Charlotte's Hardcore Lounge releases remix single

Third generation Charlotte musicians Chris and Wes Johnson, who co-pilot the band Hardcore Lounge, grew up listening to dance remixes back when alternative rock groups like Siouxsie & the Banshees released 12” single versions of its hits for dance club play. So it was kind of a dream to have five DJs/producers reimagine their single “Dance of My Life” for the dancefloor. The Charlotte rock group released the expanded remix single, which features six versions of the track (including the original from the album of the same name), earlier this month.

The opening mix by Mikey & Dsko is exactly what I imagine would be playing at a gay club where the music is bright, upbeat, and vibrant. They somehow make Hardcore Lounge, who often reminds me of more of a Talking Heads, sound more like the B-52s remixed with video game style electronics in the mix. But that twist really works well for them.

DJ George Brazil gives the track a darker makeover, which Chris Johnson says he digs for its `80s bass, whereas Farfalla highlights the lounge in Hardcore Lounge providing more of a tropical Latin setting which works well for the track. Mr. Atomic’s Saxy edit is the craziest, most futuristic take on “Dance.” With its rippling vibration it truly messes with the ears. Coop’s Midnight Dub, the last remix on the disc, brings the song sonically back to Earth with its funky, upbeat take. I imagine it playing on a modern “Miami Vice” where Crockett and Tubbs enter the VIP area of a hot-pink lit club to interrogate a slick drug dealer. 

As Johnson said, it's unusual to hear a rock band remixed (especially a local one) - just as it was when Siouxsie was doing it. What’s really interesting is how different each mix is. All five remixers presumably never heard what the others were up to, but turned in something stylistically different from all the others. 

The “Dance of My Life” remix single is available online at CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, Napster, and other digital outlets as well as in physical form at Lunchbox Records on Central Avenue where you can find the disc for $5.