Connecticut-based singer-songwriter Carol Hahn became an independent, international disco sensation in the 1980s with club staples like "Do Your Best" and "Into the Night." After becoming disillusioned with bleak realities of the business, the enterprising artist found new inspiration in recording and producing her own music. She recently informed me on how it all came together.
2011 marks the 25th anniversary of your hi-NRG hit, "Your Love (Is All I Need)." You've released a batch of new dance remixes. How did the song originally come about?
I didn't even realize it's been that long! Well, let's see. My co-writer, Jeff Sullivan—who's now known as Tristan Avery—and I started to write it while I was still with Nickel Records. I had released a couple of singles with them which did well in dance clubs, like "Do Your Best" and "Into the Night." We collaborated on the words, and Tristan contributed the chorus. But it didn't work for me, so I came up with a different one. We argued, then finally came up with one we agreed on. After we laid down the track at my home studio (an eight-track at that point), I ended up presenting it to Jerry Silvers at Wide Angle Records in Minneapolis. He transferred it and added more tracks.
How did the song perform for you commercially? What gave you the impetus to come out with these new remixes?
It reached the top 40 of Billboard's club chart in the U.S. A number of labels in other territories—Brasil and Belgium, I believe—also licensed it. I've gotten requests from people over the years to revisit it. I had doubts if it would work, since it was originally done at 135 beats-per-minute (BPM). Nowadays, the standard is more around 128. So, I hesitated a bit.
What was the process of remixing it like?
Actually, all the original tapes from my Nickel and Wide Angle recordings were lost; so we redid everything. I was somewhat limited budget-wise, so I called on a few friends in the dance community whom I've worked with before. Sphank has a really good handle on hi-NRG. Tristan, who produced for me in the past, did his first remix with this one. Then Bonzai Jones contributed a more mellow take.
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