This is the first of two Offer Nissim releases that are being reviewed this week.
This collection is the latest release from the Israel-based DJ/remixer/producer.
Disc 1 contains remixes of some of Offer Nissim and Maya Simantov's earlier singles by other remixers. None of these mixes have been released previously on singles or other compilations. Some have been availabe at the digital retailers. Overall, a number of the mixes are Electro/House in style. Some of the highlights include Peter Rauhofer's mostly instrumental take on "Happy People", Ana Paula's reworking of "Love Me" with those lush strings and the Zoltan Kontes remix of "Only You."
Disc 2 contains the original versions of the last six Maya songs, including "For Your Love", "Wish You Were Here", "I'm In Love", "Happy People", "Why" and "Love Me", plus the new Epiphony track, "Out Of My Skin", the Symphony Extreme track "Remember My Name", which is based on the classic "Fame", Offer's new instrumental entitled "Bimbo" and Offer's revisit to Dana International's "Petra." Noticeably missing are the new tracks with Maya including "Hook Up" and "You'll Never Know How" and the two new covers of "I Close My Eyes And Count To Ten" and "Believe" with vocals by Hila Davidson (Symphony Extreme) and Meital De Razon (Epiphony), respectively. The new Epiphony track "Out Of My Skin" is one of his stronger works to date without Maya on vocals. Meital's vocal performance is quite good. The Symphony Extreme track "Remember My Name" is mostly instrumental, however the few vocals by Hila are decent. This one may have worked better with more vocals. The other instrumental, "Bimbo" is pretty good too. Really energetic. Some of the instrumental elements call to mind Offer's mix of "Ze She'Shomer Alay" from last year. The updated mix of Dana International's "Petra" is really good. Only some of the vocals from the original are used. The production fits extremely well.
All tracks on both CDs are full length, and totally unmixed. Physical editions of the collection are available at the
Star 69 website. Digital downloads of the discs individually are available there too.
This collection is a must-have.
Grade: A
This is their latest single. Offer has been playing this one for a few months now. "Hook Up" is somewhat of a departure from their usual songs about love and loss. This one is a bit more sexual. Maya sort of speaks/raps the lyrics instead of singing them. It may sound a bit bizarre, but it works. The original is pretty tribal and slightly electro (think of taking the fun sleazy vibe of Starkillers or Hector Fonseca's productions and combining them with Offer's usual big room offerings). The gorgeous piano breaks and key stabs make up for the lack of sung vocals. Yinon Yahel's remix sounds more like what Offer would usualy do with his tracks. There are piano breaks in his mix as well. Those not liking the original may prefer this version. Ana Paula's mix has a nice strings break. The mix has a carnival-like atmosphere. Very good too. The Dimitri Vegas and Ben Preston mixes are both in a similar vein. They are much more electro-oriented.
