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The Fort Knox Five (Sid Barcelona, Jon Horvath, Rob Myers and Steve Raskin) have been running their global funk and breaks label in Washington DC since 2003. For their latest release, Radio Free DC Remixed, they invited an eclectic group of producers to reinterpret music from their debut album. These remixers created 16 party rocking tunes that span the genres of hip-hop, breaks, electro, dubstep, disco and dub. The record is being released this Saturday (4th of July) with a big party at the Black Cat and they’ve been kind enough to offer us a sampling of the depth and breadth of the compilation for your listening pleasure.

Insight (A Skillz Remix)

Insight is the lead track on our original album and it features Asheru from the indie hip-hop group, The Unspoken Heard. Ash is also known for writing and performing the theme song for the Boondocks. We’ve been wanting to collaborate with him for ages and when we finally got him into the studio we worked out a song that really set the tone for the new album. For the remix, we knew that we wanted someone to do a completely different take on the original, so we enlisted A Skillz from the UK’s top Breakbeat label, Fingerlickin’. A Skillz transformed the original hip hop mix into a dancefloor stormer with his signature heavy breaks and infectious basslines. His remix shed new light to Asheru’s lyrics “Music with a meaning, party with a purpose. Being smart with the art makes the average folks nervous . . .”

Funk 4 Peace (Nick Thayer Remix)

Funk 4 Peace was our quasi-political anthem written with our longtime collaborator, Mustafa Akbar. The title of the song came from the name of a benefit we threw with Afrika Bambaataa to raise money for the Red Cross right after 9/11. When we were coming up with our short list of remixers, we knew that our friend Nick Thayer would be perfect for this song. We met Nick on one of our many tours in Australia and he’s one of our favorite breakbeat producer’s down there. Nick totally flipped the DC go-go vibe of the original into a full on party jam with dirty basslines and commanding party chants. The song clocks in at 92 bpm, but it rocks the floor everytime.

Funk 4 Peace (Deekline & Ed Solo Remix)

We had a number of producers work on several of the same tracks and we are blown away at how different all of the remixes turned out. Deekline and Ed Solo’s take on Funk 4 Peace is a great example of this. For their remix, they created a monster tune that they could rock prime time in the main room of Fabric.
As one of the leading edge UK breaks production teams, we expected nothing but tight breaks, heavy basslines and infectious sitar grooves. They completely blew our minds when they asked Shunda K from Yo Majesty to add her vocal style which really took their mix to the next level.

Killa Soundboy (Sub Swara Remix)

We met NYC’s dubstep crew, Sub Swara at Burning Man and we immediately became huge fans of their sound. They asked us to do a remix of a tune called ‘The Balance’ on their debut album a few months back. To return the favor, they gave us their take on Killa Soundboy. They completely elevated the song into a frenetic, dubstep masterpiece. Listen to the tune and you’ll see what we mean – it speaks for itself.

The Wonder Strikes Again (Malente’s Champion Sound Remix)

Sleepy Wonder is known for his rapid-fire freestyle vocals, so when we got him into the studio, we just let the tape roll and ‘The Wonder Strikes Again’ was the result. When we asked our friend Malente for a remix, we didn’t think it was possible to take Sleepy’s original vocals and make them even more hyperactive. Somehow Malente twists the vocals into a heady dub mantra which flows on top of pounding breaks and wobbly basslines. This mix is a lethal combination of electro and dub and truly deserves the title ‘Champion Sound’.

Crucial Details:
The official Radio Free DC Remixed Album Release Party is this Saturday, July 4th at the Black Cat.
Check out the Fort Knox Five performing on 4 Turntables with Live Visuals with MCs Asheru and Mustafa Akbar along with special guests the All Good Funk Alliance and DJ Regal.

Doors @ 10pm – 2am
$10
All Ages

Radio Free DC Remixed will be available July 6th on iTunes and record stores worldwide

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