It was tough to decide between the second package of remixes of “So Lonely” and “I Go Deep” for this month’s editor’s pick, but if I couldn’t pick this one, I was at least going to make sure it was stuck right next to the one that made it.
I’m going to assume that the reader is familiar with “So Lonely,” the smooth hit single from Domenico Navarra and Monique Henry that came out earlier. The Kings of Soul Vox Mix was unexpectedly energetic and lively (or more so, per my taste, than I expected), with a fat organ sound giving some company to Henry’s lush vocals. It doesn’t really go anywhere, but then it’s not supposed to. The KoS’s Dub Mix is more for shaking the lethargy out of a room and does so with a nice build about 6:00 in.
Haldo steals the show here in my opinion, with a mix that reinvents the song the way good remixes should. This is the first I heard of Haldo since “My Brazil,” his release on Tony Humphries’ Tony Records a year ago. While more downtempo, it’s the most soulful of the mixes and treats the vocals with the appreciation and framing of a good R&B producer. The eDeep Vocal Mix is the closest any of these come to a true, throw-your-hands-in-the-air peak hour mix. The package concludes with an extended, 9:30 mix of the original song for those who might have found it too short the first time around.
