- The third full-length by Italian techno producer Chevel, this year's Blurse, was a details-oriented album, one of compelling abstractions and leftfield sound design. It's the perfect fit for the four producers assembled on Blurse Remixed: Paula Temple, Lee Gamble, Perc and Minor Science (the alias of RA staff writer Angus Finlayson) are also keen to read between the lines of electronic music. Such tendencies could lead to increasingly deconstructed techno tracks, but what we get are four well-crafted productions that equally value functionality and experimentation.
The banger of the bunch is hands down Paula Temple's remix. A once dubby, disjointed tune, "Stranded" becomes a brash and rattling piece of industrial techno in her hands, and even the soft-glowing pads she slips in from the original don't diminish the ferocity of her drum work. In fact, the synths add some essential color to the track's harsh contrasts. "Watery Drumming" gets a reverse treatment from Lee Gamble, who rearranges its sparse beat into a herky-jerky groove rife with the titular FX.
On the B-side, Perc's version of "Heimweh" is especially tame for the English rabble-rouser. He sends a sturdy 4/4 pulse through vaporous ambiance, glossy chords and tinny clatter, and it winds up a nice enough ride. The spindly, Actress-esque "Loop #42" is dismantled and given a more defined and complex structure by Minor Science. Chirpy synth notes are pitched up and sent aflutter around his nimble skip of a beat. Like Lee Gamble's remix, this one might not get a ton of club play (that said, the drop about midway through is a real doozy), but it rounds out a balanced and frequently brilliant collection.
TracklistA1 Stranded (Paula Temple Remix)
A2 Watery Drumming (Lee Gamble Remix)
B1 Heimweh (Perc Remix)
B2 Loop #42 (Minor Science Remix)