Beyond The Wizards Sleeve: Re-Animations Volume 1
Of all of Erol Alkan’s myriad of identities, Beyond The Wizards Sleeve is the one that I increasingly find myself drawn to. Along with Richard Norris, Beyond The Wizards Sleeve have been remixing some pretty big names over the last few years, and each of them has been collected on this new compilation. And considering some of them have probably been rather criminally overlooked, and are all pretty good, this compilation is definitely a remix package worth investigating. Anyone who has heard the second disc of Erol Alkan’s Bugged Out mix, and Richard Norris’s work as The Time & Space Machine will probably be aware of their predilection for obscure psychedelia, and its the element of the psychedelic in unison with balearic nu-disco which really makes Beyond The Wizards Sleeve’s material exciting to listen to.
If there’s one thing that seems to characterise BTWS’ material, it’s rhythm. One thing that is quite noticeable from listening to all these remixes in one sitting is that the volume on the beats is often very high in the mix, with a lot of treble. Thankfully, the clarity and sharpness of the drums give their material quite an edge, especially considering the slower tempo of much of their material; when you’re dealing with stuff that’s sub 110BPM, the drums have to be just right, or things probably aren’t going to be that exciting to dance to. The remixes of Late of the Pier and Simian Mobile Disco for instance feature extended portions where there is nothing but drums, but the way in which the congas rattle away in their tribal rhythms before dropping in some gurgling synths create an irresistable effect. In their remix of Franz Ferdinand’s “Ulysses”, the drums are one of the few recognisable elements stripped from the original, beefed up, and put together with some sublime synth bass. It sounds more like a house track than nu-disco, and is undoubtedly one of the best remixes they’ve done. On the other side of the coin are the remixes of Midlake, Findlay Brown and Dust Galaxy which take a folkier angle. I will fully admit to having no idea who these artists are, but in the context of the album, they make for extremely pleasant listening experiences if nothing else, especially in the case of Midlake’s “Roscoe”.
In some cases, like with the remixes of The Chemical Brothers and Goldfrapp, their production style seems so suited to the vocals of Willy Mason and Alison Goldfrapp respectively that it’s hard to imagine these songs being done in any other way. I haven’t heard the originals, but I think this is probably the way I want it to stay.
Download:> Goldfrapp - Happiness (Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Re-Animation)
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Re-Animations Vol. 1 is out now
Buy the CD from Juno
