Too little source material means that this anthology tires quicker than it should
In 2007, Anders Trentemøller released the much-loved Trentemøller Chronicles, a collection of his own tracks and remixes. Reworked/Remixed can be seen as the successor to that release, with some differences. The first disc of Chronicles consisted mainly of Trentemøller’s own work, a few of them being re-edited by the Dane. Meanwhile, the second disc contained some of his superb remix work, mainly of music by fellow Scandinavian artists.
His newest compilation, however, doesn’t have such a structure and is purely a remix album (hence the name). Also, there are no original versions of tracks by him, as most of his recent work was included on his last album Into The Great Wide Yonder. Instead, we’re treated to other artists remixing his productions, often seeming to return a favour after he remixed theirs.
The bleaker, gloomier side of electronic music has always been where Trentemøller seems most comfortable and there’s plenty here to back up that line of thinking. Marie Fisker’s version of “Sycamore Feeling” is even more haunting than the original, with the greater amount of space on accentuating the echo of her vocal. Out of all his remixes, his signature sound can be best heard on the rework of Chimes and Bells’ “The Mole”; a soft, folk-like song descending into a menacing melange of rumbling and beats.
Trentemøller’s fascination with the indie scene is clearly evident, particularly in the first disc. An excellent remix of the Franz Ferdinand single “No You Girls” is accompanied by a xylophone-infused mix of “Too Insistent” by The Dø and, best of all, the shoegazey “Me Me Me” by Lars and The Hands of Light.
His friends do their bit, too. Among the highlights from the guest remixers is Andrew Weatherall’s edit of “Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider Go!!”, which draws upon the surf-rock tendencies of the original brilliantly to create something with swagger and just a hint of psychedelia. Modeselektor, meanwhile, bring their usual IDM panache to “Tide”. There’s a decent blend of variety, with new styles appearing late into the double-disc. Kollektive Turmstrasse’s mix of “Even if You’re With Another Girl is great example; starting as a pounding yet minimal track before progressing int rousing, almost uplifting house.
What holds this collection back, at times, is the sheer size of it. Both discs are over an hour long and there’s a little too much in the way of filler. Some of the indietronica, such as Trentemøller’s remixes of “Raincoats” by Efterklang and “The Dwarf And The Horse” by Sleep Party People begins to sound a bit tired by the end of the second disc.
Meanwhile, some tracks from Trentemøller’s own catalogue get over done, as seen in Radiohead’s recent remix album. Sure, the instrumental version of “Tide” at the end of disc 1 is nice enough, but not so enjoyable when you’ve already heard three versions of it. The Efterklang remix, in particular, adds little to the beauty of the original. As for the second CD, we get “Neverglade”; Trentemøller ‘s own eerie, brooding remix starting the disc well before an unexpectedly laboured, uninventive mix from UNKLE and the unnecessary instrumental version which ends the anthology.
There’s plenty to enjoy over the two discs, but it’s another example of a remix album which spreads its quality too thin. This could be put down to the fact that this time around, Trentemøller had less material to compile. This does beg the question, however, of why he felt the need to release this. In any case, the amount of quality on show here still makes this a worthwhile listen, particularly for fans of the supremely gifted producer.
This compilation was released on 7 November 2011 and is available from Trentemøller's website or Amazon.
No comments:
Post a Comment