons and a goddaughter thrown in for good measure, they all have day jobs when they’re not making stomping, jangly gospel soul, though maybe not for long. Can’t Lose My (Soul), their debut album, was picked up and released in March by David Byrne’s Luaka Bop, one of the great curators and popularizers of soul music in almost every one of its global manifestations, from the Global South to the American South.

The appearance of Nicky Siano in a video about the record inspired hopes for solid dance remixes, and they’re finally in my hands. Weirdly, they don’t seem to be marketed very well at DJs — all clips from I Was Living In a World of Sin (Mixes: Part 1) pointed to streaming platforms, even though you can find it on Bandcamp and DJ-centered download platforms in mix-friendly formats. Oh well, nothing worth playing is ever spoonfed to us, is it?

Luaka Bop enlisted Siano along with musclecars, Justin Strauss and Kornél Kovács to remix two songs from World of Sin: “Wrong” and the real highlight of the original album, “I Made It.” musclecars drop a big, buoyant disco house remix of the latter, and do it so well you might mistake this for a lost Barbara Tucker/Masters At Work EP. Eight minutes of hugeness. Siano picks out the melody on blues piano as the lead in before Annie’s smoky refrain (both of these remixes build around the vocal hook “You dropped a bomb on me,” ostensibly from “I Made It,” though Siano’s remix is listed as “Wrong (You Dropped A Bomb).”

Justin Strauss gave Luaka Bop one of its great dance records with his remix (with Bryan Mette) of Nigerian synth legend William Onyeabor’s “Body And Soul” and contributes a slow-burning remix that might pack the most heat of all, with a cinematic approach that build emotional energy like an tidal wave. Kornél Kovács remixes “Wrong” like a ’90s Strictly joint.

There’s a non-zero chance that if nothing here appeals to a listener — from the original or this remix pack — maybe they just don’t like music all that much. “Part 1” naturally anticipates a “Part 2” coming down the pipe, with four more originals from Can’t Lose My (Soul) waiting. [Ed. Note: And look at that…]

⚪️ I Was Living In a World of Sin Tracklisting

Annie & The Caldwells: I Was Living In a World of Sin (Mixes: Part 1) (Luaka Bop / Digital)
1. Annie & the Caldwells - I Made It (A musclecars Production) (08:09)
2. Annie & the Caldwells - Wrong (You Dropped a Bomb) - Nicky Siano (Extended Wooden Dance Floor Mix) (06:48)
3. Annie & the Caldwells - I Made It - A Justin Strauss Production (06:53)
4. Annie & the Caldwells - Wrong - A Kornél Kovács Production (02:41)

⚪️ Disclosure Statement

This record was not submitted as a promo.

⚪️ Previous Coverage

❇   A People’s History of Chicago House Music (2024)
❇   Buck Rogers Does Disco: How an ’80s TV show inspired an underground jam (2024)
📰   Revisionist BBC documentary “Disco: The Soundtrack of a Revolution” comes to the US (2024)
❇   Nicky Siano: Conversations with 5 Magazine (2016)
📰   Nigerian Synth Godfather William Onyeabor Has Died (2017)

 

5 Mag Issue 220
Out Now

MADE IN CHICAGO: First published in 5 Mag Issue #220 featuring Jamie 3:26, Ryan Sadorus, Alexander Flood, James Duncan on Canada’s Collective Rhythm Network and more. Become a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right now…

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