It's common knowledge that Major Lazer have a soft spot for Australia - Diplo has toured Australia on many occasions, even launching Heaps Decent in Australia, an organisation that runs music production workshops in rural areas of Australia.
Now off the back of their latest single with Sia and Labrinth, Titans, the producer trio have invited Australia's best up-and-coming producers to put their own spin on the song and friends, we have some fantastic flips to show you.
Here are five of our favourite Titans remixes.
LEZEN
Adelaide producer LEZEN (a.k.a. Callum Reid) has taken the "culturally ambiguous" references in Major Lazer's music and given it his trademark retro '80s/'90s shine, making it a vibey house record to chuck on next time you're on the dancefloor.
LEZEN says, "I always loved how culturally ambiguous Major Lazer records can feel, blending sounds from dancehall and reggae with modern pop music influences. I really wanted to capture that energy and emotion from the original and translate that into a familiar 'club music' kind of setting, all whilst keeping my signature retro '80s/'90s influence at the forefront of the mix. I'm super stoked with how this one turned out - I think it's some of my best work to date, and I'm extremely glad that I could bring it together on a Major Lazer / Sia / Labrinth record!"
Skinny Dipp
Skinny Dipp are Mike Dotch and Ant Cooper and they're all about the analog vintage instrumentation, full of retro sparkle and good vibes. In their own words, their remix features "disco tinged hooky strat licks, driving early '90s piano, funky Stingray bass line, and beats that hit in all the right places.”
FLUIR
Sydney producer FLUIR (real name Siobhan Krelle) is a vocalist, DJ and multi-instrumentalist and took Titans on a more atmospheric route with her flip. It's emotive, optimistic yet still club-ready.
FLUIR explains, "It was such an honour and privilege to remix Titans (ft. Sia & Labrinth) by Major Lazer. Having the opportunity to re-work Sia and Labrinth's vocals was so fun! Their vocal tonality combined with Major Lazer's production made my task of remixing the track an absolute treat."
Josh Yencken
26-year-old Josh Yencken is known for flitting between bass house and big room with his mixes, and this Titans remix is no different. Josh explains he made a few mistakes with the mix when he started working on it, but listening to this end product, you'd never know.
Josh says, “I started the remix on the road in a hotel room in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago and finished it off back in Sydney. I also originally transcribed the wrong chords and was only at the mixdown stage that I realised I had made a mistake! I tried to stay true to the theme of the song by keeping the tempo the same and not putting too much processing and effects on the vocals. I wanted to do something that is a mid way point between the pop and the dance world where the remix also reflects me and my sound. I had a lot of fun constructing this remix and have been such a huge fan of Major Lazer and Sia for such a long time, so when the opportunity presented itself I threw myself at it!"
Activist
Activist is known for being a stalwart of the hard dance scene, and he took things up a notch with his remix of Titans. He says, "I decided to go a little bit out of the box for this remix. Being primarily mid tempo with a twist, I sped the track up to Psytrance drop at 138 BPM to make it hit a little bit harder. I also added some custom vocals into the track to add more of an atmosphere into the mix.”
