(02.11.07) Plumbicon Versions contains five remixes of a track from Polygon_Cities, four of them previously released on vinyl. The original version does not appear here and as such, this reviewer has no reference to it and is therefore unable to compare these remixes to the original.
The “Live in Osaka” mix contains minimal bleeping and blooping over Blade Runner string stabs and Chain Reaction dubby keyboards over a relentless Hawtin-esque beat. Henke remixes his own material here to great effect. Not having heard the original, this track sounds pretty solid on its own. Sleeparchive’s remix (“Sleeparchive Interpretation”) is a straight up Berlin house track that probably sounds fine in a club. At home, it is an endurance test. Lacking a hook but featuring bleeping and pinging sine waves, plus a voice repeating “mono,” the track is so stripped down and minimal that there is very little to latch on to over nine grueling minutes. If hyper-minimal house is your bag, this will fit comfortably in it. If not, no amount of repetition is going to make this sound any better.
The “Rebreather Mix” takes an entirely different tack, aiming for the emotional response, a more intellectual than physical response, and hits every mark. Evoking Portishead, the string and gentle piano arrangement couples with a dubbed-out beat and sounds like the opening credits to the most amazing sci-fi/cop-western/love story ever filmed. Deadbeat’s version fills in the gaps of the other versions, filling things out nicely with nimbly cut-up beats and lush keyboards. Probably the most “classic” sounding track, the most inline with IDM jack-booted lock-steppers. “Plumbicon Epilogue,” the closer, clocks in at over 10 minutes and reminds you that while engaging remixers is nice and all, some things are better when the original artist works on his own material. Slowed down and menacing, Henke and T++ push themselves closer to the edges and find the beauty and subtlety in the groove.
Plumbicon Versions is out now on Imbalance Computer Music.
