Pyramid Remix begs to be explored repeatedly, to lose you in its collaborative corridors, and let you find what you will most enjoy in it. It is certainly broad and open enough for anyone interested in the project to come out of the experience with something they will enjoy and remember.
Pyramid Remix begs to be explored repeatedly
Last year the modern fusion band Jaga Jazzist put out a record after moving to legendary label Brainfeeder. Pyramid, the LP in question, was a beautiful record, navigating between delicate themes and grooves, monumental and misty. This winter, on former home label Ninja Tune, a group of established producers offered their take on several tracks from Pyramid, in this sprawling remix record of over an hour.
Whereas the original record felt like a modern take on the old school double LP, Pyramid Remix is more of a collection of long and detailed tracks, each with their own identities and idiosyncrasies—not a surprising result considering the source material to be remixed. The two opening tracks, both remixes of “The Shrine,” showcase this diversity: while Petter Eldh’s version relies on woodwind samples and underpins its progression with a sixteenth-note synth motif, keeping much of the original jazz feel and later playing with woozy breakbeats and bass to keep the listener guessing, OKIOK’s remix is a much tighter, dance-infused track, almost like a small live set clocking in at just under ten minutes of hard-hitting beat-driven electronica, with Jaga Jazzist’s soft brass arrangements ebbing and flowing above. Whereas OKR’s “Tomita” almost becomes a lo-fi, rainy-day trip-hop track complete with trailing delays on the drums and extended textures, Paul Bender takes the soft melody of the original and uses it on top of an abstract piece which coalesces into an IDM-like beat, experimental ambient made to play nice with Jaga’s grooves. A favorite. But if your tastes veers more towards electronic rereading of funk, Prins Thomas’ remix of “Spiral Era” (the only one on this LP) will certainly satisfy that itch.
The melodies and moments from the original are recognizable, stabs and riffs, but recontextualised, undone, mangled sometimes. Pyramid Remix begs to be explored repeatedly, to lose you in its collaborative corridors, and let you find what you will most enjoy in it. It is certainly broad and open enough for anyone interested in the project to come out of the experience with something they will enjoy and remember.
Pyramid Remix is available on Brainfeeder. [Bandcamp]
