We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
We had to chuckle yesterday when we heard Micah Vellian‘s remix of “Equestrian” by D.C. pop-rockers U.S. Royalty. Vellian (one-third of Volta Bureau) didn’t try to scale back the unreformed haughtiness of the original; instead he candies the song’s hooks with a dance-pop beat. We asked him about his artistic choices. His reply:
U.S. Royalty commissioned [Volta Bureau member] Will Eastman to do a remix, way before the initial release, and Will deferred it to me. … As far as aesthetics, I really wanted to retain the structure of the original song and just make it slightly more club-friendly and more dramatic. The drama was already there, I just wanted to increase it a bit. Since I’m partial to using a lot of strings, I felt I could use them specifically for that purpose. The original is slightly more moody and when I heard the chorus, it was really anthemic and I just wanted to exploit that energy for the remix.
So there ya have it: He rolled with what he was given. We still think somebody should do a witch house version, though. Listen to his handiwork below.
Equestrian (Micah Vellian Remix) by usroyalty
The original, from U.S. Royalty’s album Mirrors:
Micah Vellian DJs with Volta Bureau, Jay Simon, Chris Nitti, and Lxsx Frxnk at 10 p.m. Saturday at the U Street Music Hall, 1115A U St. NW. $10.
This isn't a paywall.
We don't have one. Readers like you keep our work free for everyone to read. If you think that it's important to have high quality local reporting we hope you'll support our work with a monthly contribution.