Deru - 1979: Remixed

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  • 1979: Remixed isn't a typical remix collection. Arriving two years after its source material, Deru's first album for Friends Of Friends, the six-track ambient record is a compact revision made entirely by the LA composer and producer. If you followed Benjamin Wynn's original release, you may have heard of its curious mythology, involved visual presentation and incredible live show. With the help of visual artist Effixx, Wynn made 1979 look, feel and sound like a relic from another time and place—with such engrossing details, the music took on new depth and mystery. Remixed, released as a digital package, doesn't share those angles, but its lush, chilly soundscapes do sound an awful lot like 1979. Any noticeable differences with this new version come down to sequencing and texture. Heavy tape saturation makes the synths and atmospheres sound older, almost brittle, while the rearranged tracklist plays out like a well-paced and immersive live set. By track three, the heavy kicks of "Midnight In The Garden With Ghosts (Remix)" add sparse rhythm to Wynn's meditative tones, which, with the help of some field recordings, resonates on Boards Of Canada's wavelength. But more than, say, Geogaddi, Remixed deals with emotive electronica in the same way as Jon Hopkins or Rafael Anton Irisarri—that is, with big, expressive melodies, nuanced sound design and a maudlin palette. In the right mood, it's easy to get swept up in the hypnotic pulse and withering harmonic streaks in "Black Beach (Tape Version Remix)," but "Three Cheers For Existence (Remix)," with its slow-swelling drone, is less evocative. One new track, "Shine On Harvest Moon," closes the EP with a twist. Wynn incorporates vocals—both live and processed—into his beatless composition, landing somewhere between experimental pop and an obscure soundtrack cue. Unexpected as it is, it's nice to see a new wrinkle in 1979's greyscale fabric.
  • Tracklist
      01. 1979 (On A Snowy February Day) 02. Pathologically Bored (Remix) 03. Midnight In The Garden With Ghosts (Remix) 04. Three Cheers For Existence (Remix) 05. Black Beach (Tape Version Remix) 06. Shine On Harvest Moon