Slicker - Remixes
(Hefty)
Remixes are really starting to annoy me. It's a shame that something relatively
great (Tortoise's 12.x remix series) has led to every other band trying to
convince a techno artist or two (or at least their rocker friend who owns a
sampler) to tack a remix on the back of a single or, yikes, release an album
entirely full of them.
Well, here's John Hughes III, aka Slicker, and after only one album under that
moniker, here's his remix album. But, guess what; it's actually kind of good.
To say the least, there are some interesting songs on this release.
Perhaps that is the problem with most remixes, though: they fill their quota
of "interesting" but often don't turn out to be full, true songs. Mice Parade
(Adam of The Dylan Group) does provide a full, true song for this album, using
& arranging a short bassline with keyboard & vibes riffs and various (real &
programmed) drum patterns. Mice Parade is able to take a relatively small
amount of source material but so masterfully plan when the parts come in, go
out, and repeat that it gives the song a flow and feel uncommon to sampled
music.
Delarosa partners with 2 different people for 2 short tracks. The first, with
Devine, is a deep, rough sea of clicktracks. The second, with Asora, uses
fragments of John Hughes' vocals with a steady bassline. A key disappointment
in Slicker is that Hughes didn't use his vocals more (which were so great in
Bill Ding), so it is nice that Delarosa+Asora were able to salvage some of
Hughes' wahs and ahs buried deep in the original Slicker mix.
Super ESP also scavenges through Slicker's dense mix for one great element and
finds a meaty bass hook to bring forward and base a track on. Savath+Savalas
turn Slicker's artronica into tangy smooth synthesizer soul. Matmos throws
everything and the kitchen sink into the mix (not to mention portions of an
unreleased Slicker remix of a Matmos track) to form a laid back sparse
arrangement (no really!), somewhat similar to a Bill Ding song.
It's hard to recommend remix albums, but if you enjoyed John Hughes' previous
forays into electronica and/or are a fan of some of the remixers, there are
enough interesting moments on this disk to warrant getting it.
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