This week’s mix is brought exclusively to you by two of Sydney’s finest, Chris Stracey and Jack Glass aka Bag Raiders. The electronic duo, best known for their generation defining anthem “Shooting Stars”, are following up their huge 2019, which saw the release of their second album Horizons, with a brand-new remix EP. The How Long (Remixes) EP, released last Friday, includes two mixes of their 2019 hit “How Long ft. Panama” from Close Counters and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. In celebration of the new remixes, Bag Raiders have provided Backyard Opera with an exclusive mix.
The Bag Raiders 2020 Mix has a little something for everyone, highlighting the duo’s broad range of musical influences. Three original tracks appear in the mix, “I Need You”, “Back to Myself” ft. Tora and Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs’ remix of “How Long”, but they are evenly spread out at the beginning, middle and end to shine a spotlight on the sampled material. Featuring eleven other artists, Bag Raiders have curated an eclectic mix of genres and sounds. However, the variation in the mix is grounded in their own tight production style, making the fluid movement between moods and textures both exciting and interesting. At times, the mix will be an upbeat dance mix, with wobbly disco guitars, bright keyboards, sweeping synths and powerful drum loops driving the energy forward on tracks like “Work it Out” by A-Trak. At others, it will be a dark, trance inducing trip, with wide bass booms, spinning percussion effects and clashing tribal rhythms leaning into experimental territory on tracks like “Moog Beat” by Melé. There is even some rock, with a sensational sampling of Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know The Better” appearing early in the mix. It finishes on their track “Back to Myself” ft. Tora, which slows the mix down for a cathartic finale.
Check it out …
Backyard Opera was able to sit down with Bag Raiders to discuss the mix. Here’s what they had to say:
Describe the mix in three words?
Dancey, vibey, spicy
What are the big influences in this mix?
When we play live we tend to throw in a bit of everything, so we tried to capture this on the mix. There’s some housey jams, throwback, breakbeat, some cheeky Australian gems and also some new stuff from us!
What gear did you use while producing it and how can we hear it in the mix? (feel free to include the software, like what DAW and/or plugins you used)
The mix was put together on Ableton, it’s handy when you’re on the road. We use Ableton a whole heap including our live show that we’re taking to the US.
Are there elements of the new EP that can be heard in this mix?
You can hear a mix from our good friend Orlando, aka Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs’ remix of How Long which is our current single with the legend Panama. We also popped in some choons off our album Horizons which we dropped last year.
What’s the ideal situation to listen to this mix? (eg. House party, in the car, at home, etc.)
Preferably after a few drinks, but you can listen anywhere at all!