Your EDM Premiere: Rene LaVice Remixes Stanton Warriors’ Classic ‘Up2U’ on Upcoming ‘Rise’ LP [New State Music]

Breakbeat legends Stanton Warriors have been teasing their upcoming LP Rise since the beginning of the year, and indeed it is a big deal given it will be their first studio album in over four years. Due out on May 31, a number of singles have already been teased from Rise and they are right the way down the line classic Stanton Warriors breakbeats. That said, the album will also have some surprise twists and turns and Your EDM is proud to premiere the first of them: Rene LaVice’s jungle remix of the track “Up2U” featuring Sian Evans.

Despite the difference in tempo. Stanton Warriors have always been inexorably attached to jungle and drum and bass, with a general vibe that seems to speak to the DnB community, not to mention lots of collabs with and remixes by jungle and drum and bass artists. It’s really not that much of a surprise that one of their new tracks is being remixed by a DnB producer given this history but whatever amount of surprise there is, it’s certainly pleasant.

Many fans have already heard and seen the video for the original mix of “Up2U,” which has a great 90s aesthetic both in the way the track is put together and in the choice of clothes and hair in said video. It’s a clean, classic breakbeat track complete with disco soul vocals and synths to match. LaVice’s jungle remix is also classically done, with a beat structure which hearkens back to the vinyl days where a track could be played at 33 or 45 RPM and it would sound equally good as a breaks or a jungle track, respectively.

In the beginning of the remix, LaVice picks out the basic synth stem and makes it the central melodic theme, chopping up the vocal and weaving it around said synth with some ambient manipulation, making it sound more like a sample than the main melody. After the first break, he plays with the synth even more, modulating it and putting some techy, modern DnB stank on it. The original synth melody and the new techier one then banter back and forth until the end of the track, sort of harmonizing among the snares, steppy bassline and other jungle flourishes. While a cohesive and fun jungle track, LaVice still honors the base of “Up2U,” showing again how versatile both he and the Warriors are.

With his remix of “Up2U,” Rene LaVice drives home the reason why Stanton Warriors are and always have been on the DnB radar despite being a predominantly breaks act. The way their tracks are put together just begs for some saucy jungle and DnB remixes, and LaVice has definitely done a good one here. Both artists have proved with this track that no matter what the genre, the tempo or the technical prowess, it really is all about the groove and hard you groove is “all Up2u.”

Rise the album releases on May 31 on New State Music and can be pre-ordered or pre-saved by clicking here. Stream the Rene LaVice remix of “Up2U” on Spotify or Apple Music here. Check out the original mix and video below.