- When you're pressing up 10-inch records in quantities of 300, you can afford to be a little divisive. And that's surely to be the case of the latest single from Stockholm's Studio Barnhus label, particularly its A-side, by newcomer HNNY. It's just a lark, really, taking a well-known R&B singer's rendition of Foreigner's 1984 power-ballad, looping a single vocal phrase ("Can't stop now") and adding a slow-motion R&B groove and glowing, Juno-style synths. It's similar in spirit to the narcotic edits of Daniel Lopatin's (Oneohtrix Point Never) Sunsetcorp project, particularly his "Nobody Here," essentially a single loop of Chris DeBurgh's "Lady in Red." HNNY's edit is cheeky, certainly non-essential, but I wouldn't call it insubstantial; my only quibble is that it begins with a full verse of the original, undercutting any potential surprise factor. (On the other hand, it's a refreshing departure from the standard edit "reveal," which drops a full phrase of the original towards the end of the song as a kind of punchline.)
Kornél Kovács' "Down Since '92" is also an edit, this time of a sultry R&B single from 2000. If you know the song, you'll recognize it immediately here, but Kovács definitely isn't trying to be clever; he makes the most of the breathy vocals and back-masked guitars, turning in a genuinely sensual mid-tempo house cut that sounds a little like John Talabot remixing Craig David. The stubby bass and tuned-tom melodies lend a fleet sense of movement, and the swirled vocal loops and buoyant pads keep the mood light as a feather pillow. It is a bedroom jam, after all.
Tracklist A HNNY - I Want to Know What Love Is
B Kornél Kovács - Down Since '92