SAINT PEPSI WE BELONG TOGETHER

It's basically like this guy just cannot stop making good music. Like, it's literally impossible. Who am I talking about? I'm talkin' 'bout Saint Pepsi (real life dude: Ryan DeRobertis). His style seems to be changing with pretty much every new song he releases and that is not a bad thing whatsoever. Not only does it show versatility in his own creative process, switching effortlessly from the emo-trap-wave of Fader-premiered breakthrough hit 'Unhappy' to the urban grooves of this lovely number: 'We Belong Together'.

The title gives it away, but this is basically a remix of Mariah Carey's POP CLASSIC of the same name. Mariah Carey is one of my favourite ladies of pop, so this song arrived as pretty much a bonus package for me.

It's the garage flavour of this song that really gets me though. There's a I'm-getting-ready-to-go-out-tonight-and-I'm-gonna-look-fabulous or maybe I'm-in-a-rush-to-get-home-and-I'm-stuck-in-traffic-but-I'm-dancing-in-my-car-so-it's-ok kinda vibe to the itchy hi-hat shakiness of the driving beat - an instant late night classic with all the trimmings. A jangly snippet of funky disco guitar adds a lovely flourish of spice to the tune - calling to mind Saint Pepsi's own roots in sampling classic-if-obscure disco and funk tunes to massively fun effect (when I first wrote about him, for instance) and also his past and current contributions to label/collective KEATS//COLLECTIVE - as does the ubiquitous but always nice to hear "Woo! Yeah!" James Brown sample and the occasional group chant of "PARTY!" - is this EVER a party song!

Then there's his treatment of the sample. As soon as Mariah's vocals come in, it's clear that this is like... an instant hit. If you don't like it then I dunno you must just like a certain type of music or something - because anyone with OPEN ears can hear the goodness here. Yes, it's from a classic song itself, but the way they have been treated, the different landscape, the new imagined vehicle for Mariah Carey's voice as ultra-urban and retro-futurist, are inventive and fun. Chopping that same sample up and throwing it around at the end like confetti is just the icing on the cake. Love it. Who doesn't?

This, by the way, comes from a compilation by entity STYLSS; it's the latest in a series of monthly collections of songs by likeminded artists: Suicide Pact. This is Volume 9 of that btw.

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