Reid Stefan Travels Back in Time to Revive Retro Classic “Lookout Weekend”
When I was but a wee child growing up in the hoods of south L.A., backyard boogies, ditch parties and “kickbacks” were my jam. Too young for Hollywood and too much of a wallflower for nightclubs, these homemade gatherings were my introduction to the dancefloor, and tracks like “Lookout Weekend” from ‘80s diva Debbie Deb were the training wheels to my soon-to-be obsession with electronic music.
For those unfamiliar, Debbie Deb was an ‘80s singer whose classic tracks like “When I Hear Music,” “I Wanna Work It Out” and “Lookout Weekend” provided the backdrop for breakdance culture and freestyle dance songs. The latter became one of her most recognizable songs, as the electro-powered dance track and its immortal chorus became the universal battle cry for weekend warriors worldwide.
Originally released in 1984, the track now gets the rework treatment from Los Angeles-based electro rookie Reid Stefan, who remains true to the OG version via retro drum machines and synth melodies, while adding fat drops for modern ears.
Available now via Dim Mak, the Reid Stefan rework of “Lookout Weekend” is a party-starting banger mixing old-school party vibes with new-school oomph.
Growing up, were you a fan of the original version of “Lookout Weekend”? What is your earliest memory of the track?
I was born about six years after the release of the original version, so my earliest memory of “Lookout Weekend” was the Black Eyed Peas cover of it from 1999. It wasn’t until I was recently listening to a mix of ‘80s freestyle when I heard it and immediately knew I had to find a way to remix it.
Why, after all these years, did you decide to remix such a classic? Was there something that sparked this idea?
Classic dance tunes are a huge inspiration for me, and ‘80s dance music had the most simple, fun, and timeless vocals. “Lookout Weekend” is a perfect example of how a simple and fun vocal can make a song last forever. It’s definitely one of my favorites from the decade.
Remixing is a challenge as is, but reworking a classic adds a new layer of difficulties. What challenges did you face when you approached this remix?
Emulating the loose bass and drum grooves from the original was definitely a tough task. The sounds in the original are so perfectly out of time, and the music I normally make tends to follow a rhythmic grid. DJs today are used to mixing together songs that are 100 percent quantized, so I had to find a comfortable middle ground between the rhythmically loose original and today’s more quantized rhythms, so that myself and other DJs could mix it in with current tracks.
What would Debbie Deb think of your remix if she heard it today?
When I finished the track, Dim Mak reached out and sent it to her, and not only did she really dig my remake, but she got in the studio and re-cut the vocal parts specially for my version. Musically and vocally, it’s a complete 2015 remake rather than a remix.
How are you closing out 2015?
“Lookout Weekend” is definitely my way of closing out the year with a banger. I released my free Booty Music EP a month ago, which was a perfect setup stylistically to what I’ve done with “Lookout Weekend.” These next few weeks of 2015 I will definitely spend in the studio finishing up collabs and my next EP. “Lookout Weekend” is my first real vocal record, so we will be doing a lot with it as far as radio play, remixes and videos.
What trends from 2015 do you wish would just go away?
Every year, a large majority of EDM producers seem to change their style based on whatever the big new club/festival record is. This year, everyone switched to making wobble house, last year was the future house, the year before that was tracks that sound like “Animals.” It’s an inevitable cycle that will never stop, but if I could inspire more EDM producers and DJs to be experimental rather than play it safe, then the dance music scene as a whole could be so much more exciting.
Any predictions for 2016?
As for dance music as a whole, I see people getting tired of the EDM norms and structures, which have been beaten to death for the past few years. If you go to the mainstage at any dance music festival, it’s nothing but 128-BPM progressive house with chord progressions that build up into “3, 2, 1, Jump,” and then a super saw over a long distorted kick drum. I think artists with more variety in tempo and sounds will begin to take those headlining spots, as dance music fans gravitate toward less conventional music.
What’s next for you?
Next year is going to be my year to establish my booty music brand. I feel as an artist, I’ve never had a consistent brand and style until the past 12 months where I’ve been developing that. My goal as a music producer is to have such a distinctive style that a listener immediately knows it’s my track when they hear the sound design and rhythm. I’ve got some big collabs coming up with Vassy, Alvaro, Steve Aoki, and Dirty Audio, as well as a bunch of solo tracks and a follow-up EP to the first Booty Music EP.
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