Touching the vocals of a classic artist such as Michael Jackson is always a tricky one, but what LEGOVE added to this all-time favourite really makes it feel different and new again.
Rowdy Lewing is a 31-year-old producer living in Enschede, a small city in the east of the Netherlands, where he's been making music as LEGOVE. People that know him might think of his more experimental electronic outputs, such as the mind-bending self-released debut album 'Hawks Eye View' in 2012. But with these remixes he portrays a softer side of his sound.
LEGOVE has been flipping several acapellas throughout the years, mostly by R&B vocalists, such as 'You Are Enough' by American gospel/soul singer Sheléa. He made that one last year right after she shared the vocals on Instagram and finished it in a day. The unique way the warm chords, soft synths and other melodic phrases float around the vocals exhibit his distinct ear and attention to detail. This quality is present in all his productions and therefore it's highly recommended to listen to his music with good headphones.
Michael Jackson's 'Rock With You' originally got released in 1979 on his timeless Off The Wall solo album and was produced by the legendary Quincy Jones and written by the British singer/songwriter Rod Temperton, who was part of the band Heatwave. With these heavyweights of the music industry involved on the original it's not an easy task to try and give it your own spin while still doing the original framework justice. The subtle broken beat-esque drum pattern differs from the original and right from the start creates a new groove. Guitar, synths and harp melodies have beautiful conversations with MJ's voice and really tell a story. Then when he arrives at the bridge the synth arpeggios rise up and start taking it in a new direction. The second time he brings back the bridge and the final phrase with the iconic lyrics"You know that love survives, so we can rock forever" the remix takes another twist with an intensely felt reharmonization before going into a vamp with Michael's vocal sound FX and vibe out all the way till the end.
This is a remix you might have to play a couple of times so you can slowly let go of the countless memories of hearing the original before fully embracing the new direction. When you do though, it will get better on every listen as you're beginning to hear more carefully placed nuances you'll find loving from then on.
As an unofficial remix it's not for sale and will only be available on his Soundcloud page.
Ps. If this article made you want learn more on the artist LEGOVE, read the in-depth article we published earlier by clicking HERE.
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