Sometimes, a song screams for a remix in a specific style, before anyone even thought it could be done. Listening to the album version of “Too Original” probably inspired El Dusty to put his hands to work. He might have heard something in the dancehall riddim of the drum machine that hinted to another familiar genre: the tambora beat so common to Northern Mexico and Southern Mexican-American music. Thus, we have a banda remix of a Major Lazer song.
The biggest shock upon listening to the track is how similar this version is to the original, even though the song still goes full-on quebradita. The structure and beat are very similar, yet they’re undeniably banda. It’s a shame that El Dusty couldn’t get a full-on Sinaloense ensemble, but the results are pretty awesome. On the plus side, there are tribal shades to the whole track.
El Dusty hails from Corpus Christi and he’s part of the Locos Only collective. He’s the self-proclaimed forefather of cumbia electrónica, but he dabbles in many other styles too. For more on him, you can check out his SoundCloud page.
“Too Original” might not be competing for the Most Remixed Lazer Song Award, especially with the tons of “Lean On” remixes out there, but the track does honor its name.