Review
Genre and Mood
John Newman brought the soul and Kove brought the speed to Love Me Again (Kove Remix). The track turns a northern-soul pop hit into drum and bass, mixing electronic energy with soul power, and its mood is energetic, euphoric and full of longing. It is a song that sounds desperate and joyful at the same time.
Song Summary
The original is a desperate plea for a second chance, Newman’s raw, gravelly voice begging a lover to love him again. Kove keeps that voice at the centre and drives it into rolling drum and bass, with fast breakbeats, a deep bassline and bright, uplifting chords. The contrast between the emotional vocal and the high-speed rhythm gives the remix its rush. Drum and bass has always loved a soulful vocal, and Newman’s voice, with its cracks and roughness, sounds even more urgent at this tempo.
Musical Breakdown
The remix follows the classic drum and bass structure, building tension before letting the beat explode.
Intro
Bright chords and fragments of Newman’s voice open the track, hinting at the hook before the drums arrive.
Build-up
The tension rises with filtered rhythms and a growing vocal presence, pushing toward the drop.
Main Section
The breakbeats and deep bass kick in at full speed, the vocal hook riding above the rolling groove.
Bridge
A breakdown strips the drums away, leaving Newman’s voice and the chords to carry the emotion.
Climax
The beat returns with full force, the chorus and the rhythm combining into the track’s most euphoric moment.
Outro
The drums fade out, leaving the chords and a last echo of the voice.
Concepts in Focus
A remix can move a song into another genre without changing a word. Kove keeps Newman’s vocal and the song’s harmony and replaces its stomping soul rhythm with drum and bass, roughly doubling how fast the music feels while the singer’s phrasing stays the same.
That speed comes from the breakbeat. Drum and bass is built on syncopated, chopped drum patterns in the tradition of funk breaks, played very fast, with a slow, heavy bassline underneath. Listen to how the vocal seems to float over the drums, at half their pace.
The harmony underneath is a four-chord chord progression: Gm, B-flat, Dm, C, in G Dorian, a mode with a minor colour and a brighter sixth. Because the home chord of its key signature never appears, the progression keeps circling without coming to rest, which suits a plea that never gets its answer. The bright chords Kove leans on in the intro are these same four.
Artistic Context
John Newman is a singer-songwriter from Settle in North Yorkshire, whose voice and retro-soul style first reached a wide audience on Rudimental’s “Feel the Love”. “Love Me Again”, written with Steve Booker and produced by Booker and Mike Spencer, was his debut solo single, released in Europe in May 2013 and in the UK on 30 June 2013, and the lead single of his album Tribute; its videos drew on northern soul dancing. Kove is a British drum and bass producer, and his remix was released by Universal Island alongside the single.
Impact and Reception
“Love Me Again” went to number one in the UK, was nominated for British Single of the Year at the 2014 BRIT Awards and for an Ivor Novello Award, and gained cult status through the video game FIFA 14. The Kove remix found its own audience in drum and bass circles. It is here for its double energy: soul power and breakbeat rush. Turn it up and let it run.
