One time rock guitarist and now electronic artist Jon Attwood (aka Yellow6) has steadily built an dedicated fanbase with his beautifully crafted ambient soundscapes. Working alone and exploring the possibilities of fusing guitar and electronic sounds into ambient masterpieces, Attwood has released and array of singles, albums and compilation tracks on a range of labels worldwide. Source:Remix is his first foray into remix culture and features a series of remixes of his own tracks by friends and artists from the indie electronic scene such as Bauri, Portal, Map & Diagrams and Rothko.
The Yellow6 sound is an enchanting mix of electronically enhanced guitar work with chilled beats and overlaid synths resulting in a serenely floating bed of aurally relaxing tones that drift and flow, lulling you into a complete state of calm and tranquillity. In general, a majority of the mixes here are fairly true to their original form, adding some extra synth lines, electronic tones, beats or a bassline. Opening and closing the album are Rothko’s “Silhouette” with Spanish style acoustic guitar and the swirling tones, the opener additionally featuring added feedback. Lackluster – that’s the female American Lackluster, not Esa Ruoho of Defocus fame – brings bell like chimes and bouncing beats to “Expressway 427” while Landing’s “Marble #1” is more true to the style of the original. Innerise take things in a new direction by adding a deeply thunderous yet relaxed dub bassline and cool rhythmic beats to “Silhouette”. Bauri turns in a lengthy but gentle remix of “Leitmotiv” featuring acoustic guitar and melodic beats that gradually pick up pace, becoming more rhythmic and utilising a vocal sample while skilfully maintaining the chilled nature original tune. Picking up the pace is Portal with a fast paced rhythmic train like drum ‘n’ bass remix entitled “Red Leitmotiv” whereas Amp maintain a similar but steadier rhythm for their 8 minute “Snowmelt” rework, adding some orchestral touches and abrasive guitar work to proceedings. Picking up on the feedback theme are Galena who contrast that with a dark maelstrom of ominous electronic tones on “Summers End”. Lightening the tone somewhat are Phobos3 with “One Certain”, a light melodic rehash with a building, almost military breakbeat. Before Rothko close the album in similar way to its start Maps & Diagrams gives us “Halflife CPL-33”, a serene floating track with hissy clicking beats and a looped acoustic guitar sample that gains a fuller more prominent bassline around the midpoint.
Attwood’s work is always supremely tonal and serene, the remixers in this project taking his original work and adding elements of their own to create a new take on his ideas. The Source:Remix album as a whole works really well and is of a consistently high quality; quite unusual for a remix project as they are usually hit and miss affairs at best. Innerise, Bauri, Portal and Maps & Diagrams provide reworks of particular note.
Related posts ::
Yellow6 :: Disappear Here & Bootleg #2
Yellow6 :: The Beautiful Season Has Past (RROOPP, 3CD)
Yellow6 / Egsun :: Worth Wasting Time (Somehow Ecstatic)
Ludvig Cimbrelius & Yellow6 :: Double review (Sound in Silence)
Yellow6 & Caught in the Wake Forever :: The Slow Manipulation of Dying Light (Hibernate)
