It’s pop. That’s all. But with a four word sample from Aretha and music that seems to have been conjured rather than created, Crazy P’s “Heartbreaker” captured my soul. That’s the power of music, what it can do when people stop worrying about charts and playlists and assorted bullshit that no one but other musicians truly cares about. It’s sending a surge of new life into scarred, dead flesh; a flash in a dark and half forgotten house; a note that reminds you of what you were like at your best when you’re no longer sure what you are anymore.
“Heartbreaker”, which originally appeared on Crazy P’s 2011 When We On album, has been progressively nudging toward the top of my consciousness for no reason other than it’s an inspired piece of music. As one of the tracks from When We On that did not feature vocalist Danielle Moore, I had few expectations. But it blew me away. Certain songs catch your mood. “Heartbreaker” forcibly imposes itself: if you’re up, if you’re down, it brings you to its level.
This week (today, as a matter of fact), 20:20 Vision has released the remix pack for what has to be considered one of the best songs (any genre, any style) of 2011. The original (included here, and thank God for that) holds up and even outshines everything around it. Mark E mixes it down into ultra deep territory, closer in substance if not tempo to dark techno. The sample from Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Love You)” is pretty much obliterated (just a repetition of a single syllable over and over again), which seems perverse if forgivable, though I suppose “forgettable” is a more accurate overall description.
Huxley’s take is uptempo, righteously funky and even a little lighthearted and fun. The drums take center stage with a jackin fragment of a funky organ and FX that are hypnotic in their own way. The drop at 3:20 is the kind of twist you don’t often experience in this God forsaken era of cookie-cutter 6:30 epics that sound like they were all made from the same tutorial – a pregnant pause, the first appearance of that gentle guitar strum, and then we’re off again. You could really mix in right here and I don’t think anyone would notice. For the listener, I don’t think either one really touches the original, but it’s undeniable that Huxley’s mix is far more dancefloor friendly and stands well on its own.