Urlaubshits

All too often the remix is used as a way of bulking out a mediocre release, or as a cynical marketing tool, pulling in audiences from other musical genres. There are few producers who have achieved the level of remix craftsmanship that Joakim has, yet he’s still a less commercially viable prospect for a remix then almost all of his Gallic peers.

Despite this, his output over the last seven years or so has been staggering – this collection of Joakim’s “Best” remixes to date doesn’t even cover half of his output. The reason for this huge amount of work is clear – the quality shines through. There are very few artists who are consistently good at remixing; a great remixer has to ensure their fingerprint is left on the finished work whilst maintaining at least some sensitivity to the original version. It’s a tightrope that is often difficult to walk, and the number of remixes that never see the light of day because they are rejected by the artist or label is vast. The joy in this package is that Joakim’s remixes never feel formulaic, which for a form of production that is often more about getting paid than creating art is refreshing.

Being a classically trained pianist, there is an audible tension in Joakim’s music between “proper” musicianship, and the desire to push boundaries. It is often in his remixes that this exploration is most obvious, and his most exhilarating moments are found when his music threatens to, and indeed does, break out into all out mayhem. Joakim’s remixes seem to fall into two distinct camps: the poppier, maximal reworkings that are the more chaotic but more accessible (such as the remixes of The Chap and Late Of The Pier), and the slightly more cerebral and delicate material (such as the reworkings of the much less known Clashing Egos and Max Berlin). By far the highlight of this collection, and his career so far, his remix of Cut Copy’s “Hearts On Fire”, succeeds because it most successfully marries both of these elements, containing the stuttering neon freakout to a small section that only occurs halfway through the track, and only after it has built up slowly with four minutes of precise techno. What his remixes show more than anything however, is how much of an understanding he has of how to make a good pop song, even when he’s channeling that pop through relatively unexpected forms such as acid house, italo dub or horror disco.

There are notable exceptions from the compilation – primarily his remixes of Gucci Soundsystem and Principles of Geometry, which easily could have replaced his remixes of Alter Ego and Zombie Zombie, the only real missteps in the compilation. In addition, for reasons of space, all versions are edited in some form. One criticism that can be levelled at Joakim is that his remixes can often be about two minutes too long, and for the most part, this editing is merely the trimming of some extraneous fat, but in the case of his incredible Antena remix, results in the loss of almost the last third of the track, which is frankly unforgivable.

Taken chronologically, Joakim’s remix style seems to have moved more towards the stuttering and distorted disco that his fellow countryman Mr. Oizo is more famous for. Whether this is something that will stick, or whether he will go back in the direction of the sort of melodic techno-pop which characterized his beautiful remix of Clashing Egos’ “Amnijg Nebere” is unclear, but for now this compilation stands as an excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with someone who is probably one of the best remixers in the world today.

MP3:> Clashing Egos – Aminjig Nebere (Joakim Remix)

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My Best Remixes is available now on Tigersushi

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