Wednesday, May 27, 2020

The B-52's - Remix EPs



In the mid-2000s, a small British label called Planet Clique, specializing in dance music, released a series of remix EPs of classic B-52's hits, mostly on vinyl.  The label was an offshoot of Manhattan Clique, maintained by founders Philip Larsen and Chris Smith, collectively referred to by the moniker "MHC". 

From their website:

One of the most enduring and well-respected remix teams of the last decade, Manhattan Clique have worked with some of the biggest names in pop and dance music, delivering over 200 dance/crossover remixes to date for all the world's major labels and many independents.  Highlights include Katy Perry, Charli XCX, Emeli Sandé, Lady Gaga, DJ Fresh, Ellie Goulding, Nicole Scherzinger, Britney Spears, Carly Rae Jepsen, Example, Wretch 32 and many more.

Manhattan Clique remixes regularly reside in the upper reaches of dance, club and pop charts in the UK, US and across Europe. Their remix edits are also hugely popular with radio stations, gaining support on BBC Radio 1, Kiss and Capital in the UK, and across a large number of radio stations in the US.  The team are also well known in the blogging world, picking up regular plaudits from leading music bloggers such as Popjustice, Perez Hilton and Arjan Writes.

Manhattan Clique have also worked with some of the biggest artists in Europe; from Germany's Frida Gold, Norway's Ida Maria, Holland's Esmée Denters, Russia's Valeriya to French megastar Mylene Farmer. Her duet with Moby, "Slipping Away" was Manhattan Clique's first #1 production, as well as Moby's first and only #1 single, spending several weeks at the top of the French singles chart in 2006. 

Outside Manhattan Clique, Philip Larsen has additionally won a Grammy award for his mix work on Kylie Minogue’s "Come Into My World".  Chris Smith runs the PR and marketing company Renegade Music, based in London, who consult for a wide variety of new and established UK and international talent.

Their remix EP of songs from Whammy! came out in 2005, followed by their Mesopotamia remixes the following year and their reimagining of songs from Wild Planet the year after.  All in all, I found these modified songs to be mostly interesting and enjoyable, and a welcome addition to the overall B-52's catalog.

Took me forever to find these discs... and as usual, I'm happy to share them with my fellow Bee-Fives fans.

So here, for your enjoyment and perusal, is the Whammy! - 2005 Remix EP, the Mesopotamia - 2006 Remix EP, and the Wild Planet - 2007 Remix EP, released in limited editions by Planet Clique in the years indicated.  Enjoy, and as always, let me know what you think.

Please use the email link below to contact me, and I will reply with the download link(s) ASAP:

Whammy! - 2005 Remix EP: Send Email
Mesopotamia - 2006 Remix EP:  Send Email
Wild Planet - 2007 Remix EP: Send Email

14 comments:

  1. Thank you for the links / link back. You always come correct w/ the obscure B-52's material. Always! Thanks & see you around!

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  2. huge thanks for your generosity! very cool stuff. stay safe and healthy!

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  3. Big B 52`s fan here. Great blog buddy. Many tnx! the remixes are fantastic!

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  4. More great B-52s rarities here. Thanks a ton!

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  5. Great share from the past and who doesn't love some B-52's? Thanks so much, I am enjoying these already, you're the best!!!

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  6. Having yet more B-52s in my life is the most surefire way to bring a smile to my face. These remixes would certainly fit in on an early 2000s DJ playlist. I also wanted to point out that your Jane Wiedlin commentary was spot on. Thank you again for the share. You have really added some killer rarities to my collection.

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  7. Thank you for sharing these. At first I was taken aback at how different from the originals some these mixes were, but then it became fun to hear familiar songs in a completely different context. It was a fun listen!

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  8. Thanks for sharing these with us! It's such a pleasure to finally hear them!

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  9. Thank you so much for these, love some B-52's, I always seem to play them more when the warmer weather starts to arrive. My favourite songs are Deadbeat Club, Summer Of Love, Roam and Song For A Future Generation. Looking forward to hearing the mixes here that I haven't heard already. :)

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  10. Cheers for these. I was initially skepitcal as many remixes from this era can be of the cheesy trance/house variety but these are more solid in a way that would fit into a retro DJ set where you want to spice things up a little.

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  11. Many thanks, friend!

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  12. I wasn't even aware of these - thank you!!

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  13. Thank you so very much for the lost Mesopotamia mixes. They Are Absolutely Brilliant, Mate!

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  14. Hey Buddy - thanks so much for the links for these interesting remixes! Cheers

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