The Wrecker is a remix solely constructed from a tiny breakbeat that I discovered at the end of "Gumbo" by The Ventures.

The Wrecker by Nik Furious [ 3:03 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

First off, it was a dream come true for me to finally sample The Ventures. I love their instrumental music and it's been a huge influence on me over the years.

Gumbo is from the album Swamp Rock, which is an underwhelming 1969 offering that features an odd collection of country rock instrumentals.

I was surprised to find this hot breakbeat on the track, slapped on the end for no discernible reason. Mel Taylor's insanely funky drums in The Wrecker are unlike anything heard during the rest of the Gumbo, save for the last 20 seconds.

Building this remix was pretty straight forward. I was relatively limited because the song begins to fade out after about 5 seconds of the breakbeat. So I salvaged as much as I could and made a few loops from it.

I also sampled the horn blast which precedes the drumbeat. Then I layered it on top of my loops to create a little melodic diversity and rhythmic impact.

This remix is named after The Wrecker, a Marvel Comics supervillain who leads the Wrecking Crew, a group of construction-based baddies. He has an enchanted crowbar, which has gotta be one of the best weapons in superhero comics.

In fact, I nominated "Enchanted Crowbar" to be the name of a band I played with briefly in 2007. And it was almost happened! Just think... if we'd been called Enchanted Crowbar then I probably never would've left the band and I'd be here sharing the latest Enchanted Crowbar song with you instead...

The title track of the mixtape! Sunday Best is a mellow instrumental remix of the underground funk classic, Chance With You by Brother To Brother.

Sunday Best by Nik Furious [ 2:10 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I was turned onto Chance With You by WEFUNK Radio, a weekly mix-show from Montreal. The DJs of WEFUNK produce incredible blends of soul, funk, hip hop, and jazz. Even better, they've been archiving their shows since 2001 and there are some real gems in there. I can't recommend WEFUNK enough.

I originally released Sunday Best as a YouTube video a little over two years ago. It was a spontaneous creation, something I made early one Sunday morning when I couldn't sleep.

The track was accompanied by an original digital painting that was my visual interpretation of the song.

As for the beat itself, I chopped up my favorite parts of Chance With You and looped them together into a version that I currently enjoy even more than the original. I hope you do too!

Station is the kind of song I make for myself because I just don't have enough like it in my music library.

Station by Nik Furious [ 4:04 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

As a teen, I'd go home from school and head straight to the basement to record songs with my 4-track. That's where I fell in love with the sound of percussion and bass stripped of any guitar, piano, or other more melodic instruments on top. 

Named after the highly evolved and inventive monster from Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, Station is the perfect example of this passion.

First, I constructed a digital drumbeat that excited me with its possibilities. It's not exactly what you hear here, but close. Then I made a super-long loop out of the beat and recorded myself jamming a bassline over it. I started chopping it up, slicing out my favorite moments and building new patterns.

But when it came time to add other instruments, I bristled at the thought. Here I had a tight, funky beat led by the raw melody of the bass and carried by the complexity of the drums. I didn't want any other sounds.

Granted, I recognize that the final product may seem a bit incomplete to most. That's why I've put this 100% original song on a mixtape and not one of my albums.

As for the name, it's very fitting because I often feel like a scientist or a sonic engineer when I'm making music. Station from Bogus Journey is a fantastic example of what it feels like to be an underground musician working on a lo-fi setup at home -- a misunderstood, grotesque inventor assembling disparate and unlikely parts together to conjure up a new unexpected creation.