[insert Bear Pun Here]

With only two releases under their belt, The 2 Bears have garnered quite a following. It probably helps that one of them is Joe Goddard (of Hot Chip fame). The duo run a popular music blog that, at first, seemed to revolve solely around bear-related puns, despite, er, the obvious draw of that in itself the blog also provides other reason to drop by, including up to the minute info on their productions, gigs and wonderfully eclectic Ministry of Sound radio shows.
This is the first 2 Bears track I ever heard, a dub-house offering, it treads a fine line between the bass scene and tribal house, with a slow, bouncing bassline (in fact i first found it in a Sully mix, nestled alongside a collection skittering 2-step). Although more restrained than their usual quirky and colourful style, this remain one of my favourites Bears productions. The remix was handed out last year by Fact Magazine a good deal of time after its original release, and for some reason they changed the original name from 'Come Out And Play' to 'Rebel':
Toddla T - Rebel (The 2 Bears Tuned To Riddim Remix ) [pelski highly recommends]
The cuddly twosome kindly recently threw out their dub of 'Church' on the Southern Fried website, arguably the pick from their 'Curious Nature' EP. The original is a love song from Raf Daddy (the other half of The 2 Bears) to his girlfriend; the dub keeps a few of the vocals intact plus plenty of hand claps, the ubiquitous steel pan and a cheesy choir-boy chorus you'll either love or hate. The whole thing's dubbed out with various effects that add a rougher edge to the cleaner original:
The 2 Bears - Church (Dub) [pelski highly recommends]
The 2 Bears' brand spanking remix - courtesy of XLR8R - is a bit of a change in direction, running at almost 140bpm it's a mish-mash of genres sent back in time: a flutter of stacatto old skool breaks are broken down into a house arrangement and peppered with bmore vocal samples. So that's, er, liquid-bmore-house-step then?
Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs - How Far (The 2 Bears Remix)
Southern Fried Records just release the Curious Nature Remix EP (buy it here). The picks come from Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Midland. TEED provide a chirpy slice of bouncing house music. Midland's (below) pushes that deep percussive tech-house sound that's fast becoming his trademark. Rattling, rolling beats rise up and surround the harmonious vocal clip:
2 Bears - Church ( Midland Remix) by Midland
Keeps your eyes peeled for The 2 Bears' 'The Bear Hug EP', coming soon...
Pelski