On this week’s Unsung Heroes, we take a look at the incredibly euphoric Frederik Van Hooft remix to Afrojack & Steve Aoki‘s smash collaboration, No Beef. Normally, when we search for tracks to consider for this segment, we take a look at discographies of a certain artist, delve ourselves into a murky, unknown genre, or look through our personal catalogs for a track long past and long forgotten. But every once in a while, we happen to stumble across a track/remix by accident and become absolutely floored upon listening. With the amount of low quality, formulaic tracks that are currently floating around the web, it has become increasingly rare to find these diamonds in the rough, which is especially prevalent when it comes to the genre of Progressive House. Our mainstream EDM industry is fueled by the feel good, hands-in-the-air moments of Progressive House and it is no secret that many of these tracks have become over saturated to the point where you cannot honestly tell the difference between one track’s melody and another track.
It is always quite exciting finding a true talent from out of nowhere and to be able to help their career is a great honor to us. This week’s artist is the enigmatic Swedish producer, Frederik van Hooft. He is a small time producer mostly focusing his efforts on a few hard hitting mashups, with only having one official release on Beatport. However, a golden rule of music to remember is that quantity does not necessarily mean quality and his incredible talents fully reach their potential with his unofficial remix to Afrojack & Steve Aoki‘s collaboration, No Beef. No Beef, of course, is the iconic single released on Afrojack‘s personal label, Wall, and took the entire festival circuit by storm when released. With it’s ‘effed up camo‘ tagline and the combined powers of floor shaking Dutch synths with the quirky, outrageous antics of Steve Aoki, this classic is still being played in clubs and festivals today. Frederik takes the mosh-inducing Original and completely reworks it into a wonderful, enchanted tune that floods the listener in joyous melodies. Focusing on the lyrics, his approach winds through hopeful ostinatos and gentle breakdowns to create a truly beautiful work of art. 
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/50709173″ iframe=”true” /]
The greatest aspect to this remix is that Frederik sincerely followed through with the true definition of a remix. Rather than keeping things safe and just creating a simple melody, he completely reworked No Beef into something that it was never meant to be and to be so bold as to take such creative risks in a track shows a huge promise for his musical talents. Additionally, his Progressive House rework completely showcases the lyrics in a new light, giving both emotional weight and a sense of depth towards it (even more so since the lyrics aren’t much to work with in the first place). Van Hooft starts with deep, filtered chords with a wishful synth fluttering ear to ear, as the lyrics begin to lift up a series of lush pads and atmospheric harmonies. ‘I won’t break down tonight‘ is given a tone of hope and perseverance and the sense of a new dawn emerges with the continually expended chords. The drop features off beat Progressive House synths, a bubbly bassline timbre and a lovely, flitting ostinato line that brings new, exciting chordal possibilities towards the overall orchestration. As the energy increases more and more, it is the second drop with the lyrics ‘I’m coming down fast‘ that has cascading, emotionally charged string synths and circa 2011 Avicii percussion flooring the melodies, which envelops the listener in a field of wonder and aspirations, carrying a beautiful melody that goes above and beyond what many artists are producing today.
A charming, aspirational remix, Frederik Van Hooft unexpectedly soars past expectations to bring forth some truly marvelous music. Although we usually frown upon stealing music by using file sharing sites and not supporting the artists, we have personally been granted permission from the artist to include a free download to this track, all legally free. Just head on down to the link below to own this fantastic track today.
Keep the music alive. -Q
Download Link: http://www45.zippyshare.com/v/67880902/file.html
Unsung Heroes is a weekly segment where we take a look back at an amazing production and bring it back into the light for older and newer fans alike. These tracks were often overlooked, overshadowed by a huge release or are just not that well known to the public here in America. Here, you can find all the hidden gems in many genres and find a new favorite track (or another tool/weapon for aspiring DJ’s).
