There are two great songs in the pop canon that go by the name of Hallelujah. Leonard Cohen got there first and Jeff Buckley breathed new life into it, but The Happy Mondays came up with their own new song.
It’s already been memorably remixed several times, most notably that landmark 1989 Club Mix by Andrew Weatherall and Paul Oakenfold, and now comes this fantastic new mix by Weatherall’s former protegee Daniel Avery.
Moving it away from its ravey rebirth back in the Acid House era, Avery brings back the baggy beat of the original, turning up the dub-like bass element, and (eventually!) lacing it with Italo house piano, rewarding us for waiting nearly four minutes for it.
It’s taken from a new compilation called The Factory Singles, out next Friday, fusing the band’s landmark sounds from the late ’80s with new versions by today’s generation of electronic innovators.
Other new tracks include an Oakenfold mix of Step On, released a few weeks back, and forthcoming remixes by Anna Prior, The Reflex, Mella Dee and Shadow Child – and no, I don’t know who they are, but I’m looking forward to hearing them.
Especially if they’re as good as these.
