Francesco Tristano - Idiosynkrasia Remixes

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  • After reading Francesco Tristano claim that "We're living in a remix culture" in a recent RA interview, it somehow seems more appropriate that this collection of remixes be all based around the single eponymous track of his Idiosynkrasia album. Idiosyncrasy is, after all, the phenomenon of individualising meaning and interpretations and thus reinforces the notion of what remixes are about: the personalisation of someone else's idea. But such is the power of the individual that you could be fooled into thinking that the source material differs, since the resulting styles are so varied. Ark's mix is the shortest and the most conceptually stretched, contrasting the elegance of Tristano's piano fragments with a messy bass riff and computer game squelches like dollops of spilled ketchup. Tom Taylor and Paul Woolford's digital-only remix is less dishevelled, but also works via contrasts, pitting heavy funk bass with fragile piano samples and angelic string-like synths which hold it all together without limiting its swagger. Fumiya Tanaka's mix is not as successful. The cleverly worked background would be better left alone, but fails when paired with the monotonous and grainy rhythmic loops which become tiring, especially over an arduous ten-minute duration. Ben Klock's sensitive remaking, on the other hand, is astounding and could make the release on its own. Taking up from where "Compression Session 1" left off, it uses recognisable elements of the original and seeds them into a mantric and elegant channel of soothing chemical energy that both respects the original and bears the signature of its maker.
  • Tracklist
      A Idiosynkrasia (Ben Klock Remix) B1 Idiosynkrasia (Ark Remix) B2 Idiosynkrasia (Fumiya Tanaka Remix) Digital: Idiosynkrasia (Tom Taylor and Paul Woolford Remix)
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