- Tale Of Us had an outstanding run last year—their profile as a DJ duo shot up dramatically, ultimately landing them in the top 10 of RA's annual poll. To begin 2013, Renaissance tapped the Berlin-based Italians to record a two-CD mix for their less progressive-focussed Mix Collection series.
On first listen, the duo's choices for the mix's introduction seem a little counterintuitive—there is an almost Balearic flair to the opener, Gran Cavaliere's "Dancing Alma," and Mathew Jonson's "When Love Feels Like Crying" is all about overtly emotional keys. For the first five minutes it sounds like the mix is actually ending: these selections feel more like a coda than an opening move. But as soon as The/Das' plaintive vocals pop up in "Life And Death," a collaboration by Tale Of Us and Clockwork, the mix rapidly enters cruising speed. Midland's remix of Sei A's "Frozen Flower" and Tale Of Us' "Obscure Promises" (an exclusive cut) continue this balance of melody and rhythmic detail. In this context, even Scuba's "Hardbody" becomes a subdued ear-pleaser.
Disco two is mostly remarkable for its insistence on the more muffled end of the tonal spectrum. Barnt's take on "Magnetic" by Daniel Avery And The Deadstock 33's delivers industrial drones and not much else, and the track is edited by Tale Of Us to fit this fixation on lower frequencies. The lightly tribal thrum of Roman Flügel's "Softice" is deepened with Wighnomy's "Polarzipper" remix of Triola's "Leuchtturm" and Koze's ubiquitous but still gut-twisting version of Herbert's "It's Only."
With tracks like these, Tale Of Us have something very special on their hands. A bit more audacious than what you find on The Master Series, the duo's edition of the recently resurrected Mix Collection is definitely the kind of thing Renaissance should aim for from now on.
TracklistCD1
01. Gran Cavaliere - Dancing Alma
02. Mathew Jonson - When Love Feels Like Crying
03. Tale Of Us & Clockwork - Life And Death feat. The/Das
04. Kollektiv Turmstrasse - Ordinary (Lake People's Circle Motive Remix)
05. Kollektiv Turmstrasse - Heimat (Robag's Turmkolle Rekksmow)
06. Roman Flügel - Cookies Dust
07. Scuba - Hardbody
08. Gold Panda - Marriage (Baths Remix)
09. Delta Funktionen - Nebula
10. Sei A - Frozen Flower (Midland Remix)
11. Wareika - Burnin'
12. Simian Mobile Disco - Cerulean
13. FaltyDL - Straight & Arrow (Four Tet Remix)
14. Closer Musik - Departure
15. Tale of Us - Obscure Promises
CD2
01. Daniel Avery And The Deadstock 33's - Magnetic (Barnt Remix)
02. Roman Flügel - Softice
03. Tin Man - Nonneo (Donato Dozzy Remix)
04. Carl Craig - At Les (Christian Smith Hypnotica Remix)
05. Recondite - Felicity
06. Argy, Baikal - Upon Ourselves (Osunlade Stripped Mix)
07. Mind Against - Cagliostro
08. Lake People - Point In Time
09. Herbert - It's Only (DJ Koze Remix)
10. Seph - Zoom (Bi)
11. Triola - Leuchtturm (Wighnomy Ìs Polarzipper Remix)
12. Robert Hood - Hate Transmissions
13. Daniel Avery - Water Jump
14. Petar Dundov - Distant Shores
15. Extrawelt - Phoebe
16. Area Forty_One - P.R.T.C.T.N.