dot tape dot: Repainted
spa.RK

Do we need an entire album's worth of remixes of dot tape dot's Paintings? Not really but admittedly the same argument could be extended to almost all releases. Certainly the line-up of contributors to Repainted, an obvious attempt to bridge the gap between the 2005 original and a new dot tape dot album scheduled for next year, is impressive enough and the electronic folk-pop material they have to work with (by Spanish artist Daniel Romero) promises much too. At the very least, remixers as diverse as Sebastien Roux, Tunng, ISAN, and The Village Orchestra veritably ensure that the collection will be a wide-ranging affair.

Do's “Franky Rendered” inaugurates the collection nicely with a multi-hued rendering whose shuddering melodicas, tinkling keyboards, and myriad percussive noises slowly coalesce to paint a tranquil pond-like scene. On the Japanese front, Shugo Tokumaru opts for rambunctious sparkle in his “With Paul,” a blinding three-minute panorama packed with glockenspiels and electronic shimmer, and Sora's “You've Bought a Minicity Free of Plastic Squirrels” charms with its high-energy and melodic sparkle when voices and glockenspiels somersault over a percussive gallop. The Village Orchestra takes time away from its Highpoint Lowlife doings to deliver a pulsating, techno-driven overhaul of “Lo Pencil” and Bichi's “Mountain Office” makeover leaves a similarly strong impression when its electric guitar swells stream over a hard-hitting beat pattern. In addition, a blend of chattering microbeats and willowy keyboard melodies coursing through “Lactoc Fuck” identifies it immediately as the work of ISAN, a trumpet leads a slow march through Bradien's languorous guitar-based treatment of “Walden Dos,” Rumpistol strips “Late, Vague, Wrong” down to a subtly funky smattering of dubby head-nod, and Sebastien Roux imbues the abstract electroacoustic collage “Defight” with an experimental, field recordings-oriented sensibility. Though Repainted obviously boasts a fair number of memorable pieces, Tunng's remix of “The Projectionist” is the most ear-catching. The descending hook of an ancient string instrument lends the song immediate distinction, as does the subsequent addition of banjo and Steven Scott's rustic vocal, and memorable too is the ease with which Tunng blends electronic and acoustic sounds so naturally.

December 2008