Claude Von Stroke - The Whistler (Aston Shuffle, Diplo, Luke Solomon & DJ Assault Mixes)

Most people would have heard ‘The Whistler’ by Claude Von Stroke. Championed by the likes of M.A.N.D.Y, the tune manages to make a minimal song funky and danceable. There have been many remixes of it… and here’s another batch!

The original is a brilliant piece of work, one of the most original tracks I have heard in a while. I mean, who would have thought of using a whistle sample like that? Yes there have been some, but they were crap. The synth line and bass make the song even more funky, and give it the retro electro sound. By the far the best remix is by Aston Shuffle. The trademark Aston Shuffle sound; that cowbell, those funky drums, and those massive basslines, all sound very analogue and make a tune that has gone down amazing everywhere it has been played. It’s now enjoying a spot on disc 2 of the recent ‘Sessions 4’ CD, mixed by Dirty South. The Jesse Rose remix is very similar to the orignal, perhaps speeding it up a bit and adding more drums, which make it a touch more dancefloor friendly. I love this remix, but it’s not that different from what we’ve all already heard, so there’s not much to report on.

The Diplo remix, as is to be expected, has some cool element going on, and it’s very funky with scratching and cutting. The Worthy remix employs some clever rearranging of the whistle hook to create a new hook entirely. It also utilises a standard electro sawtooth bassline. It’s good, but not as good as the Diplo version. The Vonstroke vs Luca remix is a trippy minimal type tune with lots of beeps and lots of crazy melodies and rythms. The Luke Solomon remix is even more glitchy, and it has no point. It’s a piece of minimalistic masturbation! In fact, both it and the Vonstroke vs Luca mixes are sorta pointless in my opinion. The DJ Assualt remix ends up sounding like a pisstake. The repetitive dude saying ‘now whistle, let me whistle’, over an 80s hip hop beat makes it a bit of a laugh.

Overall, the orignal and Jesse Rose remixes are brilliant, but the standout mix is definitely by Aston Shuffle as it’s an absolute dancefloor killer. The Diplo version is one of the most original and clever, so it’s a brilliant piece of work in its own right.