Track of the Day: Umek - Gatex (Fergie Remix)

Track of the Day: Umek - Gatex (Fergie Remix)

Gonna throw it back a bit for you this Thursday. This is quite possibly one of my all time favorite songs. I have the original (released 2001) on vinyl which is a wild menagerie of bells and massive chords stabs that ebb and flow, going every which direction that Fergie gives you a taste of in his remix. The original was extremely innovative and laughed in the face of what conventional wisdom would expect for a dance track during that time in that there is absolutely no kick or bass line to speak of. Fergie's (no not the Fergie you're thinking of) remix does a fantastic job of putting a driving beat behind this beast of a track and really elevating the track. Putting together an incredible arrangement that really holds true to and compliments the original. This remix was released about 8 years ago in 2008, would and probably still does blow the roof off of Fergie and Umek's sets. Big driving sub bass and a groove that just pumps away relentlessly for 8 glorious minutes. Check out the original as well in all its glory below. This shit changed my world.As did Fergie. Who is this Fergie character you may be asking yourself by now. The Northern Irish native is someone who I have followed since his BBC days when he used to have a show on Radio 1 alongside Judge Jules and the legendary Pete Tong. I remember being in my college dorm room desperately trying to stream their shows every week. Judge Jules was always dropping that top notch trance, Pete Tong was always playing what ever was new and fresh in all the genres, and Fergie was dropping that fire techno. In addition he was producing some of my favorite tracks and has continued to do so for nearly 2 decades now. I added a few examples of some other tracks he put out a while back. We have a guest mix coming out next week by Ducky that really takes me back to some of the Tidy Trax from back in the day similar to this one. This one was released around 2000 I believe.His output over the years is quite impressive and he has been recognized the world over for his talents. A few years later came this massive techno classic. Along with many more.He has continued over the years to produce a number of originals in addition to the boatload of remixes he has done as well. This is also an old one but another one of my favorites and the original is such a classic.One of my favorite stories about him, was of him getting kicked out of a club he was DJing at, because he was only 14 years old. All throughout the 90's he was making a name for himself DJing all over the UK and Ibiza regularly taking spots in DJ Mags top 100 poll. He landed the Radio 1 gig in 2001 which lasted until 2006. In addition to exposing me to loads of new music on a weekly basis he had some of the best guest artists on the planet on his show regularly. He is also one of the most chill and approachable DJ's I have ever come across. The first time I ever met him I never wished I smoked cigarettes so bad in my entire life. It was at Circus here in LA and I was standing outside and he came up and asked me for a cigarette. Im like 'uh no but hold on sec' and went and grabbed one of my friends right next to me. We wound up having a quick chat and then he went on to destroy the club and everyone in it with his god like DJ powers. I have seen him a couple other times since then, once at King King and the other time I cant remember where I was but he always brings it. He recently moved here to the states a few years ago and is now residing in Vegas where he holds down a residency and plays regularly through out the year. It would be a frickin' dream come true to pop over to Vegas and open up for him one of these days. I know the LAMP crew would represent big time. So if you are ever in Vegas do yourself a favor and drop in on one of his sets. Here is one more from Fergie for you to check out. Enjoy.PZBDont forget to checkout our weekly guest mix coming to you this week from L'affaire Musicale's Astley below as well. Maybe we can talk Fergie into doing one of these for us too.