Console is just one of the many aliases of prolific German producer Martin Gretschmann. The chances are that you’ll probably know him best as Acid Pauli, the name under which he’s been rocking up with Damian Lazarus and Nicolas Jaar in recent years. But it was as Console that he rose to attention, releasing albums on Virgin in the late ‘90s and working with everyone from Björk to Depeche Mode. Now, three-years after releasing the Console album ‘Herself’ (and having subsequently released an album as Acid Pauli), Gretschmann serves up a fresh EP of cherry-picked remixes.
Suol Music associate Daniel Bortz kicks things off, with a low-slung take on ‘A Homeless Ghost’. Keeping the slightly forlorn feel of the electro-pop original, with its idiosyncratic lyrics from the point-of-view of an outdated computer, Bortz’s Balearic-leaning remix makes use of simmering chords and rolling kicks. Yet, perhaps because of the cookie-cutter bassline or the slightly saccharine melody, it somehow misses its target and ends up sounding more limpid than laidback.
Occasional Gretschmann collaborator and previously Bar25 cohort Nu takes on ‘I Say’ to better effect. A driving bassline, rattling drums and a pitched-down version of the original melody make for a deep and rumbling house number. Whilst the mid-track arrival of the vocals won’t be to everyone’s tastes, it’s a remix that I can hear being played in Watergate’s mainroom at 2am.
Yet, by far the most interesting aspect of the package are the two remixes of ‘Upon’ contributed by twenty-year techno innovator Der Dritte Raum. His so-called ‘Trance’ remix combines slowly modulating analogue synths, droning guitars and wonderful live drumming for an expansive, warm krautrock jam that sits somewhere between the work of James Holden and Warm Digits.
On the other hand, Raum’s digital exclusive ‘Unkraut Mischung’ remix is a tougher affair, taking the krautrock aesthetic and syphoning it through a technoid filter. Neither techno nor krautrock, it’s resides in a genre-less space, an unrelenting electronic bassline underpinning crisp drums and distant whirrs narrating manipulated synths. Whilst his previous remix will work great on the headphones, this is the one that will drive dancefloors into a froth.
| Artist: Console Title: Herself Remixes II EP Label: Disko B Tracklist A Homeless Ghost (Daniel Bortz Remix)I Say (NU Remix)Upon (Trance Mix) - Der Dritte RaumUpon (Unkraut Mischung) - Der Dritte Raum - Digital only Our rating: 7.5/10 |
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