Isis "'Oceanic' Remixes/Reinterpretations Volume III" LP
[Robotic Empire]
The fact that Mike Patton's "remix" of "Maritime" opens this, the third of four in this series, makes it a must have indeed. Curiously this is the only selection I've heard to date on these 12"s that sounds more like a totally original piece than an actual revisitation. Softly crooned singing (Patton's own) over lounge-y sort of music with a good sense of melody and occasional bursts of louder percussion and more abrasive arrangements is basically the gist of it, sounding not so unlike something you could've heard on Mr. Bungle's "California" record. I'm sure some of these textures were derived from the Isis track that this is tagged as a "remix" of, and it's a cool selection, but I'm not sure how I feel about it since it seems too "easy", in a sense - meaning that what some of the other contributors have done in literally creating something new out of something existing is much harder and more admirable than creating something new and simply smattering it with pieces from an existing musical composition. Perhaps I'm wrong and Patton has crafted this piece out of sheer genius, though? Thomas Köner follows with a remix of "Hym", opening with a menacing sort of dark ambient throb as crunchy midrange scurries back and forth over an increasingly heavy low-end pulse. What sound like whispered vocals that are layered and cutup to sound a bit more intense and sinister break in at times, but the piece definitely maintains a consistent thematic throughout. Teledubgnosis takes "Maritime" as well, though its ambient hums and sketchy whispered textures sound far closer to Köner's piece than Patton's. Subtle melodies seep in and make things slightly more musical, but the ambient minimalism remains intact for the duration of the track, more powerfully once the thick and basic beat comes in. Once more the LP is pressed on clear vinyl and comes in a minimal sleeve with high contrast metallic silver/white patterns. The backside of the sleeve has a circle die-cut out of it to reveal the tracklist on the label of the record itself (each record in the series has a different colored label, which is basically the only differentiation aside from the tracklist itself). Another strong offering from Robotic Empire's amazing series here. Teledubgnosis is my personal favorite, and I think Patton's track clashes a bit with the other two selections by character only (the quality is still there), but thus far every volume of this set has been fucking impressive. Only 2,500 exist so get your detective shoes on if you're hoping to find one. You pretty much have to buy these within a few weeks of their release. (8/10)
Running time - 27:00 (approximately), Tracks: 3
[Notable tracks: I enjoy all three but Teledubgnosis is the real winner]
Robotic Empire - http://www.roboticempire.com

This review has been displayed 2065 times.