Thumper have announced the release of a remixes EP focused on their recent single Topher Grace. The Topher Grace Remixes EP set for release on 20th November 2020 on Reckless Records features remixes by Senu, Aonair, Russell Grand the original single.
“Topher Grace had a release plan that involved dropping it mid-pandemic, and with all promotional touring axed, it didn’t exactly scream Brilliant Career Move. However, it quickly became championed by everyone from BBC6, Kerrang and notably Duran Duran who quoted it extensively in a podcast episode” explains singer Oisin Furlong. “With that in mind we wanted to see if we could mine any more magic from this happy accident – so we give you the Topher Grace Remixes EP: A collection of reimagined versions by creators that we admire”
Check out the original track below. We spoke to Oisin about Topher Grace at the time of its release – check out what he had to say for himself here
Senu explains how he approached his remix of Topher Grace. “Firstly, trying to channel the aggressive and destructive nature of a THUMPER live show. This was done by taking the stems of the original song, aggressively editing every instrument and vocal track separately via granulation, resampling and additional effects, decimating the sounds of each instrument passed the point of recognition. Secondly, taking the mood of the track and inverting it to be much calmer. Lastly, with a suggestion (from Alan) of reintroducing Oisín’s lead outro vocal into the chorus the song was finished.”
The second remix was created by Aonair: “The first time I heard this song live it just stood out to me in the set. I loved the vocal delivery and it sounded like somewhat of a departure from other songs. The lyrical delivery and form reminded me of James Murphy so I knew that I wanted my remix to draw from that DFA sound. Basically, I wanted it to be an angsty disco-punk jam that still retained the THUMPER energy. The vocal is the only thing I sampled from THUMPER. The focus was on a big synth bass and roomy sounding drum grooves. I had Mason Millen provide some chaotic live saxophone parts in the post-chorus noise solos, and in the chorus, I repitched the vocals with a vocoder and changed the chords around to feel like a departure from the verse groove. The outro was a throwback to LCD too, with their loose vocal harmony style. I thought it was funny to throw some nice major harmonies over such a serious lyric. The track fades out with some samples of people talking at parties; “the party continues without me”.
Russell Grand, the third contributor to the remix explains his approach to remixing the track: “I wanted this remix to feel relentless, groovy, wobbly, dirty, euphoric, and all the colours of the weekend. I transposed the guitar riff onto the synth, chopped up those backing vocals and I don’t remember much after that.”
Listen to Thumper’s discography to date below. Pre-save the Topher Grace EP here