The Best Remixes of Disclosure's "Latch"

Recently, BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge was graced by Alt-J. During these Live Lounge performances, the artists will knock out covers of songs; Alt-J chos

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Complex Original

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Recently, BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge was graced by Alt-J. During these Live Lounge performances, the artists will knock out covers of songs; Alt-J chose Disclosure's breakout single, the Sam Smith-featured "Latch." Why? Who knows. Their rendition is polarizing: either you hate it, or you are on the Internets trying to defend why it's not terrible. It almost feels like a troll—not saying someone HAS to learn how a song is sung/played to cover it, but you'd imagine that they'd heard the song before. It felt like they'd purposefully picked the most obscure song (to them) that they could find on a list, and figured they'd just jumble a confusing rendition of it together.

Simply put, Alt-J's cover of "Latch" should be the nail in that track's coffin.

If you hadn't realized, 2014 saw "Latch" be officially released as a Disclosure single in America. Nevermind that the song first came out in the fall of 2012, and swept the U.S. almost as quickly as it did the UK. And like all singles that are receiving heavy radio play, people had a field day reworking this powerful Sam Smith vocal. Or totally avoiding it. That Alt-J cover had us thinking about all of the remixes of "Latch" that hit the scene—both official and bootleg—and wanted to finally put the whole "Latch" situation to bed (or get the stench of their cover out of our browsers, whichever came first). Here is the final look back at one of 2012 2014's biggest songs, Disclosure's "Latch," in hopes that remixers move on to another song to remix into oblivion.

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (Silverback Remix)"

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I'm never quite sure how I feel about the laser'd out style of dubstep when it isn't produced by Skrillex. The simple fact is that a lot of these dudes are straight up jacking Skrilly's style and doing nothing to differentiate themselves as anything but copycats. This one seems different, though. Silverback's take on "Latch" is really like arena dubstep with its massive reverbs and thumping bass at the core of it. Truth be told, this is not a song that needed an arena dubstep version. Not at all. With that said, this does hit the mark and if you've got the Natty Light and blacklights on tap, this is exactly what you're looking to hear.—Jake

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (Manic Focus Remix)"

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Manic Focus's liquid bass version gracefully mixes bits of drum & bass and dubstep and the result is massive. It's straight-up anthemic and it's a feel good number at any time of day or night.—Jake

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (Mozambo Remix)"

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Did Mozambo get someone to redo the vocal, or was it pitched a certain way? Who knows. He gives his version of "Latch" a distinct tropical vibe, bringing some cute French feels to the song.—khal

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (Lost Kings Remix)"

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Progressive house isn't "cool" any more but Lost Kings still brought a great touch to this. Sam Smith's vocals work unsurprisingly well over LK's uplifting arpeggiated melodies and hard-hitting Prydz-esque snare. —Jake

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (MisterMack Version)"

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MisterMack latched onto the soul of Sam Smith's vocal, turning in a solid house take on Disclosure's breakout single. There are no mountains being moved, but he adds some hand-clapping towards the beginning, let's that ride for a bit, then goes in for the bounce-y turnup to ride out. Solid.—khal

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (La'Reda Remix)"

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If you needed loads of subs and a sexy feels in your "Latch" remix, La'Reda has you covered. La'Reda actually does a good job matching the sweeps and builds in the original, but instead of the funky swagger that Disclosure created, he goes for a moodier bop that wins on its own.—khal

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (Stwo & Phazz Edition)"

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Here's a funky futuristic disco edition cut with half-time sections and a thick slapping bass at the core. If you're a fan of Kaytranada's AlunaGeorge flip, then this is right up your alley.—Jake

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (StéLouse & Curious Kontrol Flip)"

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StéLouse has seen loads of love for his material here on DAD, and this bae-riffic take on "Latch" definitely fits in well with the bright, colorful way he builds his material. Alongside Curious Kontrol, Sam Smith's voice is given a bed that matches the soul he drenched in this tune. I can't front: the female fills in the hook seem a bit off at this tempo, but that's a pet peeve I quickly get over when this flip really gets going.—khal

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (Oliver Heldens Remix)"

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Oliver's riding a new "deep" house wave, and turns "Latch" on its ear. For all of the talk about Disclosure borrowing from all sorts of older vibes (from UK garage to throwback house), it feels like Oliver ups that ante, making the tune "bigger" for the festival crowd while not going entirely off the deep end. No pun intended. It's a weird line that Oliver Heldens walks, but with remixes like this, he shows that he can bridge that gap between the two worlds.—khal

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (DJ R3LL Remix)"

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Jersey's Brick Bandits is a super talented crew, and DJ R3ll is one of the freshest of the collective. His take on "Latch" features an explosive style with bristling vocal chops, club breaks, and a heavy low-end. We definitely needed this dope club flip.—Jake

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (Jamie Jones 'Marzy's House' Remix)"

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Jamie knows how to create sexually-charged material, and his remix of Disclosure's "Latch" makes things all hypnotic and tantric, turning Sam Smith lines into proper chants. He leaves most of the vocals on the cutting room floor, juicing up melodies and movements from the original into bombastic grooves that'll push you to the edge.—khal

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (T. Williams Club Mix)"

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Disclosure's fellow PMR act T.Williams delivers a techy cut right here to get the floor moving. This tones down the anthemic crowd-pleasing bits of the original and instead delivers a straight groover and perhaps tailors it for a more serious and experienced dancefloor.—Jake

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (DJ Premier Remix)"

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DJ Premier delievered a super sexy smooth and sophisticated trip with his turn. The already-infectious pop crossover track gets a slick and sensual style to it and is the perfect track for nearly every situation. I imagine a mainstage peaktime DJ set could even work this in at a breakdown to give the crowd a second to catch their breath before souping them back up. That said, this is a tune best appreciated with your loved one in a more intimate setting to capture its full effect.—Jake

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (Zed Bias Remix)"

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Zed's known for his work within the UK garage scene, and found a way to make the most hypnotically funky remix of "Latch" out there without relying on letting the full hook play out. The track isn't necessarily complex; he kicks things off fairly simply, but there's that beauty in simplicity that works wonders. In fine fashion, it sounds like Zed took some vocal snippets, manipulated them, and turned them into another instrument on their own. It's wonderfully done, and one of those cuts that we imagine an entire club will be rocking to. If only they could get their hands on it!—khal

Disclosure ft. Sam Smith - "Latch (Lido Remix)"

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Some remixers like to tackle a specific portion of a track, building the rest of it in their own design. Other leave little regard for the source material, practically using a fraction of the original to get their name out there. Lido seemed like he had a genuine love for "Latch," leaving Sam Smith's vocal practically unscathed. He has a way of building so much tension and beauty in his tracks, making the hooks sound more like real climaxes as opposed to "that part where we all sing along." This sound is what made us love his I Love You EP so much, and compared to the lot of remixes out there, we're surprised it was one of the few that got properly ganked from Al Gore's Internets with the quickness.—khal

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