Mischief Brew make merry with more edits

These days re-edits are ten-a-penny. It seems everyone and their dog is flexing their editing skills and taking a virtual scalpel to every disco, funk and balearic record under the sun. While some of these edits are top notch, many border on the pointless - slight dancefloor extensions for editing's sake, rather than any real desire to do something interesting and impressive with the original.

Of those edit series on the market, Mischief Brew's occasional 12s are among the best. So far, the mysterious edit crew have turned out re-cuts of Kraftwerk, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (a brilliantly bittersweet extension of 'If You Can Want' released back in 2004), Serge Gainsbourg, JJ Cale (the West Coast swamp funk of 'Ride Me High'), Harry Thurman (the OTT disco delight 'Underwater') and, most famously, Goerge McRae's 'I Get Lifted'. The vast majority of these edits have not only been excellent selections, but also decent edits in their own right - no unecessary reworkings of obvious Salsoul faves or shocking soft-rock monstrosities can be found in the Mischief Brew catalogue. Yet, at least.

This month they return with a new edit 12, a single-sided extension of the Ashantis' 'Everybody Move', a steaming dancefloor groover that sits somewhere between afrobeat, swamp funk (think their edit of JJ Cale) and trippy disco. If that makes sense.
It has a weird kind of psychedelic quality to it, whilst retaining a strong dancefloor sensibility. As if that wasn't enough, the Mischief Brew boys are also slyly releasing a bootleg mix CD featuring 15 more of their edits – ranging from Al Green and the Fatback Band to Liquid Liquid, the Spencer Davis Group and The Clash - all mashed together in a party-rocking fashion. If you come across it, it's definitely worth checking. Not all of the edits are exactly revolutionary, but as a mix it rocks hard and the entertainment levels are up there with the best of 'em.

If you want to find out more about the Mischief Brew boys (or at least what they'll let you know), you can access their website by clicking on the heading of this post.

Mischief Brew - Everybody Move 12" (Mischief Brew) - Released Feb 2007
Mischief Brew - Funk Fusion Re-Edits Vol 2 CD (Mischief Brew) - Released Feb 2007