Over the last 25 years, Ultra Records has become one of the largest and most respected brands in the global dance and electronic music world. To celebrate a quarter century of breaking some of the biggest club anthems ever, Ultra is releasing on October 29 ULTRA25-The Remixes, a 25th anniversary compilation that collects fresh remixes of some of the label’s most iconic tracks.
From Helion’s unexpected slap house remix of Pitbull’s club staple “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” due out next Friday, October 22 to Solardo’s smoky and hypnotic ’90s-inspired re-rub of Roger Sanchez’s “Release Yo’Self” (available now), the compilation shows the depth of the Ultra sound while linking up artists from different eras and scenes. “It connects the past with the present in the best possible way,” says label founder Patrick Moxey. “I love connecting one music culture with another to make something brand new. Things like that have created huge moments in Ultra’s history.”
True to his club roots, Moxey is still thrilled with the way a remix can reinvent a song and he revels in the process of taking underground tracks to a worldwide stage. “With Ultra, we’ve really been able to help push dance music back into the mainstream over the last 25 years,” he reflects. “Dance music is firmly in the mainstream now but I’m inspired to see great kinds of new underground dance music bubbling up. The energy of new music and new sounds, and seeing the way that people go crazy in the crowd – that’s what keeps me inspired! And I’m inspired by the innovation of the producers themselves. So it’s exciting to be on this odyssey and I feel honored to have been a part of dance music culture for the last 25 years.”
Always passionate about Ultra Music’s new releases, here Patrick Moxey breaks down the tracks on ULTRA25-The Remixes and tells us more about the artists involved as its official pre-order launches today:
Alyssa Reid ft. Bru-C “Alone Again (Initi8 Remix)”
“Ultra had a big hit with this in the UK in 2011 – it’s a remix of the song ‘Alone,’ originally broken in 1987 by the group Heart. This time around we’ve added Bru-C, a very exciting bassline rapper from Nottingham. Bru has got incredible energy and done great performances at UK festivals like Reading and Boardmasters. Bru brings a lot of fun to the track and we added some cool new production from Initi8, who again has that high-energy UK sound, so I’m really excited to see what happens with this.”
Pitbull “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) (Helion Remix)”
“‘I Know You Want Me’ is the combination of an instrumental from Italy with a rapper from Miami and a cool sample from the band Chicago. It was a truly huge hit when it came out in 2009 – radio stations were adding it faster than we could send them the record. Pitbull is always seeking out the hottest new dance music rhythms, so it made perfect sense to have Sweden’s Helion do a slap house remix and bring this one back.”
Kim Sozzi “Feel Your Love (Kastra Remix)
“Long Island’s Kim Sozzi has been flying the flag for dance music on the East Coast since it was quite underground. She’s a mainstay on the radio station WKTU and at the New York and New Jersey area nightclubs she’s performed in – really an iconic dance diva in that classic way. Kastra is a new producer from New Jersey, and he’s done a great mix of her classic song.”
Mako “Breathe (Zombic & Felix Schorn Remix)”
“Mako is very gifted in the sense that he’s a real singer/songwriter in addition to being a great electronic producer. He came up with the record ‘Breathe’ in 2017 and it’s done extremely well for us. Then we ran into an exciting young producer from Dresden, Germany called Zombic who has delivered a great remix with Felix Schorn. Again, it’s about the contrast! An L.A.-based vocal electronic track that now has a German twist – we love that kind of culture blending.”
Contiez “Trumpsta (Raaban Remix)”
“This record is from Australia and it’s got that Melbourne bounce sound. It has a crazy energy to it and a rapper on it from the US named Treyy G. When it was released in 2013 it was a big hit, especially in the Nordics; in Sweden, it hit number three. So we decided if we were going to get a remix done, we wanted someone Scandinavian to do it. We asked Raaban, a very successful Swedish dance producer, and he made a nice tough mix that bounces off the rap perfectly.”
Benny Benassi “Cinema (Galantis Remix)”
“Benny Benassi is a great producer who continues to be super relevant and is very important to the Ultra Records story. ‘Cinema’ is an extraordinary song. Gary Go was the songwriter, and he wrote brilliant lyrics. With the original, Benny had just delivered it on a Monday; I went into the office on Tuesday, switched on my computer, and went straight to Beatport. Overnight, eight out of the Top 10 records on the Beatport charts were done by Skrillex. I said, ‘Who the heck is Skrillex?’ I then proceeded to call up his manager in Florida, and say, ‘Hey, I see Skrillex is playing in New York on Friday. Why doesn’t he come by the office?’ Skrillex came by, I played him ‘Cinema’ and he loved it. We handed him the parts and then he turned in a huge remix, which really broke the song on a super high level. Now, if you’re going to mess with what is kind of a dance classic, you have to choose the right people. Galantis are top quality producers and we felt like the remix would be in safe hands with them – and they’ve done a really solid, really great mix.”
SOFI TUKKER “Drinkee (John Summit & Vintage Culture Remix)”
“SOFI TUKKER are two brilliant individuals who met at Brown University. She was studying Brazilian jazz, he was DJing, and they came together to make very unique and fresh dance music that’s got elements of Latin, indie pop, and electronic, all mixed up together in a way that has never been done before. They’re absolutely innovators. We’re having so much preparing their new album campaign and it made total sense to include this great remix in the package.”
David Alvarado “Blue (FIIN Remix)
“‘Blue’ was always an underground record in the house scene. It’s absolute quality – one of those hidden gems. FIIN is an up ‘n’ coming house producer we’re working with from Miami so it made sense for him to do a remix and update this true underground dance classic.”
Roger Sanchez “Release Yo’Self (Solardo Remix)”
“This was the first record on Ultra. I remember going to Roger’s house in the West Village and sitting in the corner while he worked on the record all night from 10pm until 6 or 7 in morning. I stumbled out of his studio apartment with a DAT tape in my hand and that was ‘Release Yourself.’ It was so exciting and I was so honored to have Roger, who I knew from the club scene, make a record for me. So that’s the backstory from 25 years ago. Now we’ve gotten Solardo – who are great guys from Manchester with super energy, super relevant in the UK and the rest of the world – to do this remix. The mix ties together Ultra’s beginnings and Ultra’s future, so I thought it was a really nice fit to end the compilation.”
