- So Low is a recent compilation spearheaded by Optimo's J.D. Twitch, who described the 16-track collection of '80s-era industrial and cold wave tracks as a response to "my wife's deep love of this music and requests from some friends who were too young to hear it in a club at the time." Which sounds as much like a labor of love as a public service, and he couldn't have picked a better time to take on the task. These loosely connected threads of dark, raw synth music have nearly hit peak saturation in certain corners of the electronic community, and some of its proponents—including Helena Hauff and Powell—have joined J.D. Twitch in remixing four key tracks from So Low.
The most straightforward translation here is the edit of Gerry & The Holograms' eponymous single. A well-known precursor to "Blue Monday," the Manchester band's slimy, drumless track gets a New Order-referencing makeover in J.D. Twitch's version. Unlike previous reworks of the song, it sounds lifted from the same decade as the original, which reveals just how in step Twitch is with his source material. As Kübler-Ross, Dave Clark (AKA Sparky) covers "Victims Of Victimless Crime" by minimal synth pioneer John Bender, and he, too, maintains the music's skeletal arrangement and natural energy. The female singer Clark brings along sounds more self-assured and affected than Bender did, and her tone helps embolden the cover for modern soundsystems.
Only two tracks from So Low: Remixes might make it onto dance floors. German electro-pop band P1/E, who sounded like a vampiric Kraftwerk back in 1980, get remixed by Powell. He tears "49 Second Romance" to pieces, collaging the shreds of anemic synth and waifish drum machines back together with burps of electronic noise and found sound. As per usual, Powell leaves a few pockets of wonky groove behind. Hauff takes on early Belgian industrial duo The Klinik, turning their angsty "Moving Hands" into a fiery techno belter. It's such a strong, well-executed track that it could just as easily turn you on to the original as make you forget it was a remix.
Lista de sequência de músicasA1 P1/E - 49 Second Romance (Powell Remix)
A2 Gerry & The Holograms - Gerry & The Holograms (JD Twitch Edit)
B1 The Klinik - Moving Hands (Helena Hauff Remix)
B2 Kübler-Ross - Victims Of Victimless Crimes (John Bender Cover Version)