As record reviewers, we put in the hard work so that you don’t have to, trawling through acres of perfectly competent new releases looking for the extra special gems, those rare finds that have that certain additional something, that somehow, even though it’s hard to articulate exactly why, are just going to kill on the dance floor. You can think of us as an online version of your obsessive friend who trawls through triple packs of remixes to find the one killer house mix, as is the case here.

Russian DJ, producer and label boss Lay-Far dropped his True, Necessary, Kind album last year and this package features seventeen remixes of five album tracks, covering various flavours of house, broken beat, bass, techno and drum & bass. Out of the house tracks here, two particularly stand out: Diana’s Deep Edit of “I.G.T.R.” is a rich, plushly-dressed deep groove full of gently drifting pads and restrained musicality that works really well, but the top tune for me is Dexter James’ Afro Funk Flip of “Rock You Hard,” a loose, funky, afro-flavoured, unique-sounding house remix which hits its stride almost instantly, and apart from an awesome brief filter/’80s electro-tinged synth section just locks in for its woefully short four minutes. Monster jam.

⚪️ True, Necessary, Kind Remixes Tracklisting

Lay-Far: True, Necessary, Kind: Remixes (In-Beat-Ween Music / Digital)
1. The Breath Of Ocean (Ant To Be Remix) (05:41)
2. Plamya Ognya Feat. Kotzi Brown (Super JV Remix) (04:25)
3. The Breath Of Ocean (Marco Lazovic Remix) (06:40)
4. Rock You Hard (Bleep Remix) (04:48)
5. Plamya Ognya Feat. Kotzi Brown (DR69 Remix) (04:05)
6. Plamya Ognya Feat. Kotzi Brown (Anderdog Instrumental Remix) (04:33)
7. Whatever (Ground & Pound Remix) (06:27)
8. Plamya Ognya Feat. Kotzi Brown (Jetelmen Remix) (04:28)
9. Plamya Ognya Feat. Kotzi Brown (Goldynsky Dub) (06:44)
10. I.G.T.R. (Diana'S Deep Edit) (06:16)
11. Rock You Hard (tAHiNi Remix) (04:22)
12. Plamya Ognya Feat. Kotzi Brown (bgrtvć Remix) (06:39)
13. Rock You Hard (Fluchtlink Bass Mix) (05:14)
14. Rock You Hard (Dexter Jones Afro Funk Flip) (04:18)
15. Rock You Hard (Hermanito Remix) (05:26)
16. Exclusive Bonus - Plamya Ognya Feat. Kotzi Brown (Anderdog Rap Remix) (04:33)
17. Exclusive Bonus - Plamya Ognya Feat. Kotzi Brown (Jetelmen Instrumental Remix) (04:28)

⚪️ Disclosure Statement

This record was not submitted as a promo.

⚪️ Previous Coverage

❇️   Cover Story: Lay-Far: Deep Communication (2016)
✳️   New Music: Yo UFOs: Lay-Far’s “Soulful Encounters of the 3rd Kind” (2021)
✳️   New Music: Lay-Far joins Lumberjacks In Hell with “Same As It Never Was” (2020)
✳️   New Music: Lay-Far Lays It On Thick for 6th Borough Project’s Remix EP (2019)
🎧   Mixes: Boorane: A 5 Mag Mix #30 (2016)

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5 Mag Issue 215
Out August 2024

NEW FUTURISM: This was originally published in 5 Mag Issue #215 featuring Rick Wade on AI, art and the future of making music, Tilman, James Chance, Chicago house history, Cajmere and more. Become a member for $2/month and get every issue in your inbox right away!