Various Artists “I Put A Time Bomb In Your Submarine” (2014) review
Various Artists “I Put A Time Bomb In Your Submarine” (Bearsuit Records, 2014)
Bearsuit has been releasing intriguingly eclectic
electronica. Their latest serves as both
a “new” album as well as an introductory retrospective designed to illustrate
the scope of their catalogue by featuring (sometimes radical) remixes of key
tracks from some of their most key artists. [While the originals are spread
throughout the two dozen or so releases in their catalogue, newbies are also
directed towards the Run Over By An Elevator compilation from 2012 to get a
taste of what lurks within the hearts and minds of the original artists whose
work is plundered, rearranged and dissected within these grooves.] So let’s
dive in, shall we? The British-Japanese trio Anata Wa Sukkari Tsukarete
Shimai’s ‘Doll’ already sounds like it was tossed through the blender before
Senji Niban and Cardiff’s Mice Girls got ahold of it, so the former’s hypnotic
loop and disembodied voices and the latter’s spooky, spacey lo-fi electronica
are right on target and, like most of this “tribute”, provide enjoyable
alternative universe listening pleasures. The same applies to Asuka Tanaka’s
remix of the trio’s otherworldly disembodied voices that lie at the heart of
‘Invalid Bed’.
electronica. Their latest serves as both
a “new” album as well as an introductory retrospective designed to illustrate
the scope of their catalogue by featuring (sometimes radical) remixes of key
tracks from some of their most key artists. [While the originals are spread
throughout the two dozen or so releases in their catalogue, newbies are also
directed towards the Run Over By An Elevator compilation from 2012 to get a
taste of what lurks within the hearts and minds of the original artists whose
work is plundered, rearranged and dissected within these grooves.] So let’s
dive in, shall we? The British-Japanese trio Anata Wa Sukkari Tsukarete
Shimai’s ‘Doll’ already sounds like it was tossed through the blender before
Senji Niban and Cardiff’s Mice Girls got ahold of it, so the former’s hypnotic
loop and disembodied voices and the latter’s spooky, spacey lo-fi electronica
are right on target and, like most of this “tribute”, provide enjoyable
alternative universe listening pleasures. The same applies to Asuka Tanaka’s
remix of the trio’s otherworldly disembodied voices that lie at the heart of
‘Invalid Bed’.
Strasbourg’s
Greguy offers a more contemplative take on synthy electronica via ‘An American
Way of Life’ from his Minor Injury album, and Ryota Mikami builds on its New
Romantic, Depeche Mode (ca. Black Celebration) sensibilities, while the
ambient, Eno-inspired, piano-driven navel gazing romanticism of Hidekazu quiet
“A Shout Away” is reimagined as a glitchy hiccough in Stricknice’s remix that
quite frankly, zaps all the beauty from the original. And I’m sorry to also
report that 0point1 sucks the life out of the Whiz Kid’s playful ‘Circus Juice’
by again dissecting it into looped, glitch segments that seem more academic
than fun. On the other hand, Utu Lauttauri, Broken Bubble Gum, and Gritty
Glitter have successfully captured the Stars Wars-inflected animated sounds of
Haq’s ‘Jikan Ga Nai’, effectively bottling its arcade sounds into four minutes
of evocative fun.
Greguy offers a more contemplative take on synthy electronica via ‘An American
Way of Life’ from his Minor Injury album, and Ryota Mikami builds on its New
Romantic, Depeche Mode (ca. Black Celebration) sensibilities, while the
ambient, Eno-inspired, piano-driven navel gazing romanticism of Hidekazu quiet
“A Shout Away” is reimagined as a glitchy hiccough in Stricknice’s remix that
quite frankly, zaps all the beauty from the original. And I’m sorry to also
report that 0point1 sucks the life out of the Whiz Kid’s playful ‘Circus Juice’
by again dissecting it into looped, glitch segments that seem more academic
than fun. On the other hand, Utu Lauttauri, Broken Bubble Gum, and Gritty
Glitter have successfully captured the Stars Wars-inflected animated sounds of
Haq’s ‘Jikan Ga Nai’, effectively bottling its arcade sounds into four minutes
of evocative fun.
Ryota
Mikami also focuses on the female vocals that are at the heart of Bunny &
The Electric Horsemen’s ‘Snowflakes’, twisting and turning them into airborn
snatches of icy ennui and industrial cacophony that Bunny and her horsemen will
no doubt appreciate. And speaking of the feminine voice, they don’t come any
sexier than Léa Cervini’s ethereal cooing on the original title track of
Greguy’s Minor Injury, so it’s almost sacrilegious for Shinamo Moki to mess
with and almost dispose of it altogether. But I’m glad that Ullapul pretty much
left the dreamy aspects of Wakabayashi and Nono’s ‘Family’ intact. Newcomers
may best appreciate the more Earthbound creations of Wakabayashi and Nono or
the Whiz Kid’s playfulness on such toy piano-driven eccentricities as ‘Kid
Santa’, even if LTPimo and Jupiter’s Child’s 60-second remix of the latter
leaves a puzzled look on your face! I mean, 60 seconds!? What’s the point? Or,
maybe that IS the point! And Mark Tamea’s even-quieter version of Harold Nono’s
‘A Bigger Spider’ may be even more frighteningly anxiety-inducing than the
original. You can almost feel those eight legs creepy-crawling up your spine
while you aren’t watching…!
Mikami also focuses on the female vocals that are at the heart of Bunny &
The Electric Horsemen’s ‘Snowflakes’, twisting and turning them into airborn
snatches of icy ennui and industrial cacophony that Bunny and her horsemen will
no doubt appreciate. And speaking of the feminine voice, they don’t come any
sexier than Léa Cervini’s ethereal cooing on the original title track of
Greguy’s Minor Injury, so it’s almost sacrilegious for Shinamo Moki to mess
with and almost dispose of it altogether. But I’m glad that Ullapul pretty much
left the dreamy aspects of Wakabayashi and Nono’s ‘Family’ intact. Newcomers
may best appreciate the more Earthbound creations of Wakabayashi and Nono or
the Whiz Kid’s playfulness on such toy piano-driven eccentricities as ‘Kid
Santa’, even if LTPimo and Jupiter’s Child’s 60-second remix of the latter
leaves a puzzled look on your face! I mean, 60 seconds!? What’s the point? Or,
maybe that IS the point! And Mark Tamea’s even-quieter version of Harold Nono’s
‘A Bigger Spider’ may be even more frighteningly anxiety-inducing than the
original. You can almost feel those eight legs creepy-crawling up your spine
while you aren’t watching…!
As with
any collection of remixes, the success factor is directly proportional to your
expectation. Do you want the remixers to radically reinterpret the original,
perhaps finding something in the grooves that the composer overlooked…or do you
want a faithfully-executed reproduction, albeit with different instruments or
cultural interpretations? Bearsuit prides itself on bridging the British and
Oriental (typically Japanese) electronic scenes, so having one culture
reimagine the musical compositions of another is an exciting idea. The fact
that many of these projects already consist of international artists often
recording via the Internet or email contact makes the collaborations/remixes
less radical than one might expect, and makes the perfectly-titled I Put A Bomb
In Your Submarine a lot more fun than it has a right to be. It might clear a
few rooms at parties and is rarely going to get your guests out on the dance
floor, but for a more cerebral approach to what can be done on the
re-manufacturing front of the experimental electronica scene, it’s hard to
beat.
any collection of remixes, the success factor is directly proportional to your
expectation. Do you want the remixers to radically reinterpret the original,
perhaps finding something in the grooves that the composer overlooked…or do you
want a faithfully-executed reproduction, albeit with different instruments or
cultural interpretations? Bearsuit prides itself on bridging the British and
Oriental (typically Japanese) electronic scenes, so having one culture
reimagine the musical compositions of another is an exciting idea. The fact
that many of these projects already consist of international artists often
recording via the Internet or email contact makes the collaborations/remixes
less radical than one might expect, and makes the perfectly-titled I Put A Bomb
In Your Submarine a lot more fun than it has a right to be. It might clear a
few rooms at parties and is rarely going to get your guests out on the dance
floor, but for a more cerebral approach to what can be done on the
re-manufacturing front of the experimental electronica scene, it’s hard to
beat.
Review made by Jeff Penczak/2014
© Copyright http://psychedelicbaby.blogspot.com/2014
