It grows on you
popgrandad | UK nORTHAMPTON | 08/12/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have just heard this song Big City Life played on local radio. I only hope the mediA play it more and it will certainly reach number 1. IT IS A VERY CATCHY TUNE"
Get This For The U-Myx!
Jason W. Bellenger | Byron Center, Michigan, USA | 02/12/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"(Update and edit -- March 23, 2008)
"Big City Life," released in the UK back in August 2005 where it reached #15, is the first official single from Mattafix. The single eventually stormed the rest of Europe, placing #1 in a number of territories, including Germany where it replaced Madonna's "Hung Up" at #1. The production on this track is stunning with it's grinding bass line chorus and beautiful underlying piano. It may have heavy hip-hop beats, but it's melancholy verses ("don't you ever get lonely from time to time, don't let the system get you down") make it a real gem. The single became among my Top 3 favourites of 2005.
This single release is definitely worth getting for the U-Myx enhanced section alone. We get all the sections of the track broken down into individual pieces: vocals, background vocals, synths, guitars, drums, and piano. I was able to create many of my own versions of this song, including my own extended mixes (with additional software). One can listen to just the piano alone or maybe a combination of piano, drums, and synths to create a unique version. Or what about an a cappella track? Yep, U-Myx allows you to do that as well! Enjoy the different layers of the song in sections, as a whole, or individually.
I'm surprised that this track never got a shot in the U.S. considering it's huge success internationally. I think that this would have had a shot at #1 in the U.S. So why doesn't it at least get a shot here?
Since Amazon.com does not list a complete tracklisting (with the versions), here it is:
01 Big City Life [LP Version]
02 Big City Life [Cutfather & Joe]
03 Big City Life [Solid Groove]
04 Big City Life [Mattafix]
05 Big City Life [U-Myx]
As for the remixes, most of them are pretty good. My favourite remix from the CD single is the "Cutfather & Joe" remix, which uses a clever sample and works.
Get this for the U-Myx! You won't be able to stop playing with the different layers of this brilliant recording!
P.S. This release features an early version of U-Myx, which used full, high quality music files, resulting in a program that used much more space -- 351 MB for this "Big City Life" U-Myx file. However, this bigger file yields much higher quality stereo mixes. Nowadays, U-Myx compresses their files heavily (10 MB - 25 MB, for a U-Myx file), which unfortunately results in poor to mediocre audio quality. But this is where it all started for U-Myx -- high quality mixes! Grab this if you can!"
Track Listings (5) - Disc #1
