Robert Smith Says Daybreakers’ Remix of The Cure’s ‘Warsong’ Has ‘A Real Sense of Drama’: Listen

A collection of remixes of The Cure’s 2024 album Songs of a Lost World is out Friday (June 13), and ahead of the release, electronic duo Daybreakers is exclusively sharing their edit of the group’s “Warsong” from the project.

In Daybreakers’ hands, the steady, heavy, four minute and 17 second original becomes more than six minutes of hypnotic synth and muscular basslines, with a long build releasing into sped up of vocals from The Cure frontman Robert Smith and the entire edit containing the same sense of mystique and style of the legendary U.K. band is known for. Listen to the “Warsong” remix below.

“As long time fans of The Cure, we had always wanted to do a project with them, and via our mutual friend and legendary producer, Mark Saunders, the opportunity arose when Robert got in touch to discuss our interest in doing a remix,” the duo tell Billboard in a joint statement.

Made up of producers Ric Scot and Alex Hush, Daybreakers previous work includes remixes of U2’s “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In It’s Way” and Madonna’s “I Rise.” “I Rise” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart in Aug. 2019, aided by a package of remixes from artists including Daybreakers, Tracy Young, DJLW, Kue and Offer Nissim. “Love Is Bigger Than Anything In It’s Way” also hit No. 1 on this same chart in July of 2018 on the power of a remix collection that Daybreakers was a part of.

Scot and Hush’s first work together was a 2020 edit of Erasure’s “Hey Now (Think I Got A Feeling)” after which they decided to make Daybreakers an ongoing project.

As Mixes of a Lost World project came to life, Smith offered Daybreakers two tracks to choose from, one of them being ‘Warsong” which the pair say “really lent itself to something that we could incorporate our sound with. The song has a conflicted sadness to it but at the same time, we knew we could really make it work with a dance vibe.”

Daybreakers remix of “Warsong” has a real sense of drama,” Smith tells Billboard. “The breakdowns are simple, but far-out, and the vibe is cool, but urgent. It is one of my favorites on the [remix] album.”

Mixes of a Lost World will also feature edits by Four Tet, Orbital, Trentemøller, Chino Moreno, Paul Oakenfold and more. The project is out June 13 via Fiction/Capitol Records. In a statement made when the project was announced, Smith said that The Cure “has a colorful history with all kinds of dance music, and I was curious as to how the whole album would sound entirely reinterpreted by others.”

“To be chosen to do a remix is a great honor and we are thrilled with how much Robert likes the remix and we hope others do as well,” Daybreakers add. “Being included on the remix album alongside such a great variety of talented artists and producers is a huge privilege. Additionally, with all of The Cure’s recording royalties being donated to the WarChild UK charity, it really is for a wonderful cause.”