Hi crew,
I’m excited to be posting the ninth installment in our EditudeCity edit/remix series. This one is a punchy, poppy remake of the Time Bandit’s 1982 Classic “Live It Up”. The band was formed in 1981 by Dutch born Alides Hidding, who wrote all songs and sang lead vocals. The band’s four albums made the charts all over the world, establishing a presence on the American dance music scene by topping the charts with this jam.
I’ve always had a sweet spot for this synth-heavy monster but several things make it tricky to play out in a club context: First, the original is extremely unquantized, making beat matching a distant reality for most DJ’s. Second, the guitar-ridden, overly-energetic uplifting chorus (which appears three times throughout the track) pushes the lines of cheesy in my opinion. Finally, the amazing breakdown at the end rarely gets heard as it doesn’t come in until the very end of the arrangement.
So, this version is now DJ friendly after being given the 4/4 quantization treatment. An entirely new kick drum has been compressed into the final mix for extra dance-floor punch. The track has been completely restructured to bring the incredible breakdown more to the forefront, as well as to build anticipation to one instance of the chorus versus three. Finally, extensive cuts, effects, and edits have been sprinkled throughout the arrangement to build anticipation and add some extra interest.
I hope you enjoy and share!
Time Bandits – Live It Up (While Getting Down Edit) 6:22, 118 bpm, 320 kbps
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(If you missed any of the past 8, here are are all our previous edits)
About a year ago, local Minneapolis sonic magicians Bella Koshka and boogie-driven Attitude City lingered over a few cocktails and tossed around the idea of doing a remix of one of Bella Koshka’s songs.