It’s in our character to fuss with our creations, I don’t believe human nature is ever satisfied. Admit it, do you ever stay on one TV station? No, you always want to see what the others have to offer.
In music, this constant state of reinvention occurs through the remix, a subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) sprucing of an original, which can prove inspiring, or frustrating, depending on the material. I’m not usually one for remixes, though I point to Depeche Mode as a band who mastered the art — I’ve listened to a various versions of “Strangelove” and adored them all.
Alt-J (or ? for Mac-o-files in our midst) is a band built for remixes, seeing as its tracks from the 2012 An Awesome Wave inhabit a level of playful exploration. With Summer Remix EP, various artists sought to find new territory for four of the foursome’s tracks, but somewhere between the originals and remix city they mostly got lost.
It’s not because of song choice — “Fitzpleasure,” “Ms,” “Dissolve Me” and the sterling “Tessellate” all came with steady credentials. But the problem in remixing them lies in my main issue with Alt-J’s music: There’s already so much going on that to remix them makes them either more complicated (which is unwise) or too simple (which is intriguing). The simple button was pushed. It was chosen poorly.
Take “Fitzpleasure,” which on this EP is remixed three times. What makes the original bounce is its ebb and flow, punctuated by Joe Newman’s odd vocal stylings. But only the remix from My Morning Jacket’s Jim James shows the power of the original, as he revs the pace with a racing electronic beat, stopping it at intervals to highlight the song’s pauses. Meanwhile the Dave Sitek (TV On The Radio) and The Internet of Odd Future versions ring flat, falling on typical electronica cliches passing as innovation. The Internet’s take rips straight from Thievery Corporation’s playbook, a duo that would have done this song justice.
Mumford & Sons’ Ben Lovett attempts to refurbish “Dissolve Me,” and he fails, which is no surprise since he’s in Mumford & Sons, a band who (and here I use Henry Rollins’ rant against U2) “everyone kisses their ass and it’s the biggest pile of shyte I have ever heard in my entire life.” Lovett shortens the song, adds echo and strings, and guts the emotional howls in the original’s denouement. I’m sure Lovett didn’t have time, though, it can be hard work ripping off The Avett Brothers.
Ben de Vries has the difficult task of reworking “Tessellate,” and he mostly succeeds, adding fervor and layers to a song sparse and somewhat cold. Perhaps the least known of group, de Vries matches James’ ability to give the remake a different stamp.
Ideas that sound good and sound ideas are not always equivalent, as Summer Remix shows. A project to bear new musical fruit proves a fruitless venture.
