Christmas Remixed 2

In 2003, Six Degrees Records released the first volume in the Christmas Remixed holiday series. The concept of taking Christmas classics performed by such luminaries as Bing Crosby, Mel Tormé, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong and handing them over to a cast of the world's best modern dance, hip-hop and electronic
producers yielded one of the most entertaining holiday records in recent memory. In fact, the All Music Guide went so far as to comment, "There will probably not be a better new Christmas album this year than this one, and there may not be a better one for many years." The Los Angeles Times added, "Any group of tracks that yields as many smiles as this deserves a spot in the holiday CD rotation."

Given its critical and commercial success, a follow-up album seemed like a wise idea. So the invitation went out again to a select group of top-notch producers, DJs, turntablists and remix artists, and the result is a second vibrant collection of joyfully twisted takes on classic holiday tunes.

When everyone had responded, the result was a dream team of modern sound architects. Michael Emenau, a Paris-based producer and musician who records under the name MNO, signed on for the ride, as did the Bombay Dub Orchestra (in the person of British producer Garry Hughes) and the respected Bay Area hip-hop duo the Rondo Brothers. The Bay Area also yielded the always-funky Kaskade. "Future Funk" duo King Kooba are here, as are Glowlab Collective co-founder Patrick Krouchian and many other A-list DJs and producers.

Christmas Remixed 2 opens with the mighty Joe Williams' rendition of "Jingle Bells," to which The Bombay Dub Orchestra applies a judicious dose of wah-wah guitar and crisp drum loops, adding just the right amount of funky juice to an already swinging and horn-heavy version of every child's favorite Christmas song. Listeners will also get a kick out of the Rondo Brothers' big beat treatment of Patti Page's classic version of "Frosty the Snowman," which bumps along merrily to the rhythm of a bare-bones bass-and-snare thwack and occasional eruptions of weird synthesizer tones. And don't forget that hipster classic, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" as performed in duet by Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby – here John Beltran transforms this favorite into something slightly eerie as the vocals are pushed toward the echoey rear of the mix and a descending chord progression repeats endlessly throughout the tune.

Some of the tunes on Christmas Remixed 2 started out life on the classical tip. The Red Baron remix of "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" (a dance movement from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker) is based on a performance of that melody by the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, not that you'd necessarily recognize the famous orchestra's sound with all the added layers of off-the-rails funky drumming and synthesized counterpoints. Then there's the languid, trip-hoppy ambience of Patrick Krouchian's deconstruction of "Good King Wenceslas" as originally recorded by the CSSR State Philharmonic.

If you're looking for something a bit jazzier, you'll be sure to dig the vintage recording of Charlie Parker cooking on a bebop arrangement of "White Christmas." This track was originally recorded on Christmas Day 1948 during one of Parker's legendary Savoy sessions. For Christmas Remixed 2, King Kooba unearthed this choice bit of historical ornithology and wrapped it tastefully in a shimmering package of laid-back electric piano chords and light and skittering breakbeats, tying it all up with a bow of Latin percussion. On a somewhat more soulful note, TONAL gets his fingers good and greasy on a 1960s recording of "The Christmas Song" by Hammond organ great Jimmy McGriff, muscling it up with heavyweight breakbeats and a respectful but wild ambience. And if even that isn't enough soul for you, then check out what happens when Ohmega Watts flings his thing on Charles Brown's deeply bluesy 1961 interpretation of "I'll Be Home for Christmas," which is given an eclectically funky treatment that includes several different drum loops and multiple synthesizer voices.

Fans of vintage lounge music will be pleased by the inclusion of uber-crooner Vic Damone's smooth take on "Winter Wonderland," which is brought firmly (but equally smoothly) into the 21st century by the Future Loop Foundation.

One of the album's most elegant entries is MNO's gentle but propulsive drum'n'bass mix of Rosemary Clooney's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." If you thought drum'n'bass had to be frantic and overpowering, then sit back and listen to how MNO takes lightly skittering breakbeats and lays them carefully over a soft bed of electric piano, in which Clooney's subtly altered voice rests peacefully. Then there's Kaskade's funky but refined breakdown of the mother of all Christmas recordings, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas." He leaves almost all of the original elements intact – the gloriously cheesy strings and choral backing voices, Crosby's exquisite baritone voice and lyrical whistling – and adds funky drumming, Motownstyle bass and little filigrees of electric guitar.

You might well wonder what anyone could possibly do to improve a Mahalia Jackson recording of "Silent Night." 46Bliss closes the album by demonstrating that it's not only possible to make Mahalia funky but to do so while leaving the unaffected reverence of her original performance intact. On this remix, the drums strut in an almost martial manner, and echo is added to Mahalia's voice and that of her backing choir in a manner that evokes dubwise reggae in its sense of spirituality and mystical wonder. It's a fitting end to what is sure to be one of the highlight releases of the 2005 holiday season.