Jared Braden A healthy obsession with pop music!
By 1996, Cyndi Lauper’s reign as pop music’s favorite misfit had long ended, but clubland still had a soft spot for the octave vaulting diva. Lauper released her fifth studio album, Sisters Of Avalon, in the United States in April of 1997. The lead single from the record, the politically charged “You Don’t Know,” failed to make an impact on Top 40, but thanks to a stellar remix from Tony Moran, the song was blasted from speakers in clubs across America.
Lauper followed up the release of “You Don’t Know” with the quirky dance song “Ballad of Cleo and Joe.” The track, an ode to the double life of a drag queen, was met with an enthusiastic welcome in gay clubs across America.
For the third single from Sisters of Avalon, Lauper chose the title track. Though the single would eventually only receive a release in Japan, official remixes of the song from New York-based DJ and producer Hani, perhaps best known for the dance hit “Baby Wants To Ride”, were commissioned by Epic Records for a release in the United States. For whatever reason, when the Hani mixes were completed and turned in, Lauper decided to not release them. These mixes, which were only sent out to a very small number of music insiders, would go on to be one of the most sought after by Lauper fans. Now, Lauper fans needn’t look further than Hani’s official website. The DJ is offering remastered versions of three “Sisters of Avalon” remixes via his official website: Hani’s Num Radio Edit, Hani’s Num Club Mix, and the Bassline Dub.
You might be wondering why Hani is finally allowing the much-sought-after remixes to surface? On his website, he says, “Due to the lack of funds & total disregard by Record Labels, Most of my work is not available anywhere online. I’ve put an extensive effort in Remastering all my Productions & Remixes to make them available here on djhani.com. I had to do this before i die to save this work from extinction because no one else will.”
You can stream the Hani Num’s Radio Edit of “Sisters of Avalon” below, and, if you like what you hear, you can head over to Hani’s official website to purchase them. In addition to his “Sisters of Avalon” mixes, he is also offering unreleased mixes from Mariah Carey, Duran Duran, Christina Aguilera, and more.
