I know very little about Gotye, in fact the first time I had ever heard anything by him was this very remix I am reviewing. A quick bit of research via Allmusic reveals that he is apparently a Belgian-born Australian cut and paste electronic pop artist. Whatever that means.
The original Hearts A Mess is a heartfelt piece of soul music, that defies easy classification. Somewhat electronic, somewhat acoustic. It is compiled of loops from a collection of records left to him by a neighbour and a friend. The track is very nice, although not something I would usually listen to.
The Kompakt heavyweights, Michael Mayer and Superpitcher, who collectively Saved The World a couple of years ago are on remix duty. They recognise what is a quality piece of work and leave the best elements of the original mostly untouched, adding little. In fact, other than a solid 4/4 kick and other light percussive elements, which are added to the warping bass of the original, and along with the guitar riff form the foundation of the music. Much of what they have done here is re-arrange and stretch out the existing elements. Supermayer allow the vocal to shine throughout, as the track gradually builds, picking up momentum for over half its length before it breaks down leaving only sparse elements. Supermayer let the music completely unwind in the final few stages as the track becomes completely acoustic, baring Gotye's soul. It's a powerful couple of minutes, that will stick with you for a long time after the music has stopped. A fitting end to what is easily one of my favourite tracks of the year so far.
Now if only someone would play the Supermayer remix as their last tune of the night.
You can hear the original below:
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