Toca's Miracle

Background and recording

In 2000, British DJ Vimto had the idea of taking the 1995 sound recording of Coco's a cappella vocals from the song "I Need a Miracle" and mixing it with the music of Fragma's "Toca Me". By amalgamating the titles, it became "Toca's Miracle". He pressed an illegal bootleg which earned considerable attention from leading DJs. At the time, Fragma were signed to Positiva Records, so a release was made. "I Need a Miracle" was originally released by Greenlight Recordings in 1996 and re-recorded for EMI/Positiva in 1997. It is noted that Coco was never a member of Fragma.

"I Need a Miracle" was written by Rob Davis and Victor Imbres. When Coco's "I Need a Miracle" was subject to a mash-up with "Toca Me", it was bootlegged by Ramon Zenker. With the interview with Zenker, he stated; "One day [Dirk] and [Marco] gave me a rough demo with this magic plugged-guitar line which I thought was really good. I called it 'Toca Me'. Toca in Spanish means touch, so it became known as Touch Me."

The original vocal of "Toca Me" by Eva Martinez may have been inspired by a track called 'Feel The Magic' by Exotica, which was the b-side to their 1995 UK hit single "The Summer Is Magic".

Zenker stated about the production; "I produced it as a club track. I thought it was a good idea, with the guitar sample, but I thought it was only a thing for clubs, and wouldn't really be that successful [...]" He carried on saying "They started the composition, they offered [me] some chord lines, sequences and bass lines, and started looking for interesting sounds. I collected these, put my own ideas to it and mixed it together into a track."

Musically, the song was based on a "typical-trance" style, which features instrumentation of guitars and synthesizers. Zenker used a Roland TR909 for the drums, arpeggiated sequence from the Nord Lead, chord sounds from the Korg O5R/W and used the bass from the Waldorf Pulse. He also used a string pad from Emu Audity 2000 and occasionally used some synth chords from the Access Virus.

While mixing both recordings, he stated he couldn't "believe" both versions fit perfectly. He mistakenly concluded Coco as being on the same label as them, stating: "Fortunately, this Coco single was on Positiva, which is the same label we are on, That was very good, so Kevin from Positiva A&R sorted things out with Coco and her management, and it was very quick to find a deal to use the vocals. 'I Need A Miracle' was three years old -- a long time ago -- and 'Toca's Miracle' was more successful than both knocked together, so there was benefit for both sides."

Legal dispute

In late 2012, Coco Star revealed on her official Facebook page that the record label Positiva Records had confused the vocal recordings and sampled the original 1996 version of "I Need a Miracle" (released on Greenlight Records), instead of the 1997 re-recording (released on Positiva). She also wrote in the statement that the agreements that were entered "are now known to be ‘Unauthorised’". According to Star, she has never been paid for her vocal contribution to "Toca's Miracle" despite it selling over 3 million copies worldwide. She also claims that she didn't receive any airplay royalties from PPL until 2016.

On Coco Star's SoundCloud page she wrote that the 2008 InPetto remix of "Toca's Miracle", produced by Dirk and Marco Duderstadt (the original writers of "Toca Me") as well as other remixes, were never authorised either.

Shortly after, Kirsty Hawkshaw revealed that Fragma had never paid her royalties for her contribution to the 2006 single "Radio Waves". According to Harkshaw, a recording contract were never signed. She further wrote that she loves the Bastian remix of the track, released in October 2012, and that she was sure Bastian had nothing to do with "the rogue label Tiger Records”. Kirsty Hawkshaw and Coco Star have both sued Tiger Records Germany in 2015.

Re-releases

In 2007, "I Need A Miracle" was covered by Danish production team KLM Music featuring re-recorded vocals by Coco Star. The cover version was released as "I Need A Miracle".

In 2008, it was announced that a re-release of "Toca's Miracle" would be released under the name "Toca's Miracle 2008". The production of one of the remixes is similar to the original version, but features a more "retro-rave" edit, with the song being remixed by InPetto. Inpetto's production was heavily confused with Deadmau5, where people believed it was produced by him, but this was eventually clarified. The song's composition was described as "subdued, electro-tinged sound, which betrays a marked deep house influence, 'Toca's Miracle 2008' veers perilously close to sounding classy." The song was eventually re-released in Australia as a CD Single by Tinted Records, while it was released in Europe around Spring 2008 by Tiger Records and Spinnin' Records with new artwork. Other remixes by Wideboys, Richard Durand and Wes Clarke feature little or no Fragma production. These are technically new productions of Coco-I Need a Miracle, incorrectly attributed.

In 2012, the song was re-released as "Toca's Miracle (2012 Update)". The song was issued on a compilation series which was issued by Ministry of Sound. The song was issued in late 2011 as a digital download, while a physical release was bound in early 2012. by Tiger Records.

Critical reception

"Toca's Miracle" received critical acclaim. DJ Ron Slomowicz from About.com said ""Toca's Miracle" became one of those dance (and even club) standards - reaching the same pinnacle as Darude's "Sandstorm", which is considered the "gold-standard" of music production and Cher's "Believe". Another review from the publication compared the work to American DJ Deadmau5, saying " The In Petto remix of "Toca's Miracle" so eerily resembled Deadmau5 that online leaks mistakenly credited it to him [...]" With the same publication, the song was a runner-up for being the Best Remix/Re-release of 2008. Dancingastronaugh.net called it "one of the more classic progressive tunes of our time."

Nick Levine from Digital Spy gave it a fairly mixed review, only awarding it two stars out of five. He called it "modest beginnings", but believed that the original version was better, saying "[the original] remained pretty much inescapable for the rest of the year, especially for those who frequented provincial nightclubs and/or cultivated a fondness for freeview video channels." He later concluded by saying that "Toca's Miracle" presented more "class", but criticized the use of "class" in a "Euro club banger."

"Toca Me" and "I Need a Miracle" performances

The original version for "Toca Me" received moderate chart success before the mash-up version. The song managed to enter the top twenty on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 11. The song also entered inside the top twenty on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at twenty as well. The song, however did not pursue the same success on the Dutch Top 100, peaking at number forty-nine.

Coco Star's song, "I Need a Miracle", entered the UK singles chart at #39 in addition to #1 on the UK DJ and Club charts in October 1997

Original edit

The song was additionally a commercial success when it was first released. The mash-up debuted at number twenty on the Australian Singles Chart and eventually peaked at number eight for three non-consecutive weeks. The mash-up spanned the charts for eighteen weeks. The mash-up entered at number sixteen on the Norwegian Singles Chart and peaked at number two for a sole week. The mash-up only spent one week on the Italian Singles Chart, peaking at number nineteen. The track entered at eleven on the Spanish Singles Chart, where it ultimately peaked. The track re-entered on 10 May 2009 after its re-release.

The mash-up generated generally moderate success around Europe. Toca's Miracle peaked inside the top forty in Finland, Sweden, Belgium and managed to chart in countries including Switzerland, France and The Netherlands. The track debuted at number ninety-nine on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

In Coco's native United Kingdom, the mash-up peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart. The track entered with over 185,000 copies sold in its first week, becoming the highest charting single that month and was eventually certified Silver, and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). As of August 2000, however, the track alone has sold over 500,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

2008 InPetto remix

The 2008 edit received generally good commercial success. The song reached number two in Spain, a better position than the original version. The song also peaked inside the top ten in Sweden at seven, and eighteen in The Netherlands. The song peaked at ten on the New Zealand Airplay Charts and inside the top twenty on the Australian Dance Singles Chart.

To date, with the re-release, the song has reportedly sold over 3 million copies worldwide.

"I Need a Miracle"

After several mixes were released worldwide, some versions have been lucky to chart on record charts around the globe. In Austria, a 2012 update version of Coco's original (known as the "Guru Project Remix") debuted at number sixty for a sole week until falling out. Then, in Belgium, a Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike Remix of Coco's 2009 version of "I Need a Miracle" was issued at charted at number thirty-seven on the Belgium Singles Chart and stayed in there for four weeks in total. It peaked at three on the Belgium Dance Charts. These recordings an entirely different sound recording of "I Need a Miracle" and are not to be confused with "Toca's Miracle".

Music videos

"Toca Me" 1999 Fragma original video, which is filmed in Ibiza, features British-Spanish vocalist songwriter and dancer Mizz Martinez, formerly known as Eva Martinez.

The original version, which broadcast in 2000, features a futsal team of girls, including Coco Star. Another team enter the locker rooms, where they look intimidating towards the other team. Both teams head towards the court and toss a coin, where Star's team kicks-off first. The opposition take a 2-0 lead, and begin to become more aggressive or competitive towards the game, obstructing the other team. At the end of the video, it show's Star's team make a comeback to win the game 3-2.

The 2008 video is completely different from the 2000 video and is the only video not to feature vocalist Coco Star. The video starts with a woman in a room, lip-syncing the song, then begins to strip her clothes off and tries to kiss a man. The next shot features another woman in her bra and underwear, dancing in a supposed bathroom, with another man in the room. Another scene then shows, yet another woman on her bed, where she also has her bra and underwear. She too also lip-syncs to the song playing and starts to seduce a man, laying near the bed. The video ends with one of the woman's eye closes.

Track listing

1. "Toca’s Miracle (Radio Edit) Vocals by Coco Star"
2. "Toca’s Miracle (Club Mix) Vocals by Coco Star"
3. "Everybody Knows"

1. "Toca’s Miracle (Inpetto Edit) Vocals by Coco Star"
2. "Toca’s Miracle (Richard Durand Remix Edit) Vocals by Coco Star"
3. "Toca Me (Inpetto 2008 Edit)"
4. "Toca’s Miracle (Inpetto Remix) Vocals by Coco Star"
5. "Toca’s Miracle (Richard Durand Remix)Vocals by Coco Star"
6. "Toca Me (Inpetto 2008 Remix)"