Kanye vs. Dido- Here With Kanye

Kanye West vs. Dido- Here With Kanye (Link 2) (Link 3)

I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a little bit of a bass junky, and my current standing is that very few things in recorded music can be quite as stunning as a well executed mash-up. Thankfully, the collective blogosphere is close to collapsing under its own weight, as the latest hits are often ‘mashed’ days after their release. It’s a new business model, and some bands embrace it (Radiohead- who gave away their stems- and Passion Pit- who commisioned a remix contest)… after all, remixes and mash-ups are free publicity.

It has been, by all accounts, a fantastic weekend. Things started off well on Friday, followed by a BBQ yesterday, a day of sunshine, Star Trek (absolutely fantastic, by the way), clubbing and then a great time with some old friends. I then lazed around, cleaned up, watched the F1 and got very little work done today. This song was the icing on the cake.

I think the reason mash-ups have been receiving bad press is that often, the most publicised ones are blunt, and belong in the club. The mixed songs are overloaded on their lonesome. ‘Here With Kanye’ cuts a different figure. It’s down-beat, mixing Kanye’s most introspective work to date, ‘Say You Will’, with Didos ‘Here With You’. All I know is that this was put together by Joshua- if you are out there, leave a comment. It’s extremely impressive, and highly considerate of the original work and it’s intentions.

It’s worth considering that this isn’t Dido’s first foray into the ‘rap game’- she was, after all, Eminem’s essential female foil in ‘Stan’, his best work to date. And yet again, her voice and acoustic sound complement the electronic aspects of Kanye’s latest work. Joshua throws everything at this song, and even coordinates a brave harmony between their voices at times.

‘Say You Will’ is hypnotic at the best of times, and it’s really easy to lose yourself to this song. The mix has Kanye’s seal of approval, which is great news. So Mr. West likes it… but can you dig it?



2 Responses to “Kanye vs. Dido- Here With Kanye”

1. Fllu says:

   June 4, 2009 at 2:10 am

   Kanye West and Dido… Kind of like Santana and Sean Paul
2. Will says:

   June 5, 2009 at 2:38 am

   Match made in heaven- thanks for all your comments lately!

   What happened to Santana anyway? I haven’t heard any new material in a while (maybe I’m not looking hard enough)…