Sunday 17 May 2009
Mixed messages
I stand behind my previous summation that Intimacy was the most challenging record of Bloc Party‘s career on a number of levels. For the fans, it clearly was a with us or against us affair; you either embraced the move towards more dance orientated songs or you threw your arms up in surrender and waiting for the new Franz Ferdinand (and we all know how that ended). For the band, it was a bold move ahead and a quick turn around, which could work in their favour or really harm their reputation. Now, nine months or so on from its release, it’s still not my favourite of their three albums–truth be told, it’s the one I like the least–but I don’t hate it. As a matter of fact, now that they’ve released Intimacy Remixed, I’m starting to appreciate it more and more. As they did with their first album, Silent Alarm, all the tracks from Intimacy have been handed over to remixers for a fresh coat of paint, a stripping down, or in some cases a total re-write. (I was hoping very much that the band would have asked QBiM’s favourite remixer Telemitry to contribute his excellent remix of “Mercury” for the album, but instead they opted for DJ/producer Hervé’s remix.)
Of note is the contribution of the original album’s producer Paul Epworth’s final remix under the Phones name. He tackles “Talons” to wondrous effect, throwing back to mid 90s Underworld-like thick beats. Armand Van Helden, Mogwai, and Filthy Dukes each have their go at a track, along with Villains, whose version of “Ares” stops sounding like the Chemical Brothers’ “Setting Sun” and takes on a life of it’s own. Its video features cell phone footage taken by fans during the band’s 2-night stand at London’s Olympia.
MP3: Bloc Party “Ares (Villains remix)”
Video: Bloc Party “Ares (Villains remix)”
Myspace: Bloc Party
Buy: Bloc Party Intimacy Remixed
You can still try your hand at remixing “Ares”, “Signs” and “Ion Square” by downloading the song stems at BlocParty.com.
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