- If we forget about all the rhetoric and hype surrounding Klaxons, we’re simply left with a talented young rock group with strong ties to modern electronic musicians. Though much of their music is infused with fist-pumping rhythm, it seems they’re at their danceable best when reinterpreted by remixers, as proven on a handful of EPs and singles released in 2006. ‘Golden Skans’, the lead single from their chart-topping debut LP ‘Myths of the Near Future’, is already a smashing pop tune, and in the capable hands of London institution Erol Alkan, it’s a whole new force to be reckoned with.
The straightforward framework of ‘Golden Skans’ was enriched with layers of concentrated sound, and Alkan’s ‘Ekstra Spektral Rework’ meticulously unravels each stratum and places it aside for reassembly. Laying off his overdriven durr-durr-durrrr aesthetic for one akin to his rework of Hot Chip’s ‘Boy From School’, Alkan injects space and about seven minutes into ‘Golden Skans’, gently inviting dancers onto the floor with a parsed synth lick and the Klaxons’s suspended harmonies. The tune gains momentum with the addition of a buoyantly plucked bassline, shimmering chord progressions and strident piano work - Alkan is so enamored with the signature piano line that it’s used by itself twice: First as the launching pad for a climactic snare roll and synth growl (not easy to leave those pummeling instincts alone, is it, Erol?) and shortly after as the blissful fallout.
Alkan’s rework showcases his ability to reshape a track to fit its original intentions yet still remain wholly his own style. The beauty of his ‘Ekstra Spektral Rework’ is that it doesn’t plow down the dancers, like one might expect, so much as launch them into the stratosphere to writhe among the clouds.
TracklistA Golden Skans (Erol Alkans Ekstra Spektral Rework)