Noisetronica. The further in you come within the soundscape, the deeper the metaphysical cuts are – in “Language Of The Birds” (as remixed by Tanz Ohne Musik). There’s a minimalistic layer upon a grandiose structure in which the song slowly builds up from nothingness to something, it gradually becomes more skewed and wicked in tune, the further into the song one gets. The tribalistic elements lent by Tanz Ohne Musik make it a horrific experience in sound, a claustrophobic and inwardly looking track, gradually gnawing away on the little flesh remaining. A strong and subliminal start to his “Solar Symmetries” remix-album, as released on ant-zen now in December.
To be quickly shifted into the megalomaniac chantings of the “Omphalos.” remix courtesy of Grand Mal x. It is a more beat-oriented song which relies heavily on the way the beat swings into rhythm, to create a darkened atmosphere where nobody goes safe from the anger brewing down below, like a powder keg almost about to blow up – but the fuse is never properly lit and the agonizing soundscape just keeps on reaping havoc until there’s no more to be found. A monster of a remix even though it clocks in at just around three minutes. Giving it that original touch but keeping the intent the same.
Despite the name, “Feline.“, this hymnlike remix by Nordvargr makes the track all that more beastly – shrouded in mysterious vocals that add so much to the soundscape itself – it almost makes the whole song. The chanting together with the bubbly and enchanting atmosphere makes for a venture into the pitch black depths of the mind itself, it is a slow-moving, dark chanson that isn’t afraid to take out the lower frequencies and the more disturbed noises to make it a thoroughly menacingly experience throughout. Everything’s left to itself and this machine cannot be stopped by any human, it just keeps on churning and going forward with no intention of stopping.
Here come one of my favorite remixes, another one of “Language Of The Birds“, by Synapscape – which makes the electronic influences more prevalent. There’s a certain rhythmic feeling to the whole atmosphere which makes use of bass-sounds and the electronical chirping of birds, which slowly moves into a noisier more rambunctious and heavily beat-oriented maximal electronic sound. As opposed to minimal electronics, there’s nothing really minimalistic about this remix – it’s just a showstopper which makes the most out of what it generates – remix-wise. A really great remix.
As if anything stopped there, it just continues to move straight ahead, with noise in mind – as the “Horsemen.” remix by Tony Blomdahl – attacks from out of nowhere and pins you to the corner. This is the first harsh noise installment of the release itself and it shows how fury can control the whole atmosphere itself and make for a rather original touch which never ceases to be anything but full-blown harsh noise – in-your-face – kind of remix. Manipulated vocals, screeching and violently smashing noise-oriented atmospheres that clash and finally come to a halt – just like that.
Then, one of my favorite names – Hadewych – enter the album, with the sixth song being a remix of “Language Of The Birds.” once again, but in that original soft but dark Hadewych-oriented staple, vicious baselines that resound throughout and an atmosphere that relies much more on the general instrumentation then it does on the vocals themselves. They accompany each other well and the general development of the soundscape comes from the lyrical development itself, which then sees a general upswing into a psychedelic and twisted song after four minutes in. This remix is surely one of the better ones on this release as well, in terms of the ingeniousness of it.
“Slow Spiral.” as remixed by Thoth Construct, is a more 4/4-oriented techno song that utilizes the original elements of the song to construct a more danceable version of this original track. What can be said about it? Not that creative, but in terms of the general rhythm, it becomes more and more hypnotizing the longer you listen to it. This is one of those monotonous tracks which, the longer you listen to them, develop into something far greater then what can be possibly heard after a few listens. There’s also that deep industrial tone to the whole song which makes it far more enjoyable then your regular techno. A banger after a few listens, rhythmically a great remix.
Now things get even crazier, with “Lucifer.” remixed by Disco Korrosiva, heavy noir beats and manipulations which make for a lunatic’s pathway into your own mind, together with the vocals. Your heart must skip a beat when listening to this song, because there’s something so insane about the composition of it – the remix helps to make it even more sinister and totally out of its own mind – or should we say: soundscape? Crushed vocals, dampened beats that get heavier and noisier the more you listen to it. Not to mention how it ends and lights the fire of another, heavy remix courtesy of Alvar.
“Spiderwoman.” as remixed by Alvar – sees their heaviest work yet, even though it is just a remix. Especially when the snaredrum and the vocals go into a maelstrom of otherness, together with the kickdrum and the whole atmosphere. The vocals are as dark as they can possibly get and the beats, together with the rhythm and the electronic synthesizer that comes in from the sidelines, make for a greatness that you shouldn’t even see Alvar entering – but it only gets better, with piano-stabs and a swooping snaredrum that picks up on the rhythmic splendour that is their strongest card, with this remix. It’s a great one, probably one of the best remixes on this release.
Next remix, this time of “Lucifer.“, sees a more drum’n’bass-oriented remix by Voytek. It is like entering a psychedelic trip into tribalistic lands, there’s a certain tribal feeling to the undertones of the remix itself, whilst the overlay is shrouded in the bass-oriented depths of the original track itself. Relying much on the general atmosphere itself and the repetetiveness of it to drive the psychedelia as deep as possible, making it a rather monotonous experience on its own but it keeps on giving, instrumentation-wise and in the general composition of the track itself. It is a mind-bender for sure.
“Feline.” once more, this time remixed by Nordwall. Here’s one of the most seancetronica true remixes on this release. Deep baselines that guide you throughout, with hypnotic swirls of sound that would make any sane man question himself. Not to mention how blackened everything gets when the vocals come in, perfectly fitted to the heavier and heavier baselines – layered upon one another, creating ripples upon the sea of sound on which they float. This is a deep remix, not for everyone, it gives off the illusion of being something more then it really is, or are we to imagine it to be less – just to be proven wrong by the creatively flowing, constantly moving, song and soundscape? I don’t know.
The catchiest one is saved for last, which is “Lucifer.” as remixed by Per Åhlund. There’s a certain vibe to his acidic interpretation of this song, almost sounding off like an alarm – just to have a rhythm given by the percussion itself – which makes it even more straight-forward of a song, which isn’t really what was expected. Then, suddenly, a synthesizer strikes out of nowhere and adds another notion to an already monstrously great remix. Damn, this remix-album is something else – and you can find a remix and interpretation that suits you and your mood. Get it via ant-zen, digitally. Listen to it down below in full.
Repartiseraren 