US producers The Lifted have been drafted for a remix of Hooked Like Helen’s ‘Tear This Place Apart’.
Hooked Like Helen is husband and wife duo Nikki and Jon Stipp. They hail from Los Angeles, California and Cleveland, Ohio respectively, and met while both playing in classic/ alternative-rock band Red Circle Underground. They toured all along the Sunset Strip and Hollywood area (The Satellite, Bootleg Theatre, Silverlake Lounge, The Roxy, Hotel Cafe) until leaving the LA area in 2013 just 5 weeks after the birth of their first son. Their sound is a fusion of pop, rock, and R&B as well as the merging of classic and current songwriting structures.
The two acts are well suited as a collaboration. Where Hooked Like Helen’s pop sensibilities see them drawing parallels to acts like Ellie Goulding and Of Monsters and Men, the incorporation of The Lifted’s future bass propensities see the remix underpinned with elements comparable to the likes of Flume, Illenium and Malaa.
The remix of the track stays true to Nikki’s vocal intensities but embellishes the soundscape with The Lifted’s idiosyncratic electronic blitz. Where the original showcased driving vocals and a constant sense of pop, the remix takes it up a notch with frantic production, adding an electronic element that plunges straight into your cortex. The track is chock-full of deep basslines, breakbeats and electro-funk textures, seeing Hooked Like Helen and The Lifted join forces to rip a hyperkinetic hole in your head.
Speaking of the track, Hooked Like Helen said: “Being married to your musical partner is a gift that we wholeheartedly embrace, but there are times when the dynamic can get a little intense! We wrote ‘Tear This Place Apart’ as an artistic reflection of the moments of total chaos between us, and The Lifted took that tension to new heights with the Remix. The line between life and art is blurred for us, and the ‘Tear This Place Apart’ Remix dives into a tumultuous sea of synths that amplify that feeling of desperation and passion from the original track. We’re humbled to collaborate with such gifted musicians as The Lifted on this song..”
