Valentine’s Day might get extra lonely for some of us this year. To help the hopeless romantics and the heart breakers out there, we’ve put some of our favourite old school love songs side by side with some more modern day bootlegs. Much love y’all.



3 OF A KIND - BABYCAKES /
MINA - BBYCAKES

It’s only right we start off with a track that debuted as a UK number 1 back in the great Summer of 2004. 3 of a kind are known for releasing one of the UK’s most famous garage tracks, and, well, that’s about it. Regarded as a one-hit wonder, the group never progressed on their bubblegum 2 step banger. Not to worry though, as the classic chorus continues to get reworked over 15 years later, with Mina’s personal take on it being by far the best we’ve come across.





T2 - HEARTBROKEN (FT. JODIE) /
T2 - HEARTBROKEN (SAMURAI BREAKS & J-WOK BOOTLEG)

If you tell someone I’ve got a confession to make and they don’t reply I’m Heartbroken, they’re definitely too young for you. A national treasure of a track, the classic bassline hit held the accolade for most requested track on BBC Radio 1 Xtra and broke all our hearts when Leona Lewis’ Bleeding Love kept it off the UK number 1 spot. Given I was still a teenager at the time of release, I was more likely to hear it at the back of the bus than at the back of the club. And while the original is still worthy of a play at the end of a night, Samurai Break & J-Wok have a done a slick job of turning it into a high flyer of a drum and bass track and giving me the most intense bootleg I own.




DUKE - SO IN LOVE WITH YOU /
DUKE - SO IN LOVE (RATMAN REMIX)

Before I had time to blow out my first set of birthday candles, Duke had channelled all his romance into a funk-inspired dance tune that’ll make your vegan butter melt. Not sure what The 10 Commandments of Love - the name of the album on which the single was released - are, but I’ll be shocked if that white suit and tash combination he pulls off in the accompanying music video isn’t one of them. My housemate recently told me about a rare smooth and subtle garage remix of Duke’s innocent love ballad she had on dubplate knocking about upstairs. It was love at first sound. Alan Richards, aka Receiver, aka Ratman seems to have a knack for producing bootlegs, just not a knack for releasing them.





IIO - RAPTURE /
GALTIER - RAPTURE

We can all recite a list of commercial dance-pop classics from the 2000s, and no doubt each one will be dominated by romantic lyrics of want and desire layered on top of Moroder-influenced baselines. iiO’s Rapture encapsulates all of the above - plain and simple. Galtier decided to go against the grain and made a percussive and bass-heavy reconstruction of Rapture that really does taste so sweet.  The mood is brought down to a darker and more hostile environment where Nadia’s “surrender to your rapture arrest” takes on a whole new meaning. More S&M than the casual promiscuity of the original - but hey, how you spend your Valentine’s is up to you.





SPICE GIRLS - WANNABE /
POLO LILLI - TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT

We’re all more than familiar with the Spice Girls’ long list of requirements for their current and future relationships; some of which might be more achievable than others. Although we may not be ticking all of the boxes ourselves, Polo Lilli did a fantastic job of addressing the topic by completely transforming the original track and never allowing any of the Girls to get to the point. Sorry loves, but we can always try.





JX - YOU BELONG TO ME /
DJ KARPIN - YOU BELONG TO ME

Most likely unknown to anyone outside of Andalucía currently between the ages of 20 and 40, Seville’s DJ Karpin was a legend in the south in the 2000s, with his hard-hitting (Andaluz breakbeat) flip of JX’s You Belong To Me being one of his biggest tracks. This is the music that we grew up with: big kicks, strong snares that smack you in the face and not a track under 130bpm. With a title apt for those in more stable relationships than ourselves.





BLU CANTRELL (FT. SEAN PAUL) - BREATHE /
MONTÈR - BREATHE W/ OMAR DURO

Because for every commercial track you hear there’s always bound to be a much better flip somewhere. Montèr and Omar Duro’s take on Sean Paul’s ‘Breathe’ has the Dutch duo got us bouncing around and forgetting about whatever might have gone wrong in our previous love lives.





DADDY YANKEE - ELLA ME LEVANTÓ /
YUNG SOFT - TE QUISE MAS QUE A LAS ESTRELLAS

Daddy Yankee’s Ella Me Levantó is an anthem for exes that didn’t end well, with flow and dembow to top (by a long shot) any English equivalent you’d hear on the same topic. Coming off AGVA Records, Yung Soft’s ‘Te Quise Más Que Las Estrellas’ from the ‘Yankee Es Mi Daddy’ EP, sees the iconic reggaeton track take an ambient and ethereal approach that puts hairs on end. By all means; we’re doing much better now.