Drifting with... Facta
That time Facta flipped FTRW! into a sexy, slinky roller I never saw coming...
Facta is one of those producers whose remixes have quietly — or not so quietly — shaped whole corners of club music. He’s no stranger to flipping a track into something iconic, and honestly, when he said yes to reworking FTRW!, I had an immediate calmness and confidence that he’d know exactly what to do.
His remix lands in this delicious sweet spot: sexy, bounce-y, and slippery enough to keep you on your toes. It rolls forward with that signature Facta tension and always feels like it’s teasing a drop that you just never saw coming. It really was such an honour to have him on this track and a real pleasure to discuss remixes with him as I really was so curious about his approach and process.
1. What do you think makes a great remix?
That sweet spot between familiar and fresh. You want it to feel updated and refreshed but with enough elements of the original track to make the connection. I love it when ideas from the original are stretched into new shapes, or recontextualised or reharmonised in interesting ways.
2. When working on ‘FTRW!’, which element of the original inspired you the most and became the starting point for your remix?
The vocals! They give the original so much impact and identity so it was fun to carry that over.
3. Did you have a clear direction from the beginning, or did the idea evolve unexpectedly?
I had a few different versions on the go, and it definitely took a few twists and turns along the way. I was initially going for something a lot more stripped back and restrained, but then thought fuck it this needs breaks and wobbles.
4. What tools, synths, or plugins were pivotal for this remix?
Nothing particularly revolutionary. The most fun bit to build was the rising melody that comes in during the first breakdown, which has lots of pitch and frequency modulation going on. That was built in EFM1 in Logic, which is my fave.
5. What makes a remix feel authentically you?
I’m not sure I have a trademark approach, but generally I like to pick one or two key elements and see how much mileage I can get out of ‘em.
6. Do you prefer transformative remixes or subtle reinterpretations?
I think somewhere in the middle? If it’s too distant it feels like it does a disservice to the original, and if it’s too subtle then why did you even bother?
7. If you could remix any track in history, what would it be?
Anything with a lovely vocal. I’ve had a long-standing plan to write a 30 minute tripped out Ricardo-style remix of a Lana Del Rey track. Lana, release the files.
8. Do you have a favourite remix by another artist?
Impossible question, but one of my all time favourites is ‘Velez (A Made Up Sound Remix 1)’ by Asusu. It starts out pretty close to the original and slowly drifts into something totally different - it’s like you can hear the creative reimagining happening in real time.
Make sure you check out Facta and Tim Reaper’s remixes on any of your streaming platforms xoxoxox
