After 32 years, one of the most iconic records in rock and roll history gets a makeover.

We are living in an age where new music is being created quicker than we can keep up, and old favorites are being summoned to the plate for re-seasoning. A solid remix of a classic can be the perfect generational bridge, bringing music lovers of all ages together. It’s a beautiful thing, really.

Artists like Kygo (Marvin Gay – ‘Sexual Healing’), Pretty Lights (John Denver – ‘Country Roads’), Bassnectar (‘Nina Simone – ‘Feeling Good’) and so many more have applied their creative chops to old favorites, and proved to be successful.

But why stop there?

On April 6, the official announcement of Paul Simon’s Graceland – The Remixes was made public. Acclaimed as one of the most iconic records in rock and roll history, the original Grammy-winning 1986 album ‘Graceland’ was groundbreaking in both its sound and context. The album celebrated world music and featured South African performers at a time when the Western world had boycotted them due to the apartheid that threatened to tear the country apart. Audiences were exposed to a mixture of pop, rock, African Zulu isicathamiya, and mbaqanga dance styles.

Diversity and reimagined sound both served as the very cornerstone of ‘Graceland’ years ago, making this contemporary electronic reimagining timely and appropriate. This very sentiment sparked inspiration in artists including MK, Richy Ahmed, Paul Oakenfold, Groove Armada, Thievery Corporation, as well as producer and project curator Michael Gaiman (aka The Duke of New York).

This is history in the making, as this is the first time a classic album has been reimagined in its entirety.

“What do you say when someone asks you to remix a classic? Well normally, No!” laughs Andy of Groove Armada. “It’s a rule we’ve managed to follow for 20 years. Until we got a call about remixing a track from Graceland. Here was an album…which had opened our ears to a new world of sound. We decided to break the rule because we could choose a tune. In [“You Can Call Me Al”] was a horn riff which we’d been dropping in our sets ever since we tried it at Fais Do-Do’s Ballroom in LA back in 1998 and it created an electric moment of dancefloor unity. So the remix wrote itself and our ace-in-the-pack Horn Drop is now public property.”

Graceland -The Remixes includes 12 track from a range of artists representing an array of styles from Deep House, Afro House, Drum N Bass, Tech House, and more. The full LP will be released on June 1, but lucky for us, five remixes have been released exclusively today. Give them a listen here!

Full Track List:
1. Joris Voorn – Homeless
2. Joyce Muniz – Gumboots
3. Sharam – I Know What I Know
4. Paul Oakenfold – Crazy Love Vol. II
5. Richy Ahmed – The Boys In The Bubble
6. Groove Armada – You Can Call Me All
7. Rich Pinder & Djoko – Under African Skies
8. MK with KC Lights – Graceland
9. Gui Borato – That Was Your Mother
10. Thievery Corporation – Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes
11. Photek – All Around The World Or The Myth Of Fingerprints
12. Joris Voorn – Homeless (second mix)

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