Review
Genre and Mood
Tiefschwarz made Corporate Butcher with the singer Mama, and Solomun remade it as Corporate Butcher (Solomun Remix) in 2011. Its world is deep house and house, electronic music for clubs. The feelings named here, hypnotic and groovy, are this page’s reading of a seven-minute club mix rather than a critic’s verdict: no review we could find describes the remix in detail.
Song Summary
The song began as an exclusive: the Schwarz brothers recorded it with Mama for Watergate 09, their mix CD for the Berlin club’s series, where Resident Advisor’s reviewer singled out “the smooth Corporate Butcher” among the duo’s own productions slipped into the mix. Watergate Records then released it on an EP on 14 November 2011: the original at 8:23, this Solomun remix at 7:20 and a remix by Fritz Zander at 7:37. The sources used here do not cover the lyric.
Musical Breakdown
No source walks through this remix part by part, so the breakdown stays with what is documented.
Intro
At 7:20 the remix has room for the long opening a DJ needs. Notice how much happens before Mama’s voice arrives.
Main Section
The body of the track carries Mama’s vocal, credited on every version of the EP. Solomun’s music has been described as house with deep, ultra funky basslines, euphoric melodies and emotionally charged vocals; listen for which of those he brings to a song that was already called smooth.
Outro
The ending leaves room to mix out into the next record, the way the song first lived inside a mix CD.
Concepts in Focus
A remix is a new version built from the parts of an existing recording, and the Corporate Butcher EP is a small lesson in what that means: one song in three versions, one by its makers and two by other producers. Play the 8:23 original against Solomun’s version to hear how far a remixer can move a song.
What holds the versions together is the <a href=“https://korczis.github.io/sonic-playground/concept/featured-artist/” class=“concept-link font-medium text-primary-700 underline decoration-dotted underline-offset-4 hover:decoration-solid dark:text-primary-400” data-concept=“featured-artist” title=“A guest performer credited on another artist’s track, usually as “feat.”: a rapper’s verse, a singer’s hook or a second voice. Features bring together different styles and audiences and are central to hip-hop, R&B and dance music.“>featured artist: all three are credited to Tiefschwarz feat. Mama, so her voice is the thread to follow.
The song exists because of a dj mix. Tiefschwarz recorded it for their continuous Watergate set before it became a single. Solomun’s other 2011 remix, Noir & Haze – Around (Solomun Vox), shows how far a DJ record could travel that year.
Artistic Context
Tiefschwarz are the brothers Ali and Basti Schwarz, who formed the project in Stuttgart in 1996. Their sound has been described as both deep, mellow house and gritty, edgy electro house; they have remixed Madonna and Depeche Mode. Solomun, born Mladen Solomun in Travnik in 1975 and raised in Hamburg, co-founded the Diynamic label in late 2005. Mixmag named him its DJ of the Year in 2012, and his own Solomun – Friends shows the producer behind the remixes.
Impact and Reception
The remix outlived its EP. Watergate Records put it on the compilation Via Notte, Vol. 2 in July 2012, and in 2016 Diynamic included it in Solomun’s Selected Remixes 2009–2015. Give it the full seven minutes, loud.
