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The remix album - money for old rope or a genuine attempt to deconstruct
and redefine an existing body of work? A bit more of the former in the case
of this record.
Twelve artists have been given tracks from Karsh Kale's
recent album Realise to generally bugger around with in the studio. Much
like the original album though, the results are none too inspiring. One of
my main gripes with the original had been that it sounded dated, more like
something released eight years ago, which just happens to be when half the
artists on Redesign were last at the cutting end of the edge.
The standard formula relentlessly followed by most of the remixers on
duty here is the same - a brief snippet of exotic flute or Indian chanting
followed by some bog standard drum'n' bass with the odd tabla or dhol thrown
in for good measure. Without the tracklisting you could be forgiven for
thinking they were all remixing the same song.
Honourable mention must got
to Banco De Gaia, who takes a brief snippet of Indian chanting and
then appears to tack on a nine-year-old Eat Static b-side - not bad
for a days work, and at least he doesn't just push the same
old tired breakbeats. For sheer nostalgia value, his is my favourite mix
of the lot.
The rest though are simply anonymous. DJ Spooky's Datalife 2002 mix
of One Step Beyond manages to raise the game slightly but still could
pass for the sort of thing big-beat pub DJs were playing five years ago.
The main problem lies in the nature of the beast itself. Remixes are at their most effective when either subtly re-editing and
highlighting the qualities of the original or when the remixer rips up the
original and kills a few sacred cows. In the case of 'Redesign', the
source material wasn't too hot to begin with, and I doubt most even know who
Karsh Kale is let alone care what Ming + FS have done to one of his
tracks.
Harsh maybe. I wouldn't physically leave a bar if it was being
played in the background, but I'd certainly not be aching to know who
it was. So if safe coffee table Asian-influenced drum'n'bass is your bag
then you're onto a winner. For the rest of us I'd recommend looking
elsewhere for your exotic sounds.
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