Partners in Crime

Remixing classic tunes into booty-shaking dance songs is a tricky business. Mess with the original’s integrity too much and folks aren’t going to want to move their feet. On the other hand, some reinterpretations don’t even sound like the original mash-ups, save for an oddly placed, out-of-synch backbeat.

The Los Angeles-based Villains have tackled some super-recognizable songs by heavy-hitting artists — “Around the World” by Daft Punk, Bloc Party’s “Hunting for Witches,” a reworking of Michael Jackson’s famous tune “Thriller” that they dub “Thrilla” — and produced some absolutely sick results. We’re not the only ones who think so, as February’s issue of Spin lists “Thrilla” in the mag’s “songs you need to download now” list.

Villains will perform their first-ever AZ show with a two-hour, four-turntable set. “Villains are the shit, because they are a group of experienced audio engineers from L.A. who decided to put their deep knowledge of sound and production into creating some of the best remixes and original tracks around,” says DJ Epidemic.