Blende has been on our radar for a few months after he started giving away a slew of expertly crafted re-edits of some of our favourite 80’s guilty pleasures. Since then his star has been rising like a rocket with countless well-received remixes and now he is making his debut on Belgium disco label Eskimo Recordings.
Blende’s ‘Fake Love’ basically nails that concept of electro disco; it’s brash, fun and always exciting. If we were a betting man we’d say he was a Belgian in disguise.
‘Fake Love’ has everything we’d associate with his sound; it’s brimming with bulbous kicks, stunning piano lines and a stunning female vocal from Rebecca (from Rebecca and Fiona) to give it a pop-edge. By the time you hit the halfway mark your hit with a wave of rising violins as the good-ship Blende reaches for the stars. The more we hear the Belgian undercover agent the more he reminds us a Mylo back in the good ol’ days when he was a prolific remixer.
On the remix duties are HBF favourites Villa. While the Belgian duo have had a pretty quiet during 2012 – they’ve once again reminded us why they’re probably the most underrated Belgian producers around. Their remix concentrates on the disco/electro concept as they layer guitar riff over guitar riff until you hit the drop and then it goes all Ed Banger disco. Pure genius.
Elsewhere there are remixes from The Living Islands who goes for a more traditional melodic disco reinterpretation – it’s a not as exciting, but is a perfect counter to the club fodder than has come before it. It’s simpler, warmer and a decent slice of Belgian disco.
The final remix comes from Chordashian – which has to be one of the greatest artist names we’ve heard in 2012. His/Her remix would be our dark horse award; it falls somewhere between the warm piano lines of The Living Islands remix and Villa’s more straight-up electro remix.
HBF Rating 5/5
Out September 17 via Eskimo Recordings.
