Peter Bjorn & John make music that begs for to be remixed. The Swedish trio often gives the gift of remixing as frequently as they receive it. (Their remix of The Shins‘ “Australia” is still worth a listen.) “Second Chance” started out as an uptempo, cowbell-saturated nugget of danceable pop. The remix courtesy of the RAC (Remix Artist Collective) breaks the back of the original’s strong, percussive spine, by softening the hard edges with misty synths and piano.

Yet the RAC’s version of “Second Chance” remains propulsive, illuminating Peter Morén’s vocals. RAC go for ambience on their version of “Second Chance,” using the backing vocals to imbue the track with a layer of gauzy melody. A simple chord substitutes for the cowbell, buoying “Second Chance” along on an ebullient current. In sum, the remix’s full effect filters “Second Chance” through an 1980s synth-pop lens that is employed judiciously enough to remain artful.

Find the original version of “Second Chance” on Gimme Some, Peter, Bjorn and John’s latest full length release, which Sony released in conjunction with Almost Gold at the of March 2011.

If you liked this song, you should also check out:

June 2011 MP3 Rewind

Sneaky Sound System “When We Were Young (Juan Maclean remix)”

Maximum Balloon featuring Theophilus London “Groove Me (Jneiro Jarel remix)”

Once upon a time, two Brooklyn-based DJs named Lauren both loved the color black. They teamed up with the xx’s Romy Madley Croft (is there a more British sounding name in music today?) to create “Days,” a gothic swamp of sultry vocals and measured beats, which the Young Turks label released in January 2011 as a vinyl 12. CREEP’s release also included the remix of “Days” courtesy of Toronto’s Azari & III. Although it may take a flow chart to follow the phylogeny of their remix of “Days,” the song stands on its own even if the listener chooses to ignore its complex back story.

Madley-Croft sings, “My nights are turning into days, but I don’t notice anything’s changed,” but as it turns out, Azari & III did have a few changes in mind. They sped up the tempo, and added a distinct, pulsing rhythm to the backbeat. These alterations catapult the sultry seduction of “Days” from a private tête à tête to an all-out dance floor fête. The remix is more incessant than the original at every turn, so even when the song’s tempo does slow at the break, it is only long enough to catch ones breath before the extended instrumental section that brings this version of “Days” to a close.

Remixes of “Days” are popping up everywhere, including on Denver-based electronica whiz (and former OTM featured artist) Pictureplane’s Negative Slave mixtape, so CREEP fans without a turntable can still get a different “Days” for practically any day of the week.

If you liked this song, you should also check out:

Maximum Balloon featuring Theophilus London “Groove Me (Jneiro Jarel remix)”

Sneaky Sound System “When We Were Young (Juan Maclean remix)”

Peter Bjorn & John “Second Chance (RAC mix)”

Longtime readers are already familiar with A-Trak‘s masterful DJ skills and trailblazing approach to mixing electronic dance music and contemporary hip-hop. This past week, the Canadian turntable whiz lent his remixing skills to this new cut from Atlanta rapper Donnis‘ brand new (and free) Southern Lights mixtape.

If there is a rapper worthy of A-Trak’s skittering, synthy treatment, it’s Donnis. His verbal dexterity have made him an ascendant star within the hip-hop community on the strength of just few mixtapes and last year’s Fashionably Late EP. Donnis surrounds himself with even more good company on this track, including fellow Atlantan Pill, best known for his 2009 mixtape ode to the drug game of his Pink City neighborhod, “Trap Goin Ham.” (Just as another hometown hero, Li’l John, managed to turn “Yeah!” into a catch-phrase, Pill has similarly turned the innocuous “Okay then” into his calling card.)

The music production here speaks for itself but the titular lyrical concern is a refreshingly lighthearted and offbeat one. Sure, it falls squarely within the most longstanding rap tradition–namely swaggering braggadocio–but the fact that it is about sunglasses makes it more of a bedfellow to “My Adidas” than “Black and Yellow.” It also makes for some pretty funny lines from all four vocal contributors, as when Donnis brags “I spend high notes like a high school choir sings / To have them admiring.”

And then, of course, is the hilarious absurdity of the chorus:

I’ve got Ray-Ban vision
I wear ‘em when I’m whippin’
I wear ‘em when I’m fuckin’
All my women think I’m trippin’

It’s goofy and cocky and best of all, it’s catchy as hell with a beat perfect for your Friday night.

If you liked this song, you should also check out:

The Hood Internet “VCR (featuring Elizabeth Harper, Freddie Gibbs and Telli)”

Thavius Beck “Go!”

A-Trak “Trizzy Turnt Up”

No one delivers a lyrical line quite like the enchanting Swedish chanteuse, Lykke Li. Only a fool would refuse her when she asks, “Oh I beg you / Can I follow?” on “I Follow Rivers.” Because it’s obvious that we, the humble listeners of Lykke Li, should be doing the following.

On “I Follow Rivers,” she takes us on a darker, more internal journey as compared to the ethereal “Dance Dance Dance” and the exuberant “Little Bit” found on her 2008 debut Youth Novels. “I Follow Rivers” is about intangibles rather than just making butter for her piece of bun.

This glimpse of Li’s Wounded Rhymes requires music that can stand up to her throaty message. Dave Sitek (aka Maximum Balloon and of TV on the Radio) proves he is up to the task, remixing “I Follow Rivers” so the instrumentation grows to match the size of her voice.

Sleigh bells kick off the opening before horns well up, bearing the melody along on a swift current of reverberating bass and drums. The result is a song so big it could swallow up not just an entire dance floor, but easily take a whole city block as collateral damage.

Sitek inserts a brief horn fill that cuts such an optimistic contrast to the rest of the track; it’s a momentary pause before the song journeys on to its final resting place, or as Li calls it, “Deep sea, baby.” On March 1, 2011 Atlantic Records will release Wounded Rhymes, which includes “I Follow Rivers.”

If you liked this song, you should also check out:

Cashes Rivers “As I Drift”

CREEP “Days (Azari & III remix)”

February 2011 MP3 Rewind