Of course, every time a really fucking decent R'n'B track bobs along (Rihanna's Umbrella, Iyaz' Replay, anything by either Cheryl Cole or na na N-Dubz) a myriad of remixes crop up like Floridan golf courses. Add
Kelis' Acapella to that list. Last week,
slick Parisians Acid Washed took on the lady that proved too hot to handle for Nas with devastatingly brain-bruising house results. This week it's the turn of new skids from the Valleys,
Friends Electric. Hailing from the heart of industrially murky South Wales and 10 miles down the road from my mum's hometown of Swansea, a personal affinity can be fleetingly kindled by even the most atrocious of compatriotic acts (60ft Dolls, Stereophonics, Skindred). But by the sounds of it, in answer to Mr. Numan, these Friends really are rather Electric and their Acapella mix testifies wholeheartedly to that. Twisting Kelis' vocals around vitriolic reverb like lime peel coiled into a lethal hallucinogenic cocktail, Deadmau5 muffled beats that border on spineless Scandinavian pop à la Robyn convulse and contort your limbs into submission.
Download:
Kelis, Acapella (Friends Electric Mix).
Friends Electric's Myspace.
