Sally Shapiro

With Sally Shapiro’s sweetly nostalgic debut, Disco Romance, it was love at first listen. Similarly seduced by her unpretentious but glamorous vocals, and the record’s melancholic disco compositions, were dozens of suitors clamouring to climb into bed with the Swedish princess for her follow-up remix project, Remix Romance Vol. 1. Handpicked by Paper Bag and Johan Agebjörn (her pimp/producer), the entire album is remixed without duplication and includes the anathema of having Canadian producers remix a European artist. Concerning the album, Shapiro apparently remarked that some were better than the originals, and she isn’t wrong, especially Tensnake’s mix of "I’ll Be By Your Side” and the Cansecos’ cover of "Hold Me So Tight.” Despite the inclusion of more audacious and unusual producers such as Holy Fuck, Woodhands and Jon Brooks, the album is far from adventurous — the most noticeable and consistent change occurs with the original’s intentional, but nevertheless, homogenous beats. Woodhands treat "Anorak Christmas” with twitchy live percussion, while the Junior Boys strip "Jackie Junior” (coincidence?) bare, replacing the guts with an oscillating baseline that bounces through nearly empty space. Even Holy Fuck’s vivisection of "Find My Soul” is unexpectedly mild. Almost a covers album, Remix Romance’s strength lies in subtle improvements to already stellar songs.