Peter Jorgensen: The Remixes

Peter Jorgensen releases a new double CD in early September – the first CD is nineteen tracks of compositions for the movie “Kim”, and the second ten track CD is a collection of remixes by a number of other well known artists. The material remixed is taken from his previous release, “Palimpsest (For Strings)” and previous works, including 2007’s “Lets The Sun Drag Itself Out In A Long Ray”…

The following are some impressions of the remixes on the second CD by a few Fluid favorites…

“Degenerated Crests” by Will Long wastes no time in mapping out the environment, with the build of layers spreading out to encompass the far left to right of the spectrum. Waves of tones surge and recede, until a shuddering bass tone fills the floor towards the end.

The “July_Julee” remix by Pawn crackles with insectile scratching to start before some multiple well-placed layers float through and waver. There’s some great panning here, and some engaging harmony with the swirling tones, some of the layers starting to approach critical mass as they feed back then fade into the distance.

“For Hanne And Ruth”, by Rameses III begins in a similar fashion, before a burst of instrumentation backed by some wavering texture. A considered and emotive piece that ebbs and flows with the passage of the music. Then, an authoritative and commanding bass counterpoint takes control from the background before some gentle guitar lines close the track out. A highlight.

The next version of “July_Julee” by Machinefabriek has an eerie but positive feel to it, sharing the same great panning of the Pawn version. The mood of this piece is fantastic, with a very metallic yet tranquil midsection.

“Fissures” by Chris Herbert opens up with a great organic feel, some flickering texture in the rear. The wavering layers bring to mind glass, reflecting sound at angles, and the lengthy track explores the soundscape fully. The last few minutes are totally absorbing and I found myself completely lost in the gradual fade out.

“Every Heart I Know Has Been Broken” by Seasons (Pre-din) is a return to strings, with a avian centerpiece – what sounds like bird noise is cleverly placed in the centre, occasionally peeking out but never completely present.

Peter Broderick remixes “Palimpsest (For Strings)”, fitting, as he is listed as having contributed the strings to the original version. The strings play over a choral woodwind drone that shimmers in the centre. There’s some magic vocal work in here as well, leaving me reaching for the repeat button at the end of the 4:24 track time – I could happily listen to a much longer version.

“Modstand Til Canada” is a slowly building lift by Jasper TX – good full sound, with shimmering tones filling the speakers and shards of light peeking in through the fog. There are some lovely almost-feedback noises surfacing in the last few minutes, along with some bowing rearing its head at the end.

The second version of “Palimpsest (For Strings)” by Jefre Cantu-Ledesma shimmers with some well placed foreground electronic tones and draws in some great texture from the rear.

“Light Breath” by Greg Davis is a fitting end to the expedition – some very calming and assured mixed elements really closing it out on a weary but positive note, clever panning and great bottom end tones almost giving you the impression that you’re inhabiting a slow moving cloud.

The whole package flows well – the quality of both the original tracks and their most recent iterations is consistently high. A real pleasure to listen to a compilation where all the parts are so well thought out, and everything sits together without any noticeable weak point.

The double CD will be released by Under The Spire in September – designed by the brothers Meldgaard, printed by Stumptown Printers and accompanied by an essay by director and architect Morten Meldgaard.

Review by Alex Gibson for Fluid Radio

www.underthespire.co.uk
www.clangtint.net