I’ve been a fan of Aluna (of AlunaGeorge) since the duo dropped their first few singles back in what, 2011? 2012? It’s been a while since I’ve kept tabs on them, but Aluna released her solo debut this year, Renaissance, via Mad Decent. It’s full of hot dance tunes that I would have LOVED to hear blasted from a nice club sound system. Instead, I’ve been loading my exercise playlist full of them, especially “Don’t Hit My Line”.
Recently, Aluna dropped a remix of another album highlight “Envious” by Kiddy Smile and let me tell you – it has accompanied me for every run since it dropped, at least two or three times replayed each time at that. It’s an expertly arranged, uptempo house remix with rubbery bass, sly synthetic strings in the background and a super-effective piano for emphasis. Another element to the song (that I always chalk up to a Jamie xx comparison) is a gliding, high-flying melodic synth in the background, establishing a frame of stability while the rest of the song is moving at a lightning-fast pace. Like I said earlier, I can’t listen to this song just once. It’s a two-three-four replay for me.
If you’re looking for uptempo electronic to add to your run + dance + movement playlist, please check out Renaissance and this remix here. There have been other remixes released from the album as well, and lord knows they’re amazing.