Chromeo - Lost On The Way Home (Feat. Solange) (Mat Zo Remix)

Chromeo absolutely knocked it out of the park earlier this year when they dropped their third collection of slightly ironic funk, White Women. As a matter of fact, it's one of my favourite albums of the year so far. Aside from the singles that were released, the obvious stand out track was the duo's collaboration with Beyoncé's little sister, Solange, entitled Lost On The Way Home. It had such a great retro vibe, but with all the modern production values you'd expect from Chromeo.



The track obviously caught the attention of Mat Zo, too, as he's just unleashed his remix of the track, which takes the original to another level by turning it into a feisty Drum & Bass number. Is it a successful transition, or is it... uh... there's a joke to be made about getting lost somewhere there, but I can't be bothered to think of it. Anyway, you know the drill - read more below.

Right from the word go, you know that this is going to be a big remix. The massive delay/reverb on the kick and snare sets the tone for the scale that's being aimed for here. There's the odd whispered lyric behind this, but at the beginning, there's an ambiguity, an uncertainty - there are few clues as to what we can expect. And then it drops, and what we get is a lightning paced drop, with an almost erratic melody, and frantic quavers underpinning the whole thing.

I've got to confess, I don't like the intro. I can't quite put my finger on why, but I think it's because out of context of the lyrics and other additions that are made later, it doesn't make much sense to me, and everything happens too quickly - that, and I'm not wild on the melody line.

I'm glad that I stuck with it, though, because as the remix begins to kick off, and Solange's sultry vocals make a proper entry, everything seems to make a lot more sense. In particular, I really enjoy the half tempo parts that feature Dave 1's vocals, which give Mat's remix some much required breathing space. In isolation, the massively reverbed drums seem excessive and unnecessary, but during these sections they simply melt into the background and are used far more successfully.

Is it as good as the original? No. But then, it's exceedingly rare that a remix is as good as, or better than, the material upon which it's based. Mat obviously has a flare for Drum & Bass, and although there are certain aspects of his Lost On The Way Home remix that I find somewhat irritating, it succeeds where it needs to, and is an interesting and welcome twist on the original track. Here's hoping Mat goes back to doing more D&B in the future, because it's obvious he's just as talented at that as he is at everything else.

Oh, and I forgot to mention - as with all of Mat's recent releases, his remix of Lost On The Way Home is free to download. What a top guy.

The Octopus' Rating: 5.5/8

Release Details:

Name: Lost On The Way Home (Feat. Solange) (Mat Zo Remix)
Artists: Chromeo, Mat Zo (remixer)
Label: N/A
Release Date: 17 August [OUT NOW]
Purchase: Free Download

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Alex Simpson

Writer, musician, and all-round top guy. I set up Excited Octopus. Currently, I'm on a one man team. It gets lonely sometimes. But I don't mind, because I love you all.

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