The two NYC-based artists join forces on Armada Subjekt to create a high-powered tech house tune that pays homage to Inner City’s iconic dance floor hit “Good Life.”
Carlos and Tyler, congratulations on your Beatport number 1 hit, “Let Me Take You!” How are you?
CID: Doing great! Riding high, we are both super excited to see “Let Me Take You” is #1, and my collaboration with Will K “OoooH” is sitting at #3 overall!
Westend: Never been better. This is my first Beatport #1 (after a couple of close calls), and I am feeling overjoyed to be able to have this accomplishment under my belt.
“Let Me Take You” is a rework of Inner City’s classic Detroit Techno hit “Good Life.” Why did you want to give a spin on this track in particular? And how did you team up for this one?
CID: This one just came about the same way as our first collaboration, “Jumpin’,” did. Just us messing around in the studio until we came up with something that got us both excited. The original is such a classic. We hadn’t heard any recent versions with the vocal, and it just felt right to put our twist on it. Big shoutout to Inner City and Kevin Saunderson for letting us use their iconic vocal!!
Westend: We both love the original vocal as it’s a classic, and it worked really well with the groove we had going in the studio. “Let Me Take You” is such a simple record because the Inner City sample is so iconic and catchy. We didn’t need to add much else.
The words “Good Life” are never heard in your track. Yet, because the original vocals by Paris Grey are part of the dance canon, everyone who’s listening to “Let Me Take You” is automatically adding the missing words in their heads which makes the track one big tease. Is this a technique that you’ve taken from Djing?
CID: It wasn’t intentional, to be honest. We were just messing with the “Let Me Take You” part, and it gave the track a bit of a darker feel than the original, and that’s why we ended up sticking with just that.
Westend: For me, it’s important that samples are used creatively and intentionally in music. I hear a lot of tech house tracks that will throw in an acapella as is and call it a day. I love to repurpose the vocal sample into new FX sounds and leads that weren’t in the originally sampled track, which is what we did for “Let Me Take You.” We didn’t say, “Hey, let’s leave out the words ‘good life,'” but I think we just wanted to keep things fresh and interesting.
You are both from New York. Do you have a favourite club in the city?
CID: I think the newly renovated Brooklyn Mirage took New York nightlife to a whole new level. It’s pretty insane what they’ve built there. I don’t know if you can call it a club because it’s outdoors and it’s massive, but I would say that it’s definitely my favorite venue in New York right now.
Westend: My favorite club at the moment is also the Brooklyn Mirage (not really a club but whatever). Before that, it was Output which had immaculate vibes and a really good sound system.
Have you got further collaborations in the plans?
CID: Nothing planned at the moment, but it’s always fun getting in the studio with Westend. We both bring different techniques to the table and end up learning little tips and tricks from each other. I’m sure we’ll get back in to make more music at some point soon!
Westend: We like to go b2b between a bottle of tequila every now and then, but no new tracks at the moment. I think we gotta make it a yearly tradition at this point, though.
