- Rebirth has had quite a run on the RA charts over the past few months. But among the top 10 labels on the site, it's the only one that incites a double take. Rebir...who? Their relentlessly pop leanings and shrewd choice in remixers, however, has led them to success and this tune by James Teej is among their biggest yet.
It's, yet again, a downcast tech-inclined house track that's heavy on the vocals and light on the ears, with a mournful organ holding things down throughout. Teej never seems to raise his eyes or his voice above his navel, letting the listener in on how he's been living his live explicitly for you. It's a nice sentiment—and especially one for the dance floor when you're looking someone in the eye, I'd be willing to bet. The only problem is that—like many original productions that appear on Rebirth—it's a one-note tune. No progression, no surprise, nothing more than sustained melancholy.
That might be why Danny Fiddo & Affkt, in their remix of the tune, immediately grab on to the uplifting keys, wrenching them around into a complex lick that complements their equally as mind-sorting percussion. The duo puts Teej's vocals in an aquarium, smartly hiding them away within the groove. By making them part of the fabric of the song, their meaning is subsumed. Ripperton does them one better by almost getting rid of them altogether, and crafting an unlikely big house tune out of what remains. (Albeit one that climaxes with what sounds like a lovely malfunctioning guitar.)
Tracklist A Spending Life (Danny Fiddo & Affkt Remix)
B1 Spending Life (Ripperton Hyperlove Dub)
B2 Spending Life (Original Mix)