FLEETWOOD MAC OH WELL HAIM COVER

Not only is the original of 'Oh Well' by the immortal Fleetwood Mac - whilst Peter Green still fronted - an absolute belter and indeed one of my favourite Fleetwood Mac songs (though it's strange to say because it's such a different style to, let's say, 'Second Hand News'), it's also been done fantastically well by the quickly rising sister-act Haim as you will see in the video below.

In fact, you might have already heard them cover this song if you listened Zane Lowe's show on BBC Radio 1 earlier this week (they did a very nice 3-track session over at Maida Vale studios). You might want to have a look at and a listen to the BBC version because it's obviously better quality than this one, which has just been filmed from the crowd at a random festival. Hmm. On second thought, it's a little dismissive to say 'random festival', so let's get specific: it's at the Twilight Series 2012 on Santa Monica Pier. Imagine that!

So anyway, without further ado, I present to you Haim live with their cover of Fleetwood Mac's brilliant 'Oh Well'.

They do this song to virtual perfection, note for note and beat for beat, it's nearly exactly the same as listening to the original - complete with the quirky rolls on woodblocks. The song steams ahead, the trio of girls rocking out onstage and for the most part it reveals a side of Haim that certainly I didn't know existed: full-throttle rock and roll. I've yet to hear an original song that ploughs waters as turbulent as those of 'Oh Well', but I do hope they write something similar to this because it's pure brilliance. Of course, they give a song an extra dimension, mainly in the vocals department, obviously swapping male for female vocals that lend the song a... sensual swagger? Is that ok to say? If it is, then I'm going with that. If it's not, then it's just different in a 'female way'.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Like Haim on Facebook
Follow Haim on Twitter
Listen to Haim on SoundCloud
Visit Haim's official site
Learn about Haim on Wikipedia Haim on Myspace

HAIM DON'T SAVE ME CYRIL HAHN REMIX

This man just cannot stop making excellent remixes - the songs he chooses to remix are as a surprise as ever. Yes, it's Cyril Hahn again and this time he's remixed Haim track 'Don't Save Me'. Starting with a more feel-good than the awesome heartbreakingness of his previous efforts (due, in part to the massive, known-by-all pop songs he chose to remix), this wonderful remix quickly dives into the layering and warm textures that we all know and love him for. This one certainly has more of an electro indie pop edge than his others, but that is of course to do with the choice of band, the LA-based all-girl Haim, and song - we can only assume that he builds the music around the vocal track, so he would have to go for something that fits naturally.

Hence the majorly distorted sawwave synth that provides the main electronic hook beneath the beat, and hence the intro, too. He caters for the vibe, or feel, of whatever track he happens to be remixing, whilst remaining quite at liberty to put his own stamp on it too, what with that synth so high pitched and faraway-sounding that ends up soaring after each successive drop into the chorus. Ooh yes, listen below:

This is a direction I didn't exactly think that Cyril Hahn would be going in; honestly I thought he would stick to the recent-years' worth of pop songs - and pure pop songs only. However, remixing a song by Haim shows us that his talents do not lie with just one genre in particular and it also shows us his personal taste in music - you don't actually get to see this with other artists or bands unless they also remix stuff, or unless you ask them. It marks a relatively big step for Cyril Hahn, in my opinion, who has now left people guessing what he'll do next - a clever way to create a good amount of intrigue over a well-deserving artist.

One question: how far away are we from a Cyril Hahn album, or even an EP, featuring his remixes? I for one would be ecstatic to learn some wonderful fact like that.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Cyril Hahn • Facebook / SoundCloud / Twitter / Tumblr
Haim • Facebook / Twitter / SoundCloud / YouTube / Official site