As much as I hate the Hype Machine’s Zeitgeist this year (oh maybe I’ll give this topic a proper rant later this week), I did enjoy the remixes they were able to secure from some hot DJs.  Well actually, all of the twenty-plus remixes were pretty cool, but it was the one from the band Clock Opera that was clearly the stand-out.  We listened to them every morning they were released during my vacation in Colorado, and both my friend Derek’s and my eyes clearly lit up when the first song on the Clock Opera mix was a dancey-upbeat Beach House song.  The mix continued to weave in and out of daring, but amazing choices for music and remixes from Clock Opera themselves.  And eventually I had to think to myself, who is Clock Opera?

The name may be familiar if you hang out around these parts.  In 2010 they actually put out a number of the best remixes of the year.  That may sound exaggerated, but seriously, listening back through their year’s work I was stunned how many tracks I’d been adding to playlists without proper knowledge of who the band was and how they were connected.  I’ve posted a handful of the remixes below, so feel free to enjoy the same, “This is all the same band??” feeling that I had.

But most importantly, and beyond the remixes, Clock Opera also came out with a song in 2010 called “Once and For All”.  You may have slept on it like myself, but when you hear it, you will remember it.  It had one of the most epic vocal melodies of the year.  A fair comparison I think would be Glen Hansard or maybe Mumford and Sons.  But of course the backing music is pretty electronic, so there is quite the amazing contradiction going on here.

Now to listen to this band’s remixes and think they are in the company of remixers like The Twelves and RAC would actually be selling them short.  This is a band.  A band that is currently working on an album with the help of Graeme Stewart, the guy behind Radiohead’s Kid A & Amnesiac.  And from their tweets it sounds like they are WRAPPING UP this album, aka a 2011 release. Oh, and they are also playing shows with Yeasayer. There are a lot of things going for this band.

Listen to these songs below and try not to smile thinking about how great this album is going to be.

P.S. When I said vacation in Colorado above I really meant ‘recording new songs for the band Barbara’, heyo!

Clock Opera – Once And For All

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Everything Everything – MY KZ, UR BF (Clock Opera Remix)

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Marina & The Diamonds – I Am Not A Robot (Clock Opera Remix)

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The Drums – Me & The Moon (Clock Opera Remix)

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