(01.09.06) Real Estate Man Plus from David Thrussell’s band Snog is a remix album with a difference. The album consists of 10 remixes of the same track – “Real Estate Man” from the 1999 Snog album Third Mall From The Sun. As an added bonus, the video of the track is also included on the disc.
The original version of “Real Estate Man” is a busy yet catchy mix of stabbing breaks, computerised blips, percussion effects and slightly sinister half-spoken half-sung lyrics with an epic orchestral finale. The remixes generally strip away some of the layers and most or all of the lyrics, adding a few new elements and loops but maintaining the song’s identity. The “Ubin Mix” – which is also the soundtrack to the video – takes the catchy cutup female vocal and loops it over the funky breaks and guitar from the original. Sir Real offers 2 remixes; the “Ugly Mix” featuring repetitive 8-bit style beats and the “Purty Mix” with a more varied approach utilising vocal snippets, ultimately however they are both fairly uninspired reworks. The “8 bit apocalypse mix” is a more exciting prospect, still opting for breakneck beats that pack a punch but with enough variance to keep things interesting. Volum utilises a similar bouncy beat and futuristic effects to create a sort of strange space age hip-hop restyling that eventually gets consumed in digital hell. Rhythmic noise regular Hecq’s rework starts out dreamy and ethereal but soon transforms into a stomping bass-laden stormer that still manages to keep the original vocal in tact. The “Super Awesome Electro Friends Forever Mix” takes the experimental route and opts for a glitchier approach with lots of digital blips, clicks and effects. The most radical rework however comes courtesy of Thrussell himself who offers an acoustic rendition “live from the sun room” in which he turns “Real Estate Man” into an upbeat country/folk song.
For a remix album, Real Estate Man Plus doesn’t offer that much variance in style across the ten versions of the song found on the album. The strongest remakes are from 8 Bit Apocalypse, Hecq and Ubin (for its sheer catchiness). The original is actually better than most of the remixes included here. As for the video, it is an odd concept. A man in a suit (presumably the “real estate man”) re-animates troubled souls who promptly burst into life in a series of odd movements. At the same time, a series of slogans appear on the screen in what appears to be Thrussell’s ongoing criticism of corporate globalisation and capitalism. An original and creative way to get the message across but better remixes would have been a nice bonus.
Real Estate Man Plus is out now on Hymen.
