illywhacker - Smokin' Aces - 2020

A bit of an unusual post this time, as I'm essentially talking about two different tracks inspired by the same idea. The discovery of one version, for me, led to the discovery of the other, roughly one year apart. It's the newer release that's actually being featured as my tune of the week, even though I discuss both in this post.

Initially, the first version I first heard was by a producer named Michael Bibi, though it appears to have been removed from online stores. All I can assume is that this is due to a copyright dispute. The track in question is called 'Hanging Tree'; Michael Bibi's production featured the vocals of Jennifer Lawrence, taken from the film 'Hunger Games Mockingjay - Part 1'. I loved Bibi's remix when I first heard it about a year ago; I had no idea it was from the film, even though I've seen all of the movies. Even still, it caught my attention, I recognised the vocal from somewhere before later realising its origin. I discovered this version on Spotify but never actually got around to buying the track from my usual online DJ stores. This was due to the fact I wasn't planning on recording any new DJ mixes or performing anywhere at the time. It was only recently that I discovered that it most likely fell victim to a copyright dispute; as it's no longer available on Spotify either. For now, it's still available to listen to on YouTube, I've put a link down below (bonus link).

Anyway... the actual tune of the week, and the version I prefer, is titled 'Midnight (The Hanging Tree)'. I only discovered this version as a result of trying to track down a copy of Bibi's to purchase. This version was created in collaboration by electronic music artists HOSH (German) and 1979 (Italian). Jalja is on vocal duty, tasked with recreating the lines sung by Jennifer Lawrence in the movie. The London based vocalist certainly maintains the haunting and bittersweet character of the original vocal. I find this version caters to my tastes due to its more melodic nature in comparison to Bibi's production. By now, if you've been reading my other Smokin' Aces blog posts, you'll realise I love music with a haunting, and slightly darker, atmospheric sound, and this track fits into that category nicely (in my opinion).

I don't really have much else to say, you now know a bit of the back story behind my discovery of both of these gems, and where the vocal originated from, hit play and enjoy! Feel free to let me know which version you prefer, and, be sure to check out more music by HOSH, 1979, and Jalja (Michael Bibi, too)! You can expect to hear this feature in a future episode of my False Promises podcast series!

Listen on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUDPr5xPYhM

Bonus Video, Michael Bibi's version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBajOYn39A8