Fatboy Slim’s iconic 2001 ‘Weapon Of Choice’ gets a huge remix from Bulgarian techno producer, and live performance perfectionist KiNK.
Released two decades ago to a fanfare of hype, particularly from the now iconic Spike Jonze-directed music video starring Christopher Walken flying around the lobby of the Grand Hotel in downtown LA, ‘Weapon of Choice’ featured the vocals of famed Funk singer Bootsy Collins. The track peaked at number 10 in the UK pop charts and became one of the highlights of Fatboy Slim’s third studio album, ‘Halfway between the Gutter and the Stars’.
More recently, Fatboy Slim has spent his lockdown time doing what he does best: making us smile. His weekly mixes provide a moment of real escapism among the endless grey of pandemic stasis which he describes in typically humble self-depreciation as “half for everybody else’s entertainment and half for my own sanity”.
Live artist KiNK began his sonic journey back in 1991. Hearing techno for the first time on the radio, he dedicated his life to dance music and has now reached the heady heights of the scene with releases on a wide spectrum of labels including Defected, Bedrock, Running Back and Permanent Vacation. No stranger to the big artist remix, he’s taken on the Chemical Brothers, Banco De Gaia, and Sven Vath to name a few.
Remixing Fatboy Slim, however, is a wildly different experience, and KiNK has completely rewritten huge swathes of the original for a totally new dancefloor adventure. Retaining a tribal feel, the gargantuan bass quickly envelops you in a wave of tensive energy as a Bootsy’s spoken vocals draw you in. For those less inclined with vocals a handy dub version focuses on that soundscape bassline and groovy percussions for a purer dancefloor vibe. Finally, a half speed version (KiNK’s aptly named ‘Slow Mix’) full of rave energy and wobbly jungle bass manipulation completes the package. As Fatboy Slim says himself ‘Only Kink could inject such soul and warmth into this tune after so many years…’