I first talked to _mero the day the iPhone 4 came out in Dublin. We both got one that day, and I think we both got the last ones available in the shops we went to. I was a complete iPhone noob so he was able to tell me all the various different cool things I could do. Like how to get an iTunes account without a credit card just for free apps (Twitter is a way of life). But as well as being a phone geek he’s also a pretty good DJ, playing for Mr Jones in Dublin’s Twisted Pepper. He’s recently been making some tunes and edits and putting them on Soundcloud, and I’m really digging his remix of Caribou‘s Kaili.

I’ll be honest and say that a lot of the time I think remixes of “indie” bands are more often than not a bit pointless, but this works for two reasons. First of all, this Caribou album isn’t just an indie album. I berated a friend of mine for ages earlier on this year because he said Swim was a “dance album”. I hadn’t listened yet, and was assuming it was more of that psych/folk/dream stuff. Bam, I was wrong. Secondly, _mero’s take on this track is a both a fleshing out of the original track for dancefloor-friendliness, as well as a chance for him to flex some tripped out dubstep stylings over the top. Well, he’s got it tagged as dubstep on his Soundcloud, but it’s a bit slow for that. Do we need to get into the genre debate?! He’s got some angry stabs bouncing around between verses as the OG fades in and out. It’s almost got a bit of a Booka Shade flavour floating through, before he letting everything drift away and build right back up again. Ultimately it’s a gentle revision of this ace track from an ace album – if anything the original smashes in too quickly and so I like the way this eases you into the proceedings rather than hitting you over the head or anything.

CARIBOU – KAILI (_MERO REMIX) (320 kbps)

So I think this is a lesson to remixers of semi-popular under-the-radar indie acts everywhere – be subtle.