The 20 Best Goldie Remixes

Goldie. Aside from Fabio and Grooverider, not too many names hold more weight than his in the drum & bass scene. And while his celebrity nowadays is m

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Complex Original

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Goldie. Aside from Fabio and Grooverider, not too many names hold more weight than his in the drum & bass scene. And while his celebrity nowadays is more for things outside of the drum & bass scene, you can't deny the 20+ years he has put producing timeless music. Pun intended.

And while he has a number of stellar albums under his belt, he's also been in-demand as a producer of remixes, for big names (Bjork, Bush, Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris, and the Fugees) as well as lesser-known artists. He's not been shy about spreading the drum & bass sound wherever it's needed to be, and his remix work has been just as influential as his original proudctions.

As we celebrate Goldie's prophet-like status within the dance music scene, it'd be ridiculous to neglect his prophetic work as a remixer. Spanning twenty years, here are the 20 best remixes that Goldie has produced.

20. Layla - "Gotta Find Love (Goldie's Blue Room Vocal Mix)"

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(Inferno, 1994)

Clean amens on this one; you rarely hear the amen break this clean in Goldie remixes (or original production, for that matter). Layla's vocal is present, but could damn near just be a sample, as this one is an exhibition in drums on top of drums on top of drums. Did you ever wonder why it was called drum & bass? Let this remix break it down for you.

19. Cutty Ranks - "Armed & Dangerous (Beef Base Mix)"

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(RCA, 1994)

When you look at the way the jungle and drum & bass scenes started to grow apart, it's wild to think that Goldie had remixed Cutty Ranks at one time. Goldie stayed true to the scene, with the booming subs and signature Metalheadz vibe on the drums, it's shocking to think that the scenes had to segregate in order for dnb to continue on.

18. The Fugees "Fu-Gee-La (Goldie Revamps The Camp Mix)"

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(Columbia, 1996)

This is back when jazz had drum & bass and hip-hop in a tizzy, and the double bass was king. This mix might even be foreign to even the most studious drum & bass listeners. Goldie and Rob Playford didn't go crazy, and truth be told, this could be mistaken for a Roni Size/Reprazent remix, given that they were more known for this sound (check the drum work), but it's definitely a notch in the Metalheadz belt.

17. Ingrid Schroeder - "Bee Charmer (Goldie Soundscape Mix)"

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(East West, 1995)

Intriguing blend of what feels like a sample of live, slide guitar tones and a beautiful voice. Goldie obviously adds a plethora of drums to the mix along with a sullen synth to the mix, churning everything into an impressively hypnotic blend of sound, letting us linger for almost five minutes before this one really drops, where the bass then takes precedence. Remixes like this let us know that Goldie should truly be scoring films or creating soundtracks for a full-on visual project. He's great at sorting out proper environments.

16. Calvin Harris - "Flashback (Goldie Remix)"

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(Sony, 2009)

The fact that Calvin Harris snagged a Goldie remix when he had so many different drum & bass producers to choose from? It kind of speaks to how revered Goldie is, doesn't it? Goldie actually doesn't go in like he does with his other remixes, but it is at LEAST a testament to Goldie being able to churn out a banger seemingly at will.

15. Code 071 - "A London Sumtin' (Dego & Goldie Remix)"

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(Reinforced, 1992)

Some early Goldie here, alongside 4 Hero's Dego. This tune is definitely over 20 years old, and sounds that way, but the original was huge, and this is the sound of the time, pre-jungle. You can definitely hear some 'Headz sounds in this one; feels like a million building blocks suddenly appearing before your eyes. Blueprint tune.

14. Joker ft. William Cartwright - "On My Mind (Goldie Remix)"

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(4AD, 2011)

Dubstep don Joker being remixed by Goldie, with "Funky Drummer" loops for days? This is kind of surprising, as it's not the typical sound you'd be looking for from Goldie (that is, if you wanted some of his more drum & bass-fueled flavor). This harkens back to the old hardcore jungle techno flavors, with the breakbeats breathing, and the subs really being brought to the forefront. Beautiful cut to soak into.

13. Scarface - "Hand Of The Dead Body (Possible 187 Remix)"

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(Virgin, 1995)

Feels like something that would sit perfectly during your hours spent playing Grand Theft Auto, right? You heard right, during Goldie's run with Rob Playford, they scored a drum & bass remix of a track with Scarface and Ice Cube. Fit perfectly into the silky drum & bass vibes of the late 1990s, with heavy subs and loads of memorable Ice Cube lines filling up this banger.

12. Shaggy - "Crush (Goldie Remix)"

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(Gangsta, 1995)

The initial sample is a flip of what Dr. Dre produced for the Lady of Rage, and is the foundation of the majority of the tune, with Goldie adding some Metalheadz-twicthes to the original sample. There's actually not much Shaggy to be found in this remix, which is probably good for many of you music lovers out there. Something about this one is just knocking; it's pretty much a straightforward blend of drum & bass beats over that "Afro Puffs" sample, but the repetition works well. Let this one drop on a proper soundsystem.

11. Babylon Zoo - "The Boy With X-Ray Eyes (Goldie & Rob Playford Armageddon Babylon Mix)"

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(EMI, 1996)

From jump, this remix feels like something you'd throw up against Nasty Habits' "Shadow Boxing," or anything in the No U-Turn catalog. It starts out with a chip on its shoulder, and doesn't let up until you feel its pain. One of those tunes that didn't get released on Metalheadz, but had 'Headz written all over it.

10. Black Grape - "Fat Neck (Goldie Beat The F*ck Down Mix)"

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(Radioactive, 1996)

Many of you might not even be up on the UK phenomenon that was Black Grape, but it doesn't matter. Goldie essentially took elements of the original and had a ball, using their sound as pure source material in his playground of forward-thinking sounds, almost like a painter uses paint to their liking.

9. Garbage - "Milk (The Completely Trashed Remix)"

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(Mushroom, 1996)

Do any of you even remember Garbage? The alt-rock band that was fronted by Scottish singer Shirley Manson, and featured Butch Vig, aka the guy who produced Nirvana's Nevermind? Forget all of that. Goldie stripped damn near everything away from their track "Milk" and left some wails from Shirley, twisted them into a drum & bass tornado that is just oh-so necessary. Might fall into the "intelligent drum & bass" zone if you're down for that kind of categorizing.

8. Ed Sheeran - "Lego House (Goldie Remix) (Stickle Brick Edit)"

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(Warner Music, 2011)

Ed Sheeran has always had a pretty firm place in the dance music scene, and it almost speaks to how well-received Ed's been critically, as Goldie hopped on to do this remix during a year where, aside from a Fabriclive mix, he'd not had much output. The strings are out in full force, and once this one really gets going? Look out. The crescendos of bass after that second breakdown are on it. One of those "yeah, I'm still here" moments, surely.

7. Adam Clayton & Larry Mullen - "Mission: Impossible Theme (Mission Accomplished) (Cut The Red Not The Blue Mix)"

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(Mother, 1997)

This is another one of those cuts that might have slipped past many. When you realize that the remake of the iconic Mission: Impossible theme has been reinvigorated in a drum & bass mode? Tears. Pure tears and smiles. Goldie and Rob Playford created an awesome gem of dnb delight, and many might not have even picked up on how astonishing this remix truly is for the dnb scene as a whole.

6. 4 Hero - "Universal Love (Metalheads Remix)"

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(Selector, 1995)

Interesting; Goldie got his start through 4 Hero's Reinforced imprint, and this remix is a proper description of the student surpassing the teacher. It has that 1995 Timeless flavor (which makes sense, since this was one of many tunes Goldie did with Rob Playford), with the beautiful vocals over the breakbeat-heavy drums. Perfect track to set your chilled afternoons to.

5. Nasty Habits - "Liquid Fingers (Goldie & Matrix Golden Fingers Remix)"

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(31 Recordings, 2001)

This remix of Nasty Habits' "Liquid Fingers" hit at the right time. 2001 was an important year in the peak of the drum & bass scene, with the soulful "liquid" style taking precidence after a while. Goldie, of course, adapted like he's prone to, feeding Jack's groove in a scrumptuous drum & bass cookie. Proper rolling drum & bass, plain and simple.

4. Bush "Swallowed (Toasted Both Sides Please Remix)"

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(MCA, 1996)

Think about this: the UK CD single that featured this remix hit #7 on the UK charts. In 1996. The bass is reminiscent of the No U-Turn/"Shadow Boxing" flavor of drum & bass, with nothing but ominous bass and hypnotic beats being accented by echoed vocals. Perfect track to throw on and fuck up your friends' perception of life. The injections of distorted guitar and Gwen Stefani's husband's voice are the only things that make you remember that a major label executive actually paid for this dnb excellence.

3. Goldie - "Say You Love Me (Rufige Mix)"

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(Metalheadz, 2005)

One of Goldie's strongsuits is his ability to convey emotion and beauty within a genre like drum & bass, which is immediately seen as a bleek and dark scene. With the Rufige mix of "Say You Love Me," which is said to have been produced during the period where Goldie was working with Technical Itch, does a brilliant job of blending the dark with the light, even without the immense vocal from the original.

2. Björk - "Isobel's Lonely Heart (Goldie Remix)"

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(One Little Indian, 1996)

Luckily for dnb lovers, Bjork had no qualms with leftfield production, especially on her singles. For a few years, Goldie and Bjork dated, and while we won't get too deep into if that played a part in the epicness of their output during that time, we will say that Goldie transported "Isobel" into a pure dnb zone, adding a jazzy, laidback vibe to the Bjork track. Goldie had a knack for adding alternate titles to his remixes, and "Isobel's Lonely Heart" was a perfect way to describe that sorrow-filled sax paired up with Bjork's vocal. Pure '90s dnb subs underscore an awesome breakbeat journey.

1. Roni Size & DJ Die - "The Calling (Goldie Remix)"

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(V Recordings, 1997)

If you were wanting to find out how to perfectly intermingle the darker, rougher edge of drum & bass with pure beauty, this remix would be the best description. While a lot of this is based on Art of Noise samples, there's the way that Goldie layered drums on top of drums, the stuttering of the vocals, the gutpunch bass stabs. Everything's here. Anyone questioning drum & bass as a viable, important genre should let this one soak in. If you come out on the other side not feeling something, you might need to check your pulse.

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