Following a blast of ethereal melodicism that is as fleeting as it is mood-setting, Priceless Lion and DJ Shaw-T are off and running in the EDM remix of the song “Superhero” this summer, with little to stop the momentum that quickly builds behind their groove. In an era that has been robbed of its best beats by a litany of societal bandits, Priceless Lion didn’t come into this version of “Superhero” with plans of giving us more of the same plush rhythm his contemporaries have been manufacturing lately, but instead with something all-encompassing of his identity as a player. This is a gorgeous mashup of pop, hip-hop, EDM, and old-fashioned club music, and best of all, it doesn’t sound like the deliberate hybrid so many other singles have this year.

​

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/tfemufasa/?tn-str=k*F

​

Lyrics don’t have the same effect that the tonal delivery through which they arrive in this song does, which isn’t to say that Priceless Lion sounds lost in the verses here. On the contrary, the confidence in his vocal is what makes a greater statement than any words ever could have; he’s using the melody to make the narrative as opposed to relying on linguistics alone. Are these literate lyrics? Of course, but I’m arguing they could just as easily be the instructions for setting up a smart speaker – it’s all about the way this vocalist is laying them down. His voice is the bread and butter of his content, even when it’s arranged between some devilishly sexy beats.

This brings us to the most intriguing point of interest in “Superhero – EDM Remix;” its lack of excess on the bottom-end. The percussion and the bass are sizeable elements in this mix, anchoring the verses and giving us a consistent, fluid run from start to finish, but they never overwhelm our singer nor us with a textural presence as big as a mountain. One of the most troubling trends I’m seeing in melodic hip-hop at the moment is the influx of noise-laden basslines, but this is an electronic track that proves no such machismo is necessary to create big, immersive music in any style of pop music. The competition would be wise to take a look at this and learn from what Priceless Lion and DJ Shaw-T have done so perfectly through their collaboration.

“Superhero – EDM Remix” is a remix that goes further than its source material could, and not solely because of the fresh blood brought into the studio to give it a twist. I’ve been keeping up with Priceless Lion for a minute, and he’s definitely getting more ambitious as he gets deeper into his career. There’s nothing in this single to indicate a period of reflection on the horizon nor a sudden stoppage in output due to inspiration woes; I get the feeling that Priceless Lion is only scratching the surface of what he wants to develop as an artist, and I believe we’re going to get a fuller picture of his vision in his next major release.

Big harmonies can occasionally serve as the exclusive backbone of a smart pop single, and in the new track “Superhero – EDM Remix” from Priceless Lion, they’re second only to the song’s lyricism in terms of expressiveness. Although there’s a sonic depth to be considered in the instrumentation, this is a single that features so much of a vocal-centric structure that it’s a little surprising just how groove-oriented it feels by the time we get into its second half. There’s no getting around the duality of this piece, and I think it’s going to get a lot of people into Priceless Lion this summer.

EDM doesn’t usually have the kind of definition we discover in a song like “Superhero,” but thanks to the handiwork of Priceless Lion’s collaborator DJ Shaw-T in this performance, intricacies are never lost in translation – they’re the star of the show. There’s a textural intensity to the synthetic melodies in this mix that had my attention from the moment I pressed the play button forward, and although it’s more prominent here than it is in the standard version of the song, I don’t get the impression this remix was meant to be a simple redressing of the original.

These vocals are hard to top in terms of brashness, and I like that they’re fully integrated with the fabric of the instrumentation rather than running side by side with the bassline. There’s been a lot of split-mix style recordings coming down the pipes in hip-hop and pop lately, but this hybrid piece doesn’t try to circumvent the pitfalls of a surreal dialogue with overly complicated construction. Streamlining works if you’ve got the talent to support something simple, and this is a case where both collaborating parties have something to gain by demonstrating their versatility and efficiency as players.

The hook in this track is formidable but not so entrancing as to take anything away from the beat, which provides the most stability of any instrumental part in the song. “Superhero – EDM Remix” had the potential to sound a little busy given all of its working parts and intersecting beats, but because it’s ultimately working off of a pop compositional format, it doesn’t ever come across as cluttered or lacking shape here. Priceless Lion knows what he’s doing behind the board, and that’s a little hard to debate when looking at what he’s done here.

“Superhero – EDM Remix” is one of the better, more well-rounded pop remixes I’ve had the chance to listen to this season, and I think it’s going to leave both serious fans of this player and newcomers to his style interested in what’s about to come out of his camp next. The chemistry between him and DJ Shaw-T works wonders on what was already a pretty solid premise in this performance, and if we’re lucky, this will not be the last occasion on which they’re sharing the recording studio and hammering out something special together. If I have my way, they’ll be reunited a lot sooner than later.

Electronica, and more specifically EDM, took a pretty big hit in 2020 with the pandemic, given that the typical venue the genre was known for dominating was completely shuttered due to COVID-19. That didn’t stop the cultivation of provocative musicianship across the underground though, and back this summer with a hot remix to get people dancing again is none other than pop artist Priceless Lion and DJ Shaw-T in “Superhero – EDM Remix.” As its title indicates, this is a supercharged version of “Superhero” made just for the club kids, but it’s not lacking the cultured center a lot of contemporary pop fans rely on for a kick these days.

The blunt bass element here is a little bigger than it needs to be, but I for one think that it makes the groove that much beefier and, thus, all the more danceable for listeners. I don’t know how he was able to fit in as much bottom-end swing here as he did, but Priceless Lion is nonetheless able to sew some brilliant lyrical lashing into the bones of this track without losing any of the tenacity from this beat. He’s a smooth operator, even when a song is coming together before your very ears.

These drums are a bit hazy next to the melodic parts of the music, but I get the idea that this was intentional and produced to give the synths some contrast in the big picture. The synthesizers suffocate us with their detailed, pseudo-harmonious crunch, but the percussive component in the background gives them just enough space to sound like the right fit for this composition. Priceless Lion is no dummy when it comes to intricacies, and if you didn’t think so before, you will after hearing what he’s able to accomplish behind the board in “Superhero – EDM Remix.”

This mix of the song doesn’t tradeoff indulgence for unwanted efficiencies that I could have heard in just about any minimalist pop tune in 2021. I’ve personally had enough of the black and white pop songcraft a lot of Priceless Lions’ peers have been employing in the studio, and if it takes pushing things in a more indulgent direction to invite some of the simple frills this genre used to be known for back into the fold, I would have to say it’s more than worth it – especially at this point.

​

I foresee a lot of great electronica coming out of the woodwork in the next few years, and while he’s not a pure EDM artist per se, Priceless Lion contributes something great for electronic music fans to get excited about in “Superhero – EDM Remix.” This is an excellent collaboration and a tremendously thought-threw document of both Priceless Lion’s and DJ Shaw-T’s skillsets when operating in the grind of the studio experience, and if it’s something they can spark up again sometime, I’ll be looking forward to reviewing whatever they record together in the future. After all, chemistry as fine as this doesn’t come around every day.