- Arandel's In D album kicked up a fuss earlier this year, with an intriguing academic background underscoring a rich, cinematic and mesmerising collection of sound collages, along the lines of Murcof's Martes. Seemingly an established musician wanting to do it anonymously, and inspired by Terry Riley's In C, and the Dogme 95 collective, he facelessly proposed a project whereby all sounds were to be recorded—no samples, no MIDI. This is the first of a series of three follow-up singles, and gives three remixes of "#5" and a stripped-down version of the original. Like the album, they show a rare and genuine artist's touch.
Bittersweet harmonies are created by tinkling bells in Nicolas Colas' interpretation. As a sound designer on the original, it's in a similarly fragile and textured vein but with a more attention-grabbing fullness. The discomfort builds, and a ticking rhythm keeps time with the surreal, Alice-In-Wonderland symbolism of a grandfather clock. Fraction returns to Infine with a speckled swarm of polyrhythms, clicks bouncing all over the spectrum like a faulty black-and-white film reel. Alien, not quite there.
Belgian up-and-comer Michael Forzza's remix applies the barrenness and earthiness of the original "#5" to a more solid, clubbable 4/4 beat. It breaks nicely, in a sighing suggestion of a big room white noise moment. It doesn't stand up or fit in creatively alongside the others, though, and it's a bit of a shame both for the tune and for the collection as a whole. The Solfeggio version removes the beats from the original, leaving a dirge of dark, occult intoning remaining; truly, modern classical music.
Tracklist 01. In D#5 (In a Shell Recomposition Nicolas Colas Remix)
02. In D#5 (Fraction Remix)
03. In D#5 (Michael Forzza Remix)
04. In D#5 (Solfeggio Version)