In 2020, superstar DJ and producer Calvin Harris wanted to reinvent himself—as he put it then, he wanted to “rediscover the way I originally began producing music 22 years ago before I ever thought about how it might be perceived by outside forces. Just pure fun and experimentation with what sounded good to me.” He rechristened himself Love Regenerator and used the project to immerse himself in the music he had obsessed over as a budding dance-music aficionado in the ’90s, like techno, breaks and house. “Live Without Your Love”, a pulsing collaboration with the funk visionary Steve Lacy, was the result. Over a serpentine bassline, Lacy repeats the song’s key mantra (“I can’t live without your love/I can’t live without your love/My mind is always in a rush/Sometimes I love you way too much") as the beat pumps insistently, with gospel choirs rising up to underscore the urgency Lacy sings about. This EP offers seven remixes of the track that remain true to the spirit of the Love Regenerator project while also showing how its basic building blocks—in particular, Lacy’s yearning vocal—can flower into different types of classic dance music. Pure Plastic Recordings founder Mark Broom offers up three remixes: the version that opens the EP plays up the song’s house elements with choppy pianos and psychedelic keyboards, while his “Acid Mix” and “Dub Mix” dig into acid house’s spaced-out vibe and dub’s percussion-heavy fantasia. Manchester house duo Solardo contribute two versions: a glittery house reworking and a low-lit “Ball Bass Remix”. Reimaginations by Detroit house legend MK and Chicago dance commander Honey Dijon round out the collection, further showing how Harris’ vision of pop music is rooted in clubland’s heady past.
Other Versions
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