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New Hippy Style: The Free Design
The Free Design, a little-known sunshine-pop band from the late 60s, never topped the charts in their five year career. Made up of four siblings from the Dedrick family, the band's six albums would have been long forgotten if it weren't for a series of reissues and remixes from Seattle's Light In The Attic label.
The Redesigned EP boasts some of the best remixers in the world, including Peanut Butter Wolf, who said of his track: "It was really tough because The Free Design are one of my all time favourite bands. My version sounds like a weird dream, a little scary but intriguing, kinda like the movie Poltergeist."
Other remixers are equally complimentary about their source material. Manitoba describes The Free Design as "the perfect psychedelic pop band" and wanted his remix to sound as if the group had collaborated with "a bunch of hippied out shaman dudes." Ubiquity's DJ Nobody praises the band's songwriting ability and wanted his version to "keep the prettiness of their sounds and the creepiness of the subject matter."
Later this year the label plan to release a full compilation of Free Design remixes, featuring an incredible cast of hip hop producers (Danger Mouse, Madlib, Kid Koala) as well as the stars of alternative indie (Belle & Sebastian, Super Furry Animals). All of which is not bad for a band whose biggest hit only reached number 114 in the charts back in 1967.
- Andy Morris
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