Michael Muller – Billy Idol
Imagine one day, someone asks you to remix “White Wedding,” the ubiquitous ’80s rock classic by Billy Idol most of us have heard enough times to have melodically memorized. That’s what happened to LA-based producer Cray. She’s not even as old as the song is, but she somehow managed to breathe new life into the storied hit while keeping true to its original edge, and so did everyone on the 15-track remix album, Vital Idol: Revitalized.
Alongside Cray’s energetic “White Wedding” sits RAC’s even-synthier “Dancing With Myself,” Tropkillaz’ brooding “Eyes Without A Face,” The Crystal Method’s glitchy “Rebel Yell,” and Moby’s percussive “(Do Not) Stand In The Shadows.” Juan Maclean, Paul Oakenfold, Shiba San and more round out the collection. It’s a pretty punky batch sure to get you jammin’. Hear what the remixers had to say about the honorable and daunting task.
CRAY
“I was so stoked when they asked to do this remix. I love Billy and ‘White Wedding’ was one of my favorites so I felt incredibly lucky. I think theres a really cool trend happening right now where old and new music meet and create something new and I’m glad to have been apart of it.”
RAC
“When I started making music as RAC 12 years ago, I never imagined that I would be able to listen to the inner workings of such classic work. It was so much fun to take Billy’s song apart and try to create something new and different. Remixing is about reinvention, not replacement.”
Shiba San
“To remix one of one of Rock n Roll’s biggest legends, Billy Idol, has been an honor. It was a special opportunity to work on such a classic song.”
Moby
“I’ve been a huge fan of Billy Idol since I first heard ‘Generation X’ on college radio in the late 70’s. It was a thrill to be able to deconstruct and remix one of his songs for this album”
Scott Kirkland of The Crystal Method
“To a young stubborn metal head growing up in Vegas, ‘Rebel Yell’ was really special to me as it crossed all the genres, metal, punk, new wave and hard rock. Billy’s delivery and Steve’s guitar gave the track a unique swagger and the song shone through to me. Having the chance to work on such an iconic track is always special. I tried to keep the elements that spoke to me all those years ago and hope I have done it justice.“
Paul Oakenfold
“I’ve been a fan of Billy Idol for years. One of rock and roll’s great entertainers.”
DJDS
“We had a lot of fun remixing ‘To Be A Lover.’ Our goal was to try to do something really minimal and modern; coming up with version that could be worked into any club set today. Billy’s vocals here oddly reminded us of some of our favorite Rap and R&B of the current moment. Just really loose and cool.”
TropKillaz
“Remixing a classic is always a difficult mission, trying to bring fresh air into something which has already been accepted as a ‘classic.’ However, this is our favourite Billy Idol song – and to our public, maybe it wasn’t the most obvious choice of song, so it was an honour to be able to remix and try something different.”
Vital Idol: Revitalized is out now on Capitol Records. Listen to it in full below.
