From Peter Hollo Sent Wed, Dec 23rd 1998, 12:33
From Peter Hollo Sent Wed, Dec 23rd 1998, 12:33
THIS EMAIL REPLACES THE PREVIOUS STUFFED-UP INCOMPLETE ONE. PLEASE NOTE! Well, I just got the Chocolate Industries CD version of the East Flatbush Project remixes. So far I can say that for me it's worth everything just for the Bisk mix, which is fantastic! Do I presume that all remixers were told they had to leave the rap in? For me it gets in the way of the music, but that's just me. Anyways, here's my thoughts as I listen for the first time. A real-time review. No comment on the Ko-wreck Technique mix. Just another hip-hop track, not too different or interesting compared to the original mix. The Herbaliser mix is nice but doesn't add much - typical Ninja/Herbaliser sounds in the music, which I like a lot, but I don't need the rap over the top. Prefer it to the original, just. The Funkstorung mix is cool in similar style to their Wu-Tang and Bjork mixes. The Trapazoid mix is very interesting in the twists and turns it takes, and the things that are done to the vocals - I like it a lot. Sorry, I'm missing a few that don't make as much impression - Phoenicia was good but didn't do a lot for me... The Freeform mix is interesting in that it's so different - Not really a hip-hop feel at all, more sort of funky electro (?) Interesting rubber band sounds floating around and things - nice. And nice oddball breaks and things. All in all, the sounds tend to be made out of unexpected things - an instrumental break comes from some sort of highly weird sound. Bit like Bisk in a certain conceptual manner. Sluta Leta is interesting, but a bit too similar to the Trapazoid, Funkstorung and Freeform mixes. All with effects on the vocals (a similar ring-mod sort of sound) and similar type of weirded out hip hop music. Not bad though. Autechre - surprising, I guess. More like some of Gescom's more abrasive stuff, like the Skam EP I don't have (not SKA02 with Sciew Spoc and other gorgeous stuff, the other one...?) Some interesting sounds which are very clearly Autechreish if you know what you're listening - a great scatter-gun effect on the vocal eventually. The repetitive hip-hop starts to get boring eventually, but I guess you're meant to listen to the other stuff going on. It'll grow on me. The Squarepusher mix is something else again. Time compression (rather than stretching) - he does awesome things to the rhythm of the vocals. It's like making it jungle, but not with the beat, rather with the vocal. I can see why everyone likes this one so much. Still, I think the Bisk one is slightly better - it's just the mode I'm in at the moment, I'm listening to lots of mad experimental stuff - Reckankreutzungsklankewerkzeuge, Lucky Kitchen, Diskono, Mego, Bisk and other Sub Rosa stuffs, etc... Fuck man, this Squarepusher mix is great. The Nick Fury mix is ok, with some nice detuned, weird-ass electric piano samples and stuff. Fairly straightforward remix compared to some of them. In summation, the Bisk and Squarepusher mixes are superlative, the Funkstorung mix is as good as their Wu-Tang one anyway, the Freeform, Trapazoid and Sluta Leta (and probably Phoenicia) mixes are good, but somewhat similar in style, the Autechre mix is odd but good, the Nick Fury is OK. The album as a whole is very good - very much worth having either the Chocolate Industries version if you can get it, or otherwise the Ninja vinyl version, because of the Bisk mix. Peter. -- Peter Hollo xxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx.xx http://www.fourplay.com.au/me.html FourPlay - Eclectic Electric String Quartet http://www.fourplay.com.au "Of course, dance music can be a music where you lie on your back and your brain cells dance" -Michael Karoli of Can, quoted in Wire mag.