Ever wonder what would happen if a major purveyor of what was once called “freak folk” turned into a dance-floor demon? No, we never did either. But goddamn if this Vetiver remix isn’t hot stuff! Andy Cabic is Vetiver, and vice versa, as we once learned while in his neighborhood. With Devendra Banhart, he’s also one of the founders of the Gnomonsong label. It’s been two years since he released his sophomore Vetiver album To Find Me Gone, but two tracks from it — “You May Be Blue” and “Been So Long” — have been revisited and restructured for a Gnomonsong 12″ by Cabic and longtime producer/pal Thom Monahan. We have the layered and ProTooled remix of “You May Be Blue” after the jump. It includes the keyboards and live and electronic drums of Cabic and regular compatriot/Espers dude Otto Hauser, along with gusts of the original’s gentle vocal line.

[Photo by Alissa Anderson; l to r: Sanders Trippe (guitar, vocals), Brent Dunn (bass), Andy Cabic (vocals, guitar), Otto Hauser (drums)]

• Vetiver – “You May Be Blue (Neighbors Remix)”Download

That was an edit from the 10-minute extended mix … where dudes really let the thing take flight. Cabic’s thoughts on the shift are interesting: “The beginning of ‘You May Be Blue,’ the delayed Wurlitzer organ figure, on its own suggests what might follow could be quite different from the song that does….[It also] promises some kind of electronic shuffle, and the remix is an opportunity to follow through.” Way to follow through, Andy. Who’s also a good DJ.

Besides the new 12-inch, which is out now on Gnomonsong, Vetiver recently completed a collection of cover tunes Thing Of The Past, which is out in May on Gnomonsong/FatCat. (Don’t fret covers hates, Cabic’s at work writing new material for a record due in ’09.) Way before any of that, though, the band goes out on tour in March as the opening and backup band for Jayhawks frontman Gary Louris. Gary has the tour dates and new solo tracks at his MySpace.