Rhythm & Sound remixes

Photo by Sheikh Ahmed

I’m a Rhythm & Sound freak. I saw them on Thursday night and am still grinning at the memory (review to follow). Their most recent releases consist of two 12″s of remixes of See-mi-yah, originally a single rhythm/multi song project. I hear the originals as deep, almost-religious pieces. Heard through the rhythms, textures and sentiments of both the singers and Moritz Von Oswald and Mark Ernestus combined, each is a post relating to, and directed towards, the soul. Yep, I’m serious.

I’ve just scored three of the remixes and am reeling in horror at what I hear. The Villalobos mix of Let We Go is the least offensive. Although he’s a darling of the Philip Sherburne set, I’m not ultimately bowled over by his other work which has piqued my interest, but left me unmoved. Same for this piece, it’s okay, but that’s all. Then – hold your hats – the Francois K remix of Lightning Storm slaps an atrocious breakbeat over the original. Sacrilege. And somehow the last of the three I’ve heard so far, the Soundstream remix of Free For All manages to be even worse. It delivers a tech-house mugging that turns the song’s slow, deep beats and bass into a disposable travesty. The traditional direction of alchemy has been reversed and rich gold has been transmuted into flyaway plastic. Aaaaaaaarrrghhhh….

The three remaining mixes are by Vladislav Delay (I’m a fan, but can’t see how he’ll particularly do anything good for this music), Sweet Substance (never heard of) and my one hope for something decent to come out of this farago: Tikiman/Paul St Hilaire, one of the original vocalists on the project and others by Rhythm & Sound. Given the depth of the originals (like the best music, the more you listen the heavier and more convincing Rhythm & Sound get), perhaps the only option was to go the superficial route. And yes, these are first impressions and I’m not exactly known for being a fan of remixes, but these really do constitute a betrayal. (And yes I’m aware of how mad I sound!)

MP3:
Lightning Storm (with Rod Of Iron)
Lightning Storm (Francois K remix)

Update: I’ve now heard the other three and Vladislav Delay’s version is Luomo-like and ultimately insensitively unimaginative, the Sweet Substance is inoffensive (…) and Tikiman/Paul St Hilaire’s version is the best of the lot. Though I’m not yet sure what I make of it yet, it does suggest what might have been hoped of the project – that it might have produced something redolent of William Gibson’s astro-dub (or maybe the originals do that anyway?)