- I wouldn't recommend listening to 'Bahia' at home. It may simply come off as a cheesy, Coltrane-sampling tune with a weird breakdown that doesn't quite work. If you can swing it, I'd check it out at a club, where it's a cheesy, Coltrane-sampling tune with a weird breakdown that doesn't quite work. Trust me, the difference in context is enormous.
Seeing dancers trying to find the beat during 'Bahia''s unveiling of its original source material is a sight to behold. Funny, sure. Endearing, more so. That first moment of recognition when the ‘Boyz let Coltrane play his unadorned skanking tune is a revelation of sorts. (The reaction that I saw on the dancefloor was something along the lines of, "Fool me once, shame on me. But bring it back and I'll show you that I'm ready for it." The Italoboyz, teases, never do.) Everyone is in the same boat, wondering what the hell just happened.
What just happened is a novelty of sorts, surely. In many ways what the Italoboyz are doing here – and did with 'Viktor Casanova' and 'Zinga' – is an Abletonization of fantastic source material. They stick a kick drum underneath another person's work and make it their own. But I'd argue that interventions like these, especially on the dancefloors that the Italoboyz are heard on, are more important than the way in which they were produced. Introducing signs of life – and humor – into a relentless single-minded arena can only be a good thing. Seeing confused clubbers is always a good thing.
As for the difference between the two, the ‘Party Swing’ mix is basically a shortened edit of ‘Mucho Lungo’, so it simply depends on how long you want to go before unleashing that breakdown. My view: the longer, the better.
TracklistA Bahia (Party Swing)
B Bahia (Mucho Lungo)