American DJ Dillon Francis has been making waves in the electronic music scene as of late. Back in September, he dropped “Anywhere,” a Bieber “Sorry” style tune topped with vocals by Will Heard, whom you might recognize from a 2013 duet with Cara Delevingne.
Christmas came early this year when Francis released an EP of “Anywhere” remixes on December 2. A standout among the delectable earworm remixes is the one by A-Trak, a Canadian DJ whose real name is Alain Macklovitch.
Macklovitch has added a long list of credits to his name since his career took off in 2004 after he joined forces with Kanye West. He’s served as West’s tour DJ and worked with him during live television performances and on studio albums “Late Registration” and “Graduation.” Macklovitch is also co-founder of Fool’s Gold record label, alongside Nick Catchdubs. Back in 2014, Rolling Stone recognized A-Trak as one of the 50 most important people in EDM.
In short, the guy knows what he’s doing.
Lyrically, the song is typical ooey gooey love-pop fodder. Heard reminisces about how his love seems to be with him all the time, even when he’s alone, though others couldn’t possibly begin to understand it.
“Cause they don’t know you like I know you/I know they don’t/No, they don’t/And they won’t love you like I love you,” Heard sings before dropping into the soothingly repetitive chorus where he promises that he’ll “take you anywhere I go, anywhere.”
Perhaps what’s so striking about this particular remix is that it contains classical romantic elements like the soaring violins and declarative vocals one would expect to hear on a romantic comedy movie soundtrack.
Simplicity is what makes this track work as both a club banger and an upbeat pop song. Repetition isn’t always admired in the songwriting and producing worlds. But the repetition, both lyrical and synthesized, makes this track a reliable jam in a genre focused primarily on newness and experimentalism.
Can’t get enough of this Dillon Francis track? Another standout remix to check out on the EP is Felix Cartal’s. He’s added female vocals that sing alongside Heard’s and add complementary layers to the track.
Check out the song here.
Photo by swimfinfan, Creative Commons, 2014.
