On August 20th, Moroccan-Canadian singer-songwriter Faouzia released the Paul Morrell remix of her hit single, “Hero.” Where the original’s energy is centered around more pop-rock production with trap hi-hats on occasion, the Paul Morrell remix sounds like it came straight out of the European club scene of early 2010’s. With a sound similar to “1991” by Tesla Boy or “Silhouettes” by Avicii, Paul Morrell keeps the song’s original intent – questioning whether people in your life are there for the right reasons, wondering aloud whether they would actually help you in the same ways you help them – while turning it into a club-ready banger.
To be quite honest, Faouzia’s voice and lyrics, particularly with this track, work better in this piano-centric electronic version. There are some interesting production decisions made in the original recording, and they work to some extent. The MIDI strings give a medieval flair to the song that mentions fairytales in the lyrics which is pretty cool, but the drums and the piano syncopation of the remix give space for Faouzia’s voice to really hit home.
The only downsides of the remix are the missing bridge, which features an amazing vocal belt on the original, and the drum “fill” at the end. Everything leading up to this point has primed us for an amazing, club-worthy ending, and the drum “fill” that Paul Morrell put in just feels deflating. The fading vocal repetition works, but the drums could have done something better. The most deflating part about it is that the same fill works so well earlier in the remix. It just doesn’t work at the end.
All things being equal, though, be sure to check out both versions of “Hero” and give us your opinion! Faouzia has had a promising start to her career, and “Hero” could be what finally gives her the major opening she deserves. Also, check out more of Paul Morrell’s work if you like that 2010’s Euro-dance club sound!
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[…] singer Faouzia released her new single, “Puppet.” The first single from Faouzia since June’s “Hero,” “Puppet” takes the same topic from a different lens. While “Hero” was about asking if a […]