ILLENIUM & Sasha Sloan - U & Me (Nikademis Remix)
80%Overall Score
• An intense take on the original
• Melodic and glitching dubstep drops
• Overtaking the vocal slightly
ILLENIUM’s set became my favorite during this year’s UMF, together with Timmy Trumpet (super fun) and the rather surprising one from Kygo… The American star has managed to present a lot of interesting ideas, including a superlative “If I Lose Myself” bootleg, “Shivering” premiere (already reviewed), and a gorgeous intro: “Story of My Life” together with an unreleased “You & Me” remix.
Nikademis is the creative mind behind this stunning idea, which potentiates an original song in “Fallen Embers”, which is not particularly convincing to me. I barely remember it, the drop lacking the intensity, thus resulting a tad softer. Sasha Alex Sloan’s memorable presence was also left scarce in that minimal context.
Luckily, the American producer re-modeled “U & Me”, transforming into a crowd berserker, clearly as demonstrated by the UMF crowd and virtual attendees alike. Nikademis, despite being a young artist, has racked up several year’s worth of experience in the Midtempo/Dubstep scene with noteworthy support from aliases such as Two Friends, Julian Gray, Kap Slap, Ruely, and some great releases on Proximity and ENFORCE records (Honorable mention: “Anarchy”).
The remix immediately sparks into flames with a powerful buildup, escalating into a Melodic Dubstep of a drop with courageous experimentations in a fragmented pattern. It’s slightly intricate to follow at a first listen, yet fascinating! The following breakdown is more enjoyable, finally with a fulfilling bassline bringing to the final, bombastic drop that we already witnessed at UMF. This hit so strong, that even the glitches were modulated to achieve perfect momentum!
The fabulous vocal I described gets somewhat overpowered by the other elements, and this strategic move may not suit a part of the audience, but this twist on “U & Me” certainly warrants a listen, especially if you are looking for something experimental and refreshing!
You can listen to “U & Me (Nikademis Remix)” here:
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