Amy Kress will release a 10-track remix album of her dance pop track, "Numb" on July 31st.
For four months in the winter of 2014-2015, Kress endured aggressive chemotherapy treatments to combat her second recurrence of breast cancer. In the heart of a blossoming transition to make music a full-time career, it was devastating and exhausting to hear that her cancer had come back and made for an all-encompassing battle.
Launching a remix contest via Remix Comps for "Numb" was an uplifting experience that exceeded expectations. From the moment her phone pinged at 3:00 a.m. receiving the first remix by Cesar Hazel, music became the ultimate therapy.
Kress received 104 submissions from producers from Grand Rapids, MI to Budapest, Hungary. While initially intending on choosing one winner and 4 songs for the album, she is no stranger to breaking the rules and decided to choose 2 grand prize winners as well as 8 additional runners up and release not one but TWO remix compilations. As the album covers would imply, fans and listeners are encouraged by buy copies of each disc so they can put the discs side-by-side to see the full album art—and listen to all 10 tracks, of course. The album is available on iTunes, Spotify and all major distributors on July 31st. A limited number of physical copies will be available at Kress' upcoming shows including her Secret House Show August 1st and Denver Crawl for Cancer Pre-Party at Armoury on August 7th.
The first winner is Basal, Switzerland-based producer, Grey. It's no surprise that his interpretation caught Kress' attention. The introduction comes out of the gate with face-paced, but unabrasively hypnotic sequencer hits complimented by lush chords on the piano in the background that usher forward motion into the first verse. Once her unmistakable "I am numb" words hit, the sequencer halts and passes the baton to rich strings backing Kress' vocals with tastefully placed reverb effects on her vocals. After the bridge, the second chorus takes a different spin running the vocals through a vocoder that Kress herself said, "moved her to tears" and really "captured the empty, lonely feel of the lyrics."
Boehmusic takes an entirely different approach in his rendition of "Numb" using accordion leads and a clave drumming pattern that would make listeners think they were on a whimsical stroll in Paris. The verse doesn't need much more than a simple brush and rim-shot drumming pattern with piano comping in the background but Boehmusic makes sure to build intensity as the chorus escalates with virtuosic accordion fills and eerie, yet enchanting "oooing" and "ahhing" backing vocals.
Other notable remixes of note are the Hazel remix which exudes duality at its finest with an intro that sounds like it could easily be a music box being opened up that quickly crescendos into club-like dance beats by the time the chorus hits. Dirtyfrequence takes you to a late night festival scene with his dub-trap adaptation that incorporates wobble bass, glitches, and high-pitched synth work.
Listeners are bound to find a take on "Numb" that suits their musical palate and the remix album concept will take you back to the mid-late 90s when Björk would have multiple remixes of all of her singles played anywhere from dance clubs to coffee shops. Kress will follow up the remix album release with her sophomore album "Fly" out this fall. For more information and to stay up-to-date on Amy Kress, visit: amykressmusic.com
