During the last decade the art of remixing became a constant source of excitement as often ordinary songs were transformed into dancefloor-killing machines or, better still, stellar new interpretations which used the original as a launch-pad into startling new vistas (eg Andrew Weatherall and The Orb). With the demise of the 12” single as a DJ tool, the remix has lessened in profile and there haven’t been so many monsters where the name of the remixer guarantees a must-have treat in its own right.
Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve – joint alter-ego for mash-up king DJ Erol Alkan and The Grid’s Richard Norris – pass the acid test by psychedelicising their subjects with delightfully obscure or exotic samples, extra terrestrial effects and robust, bongo-splattered beats of a Balearic nature, limitless imagination to the fore. They prefer to call their reworkings re-animations (though it’s more like spiking), here presenting a dozen by names including Chemical Brothers, Late Of The Pier, Tracey Thorn, Badly Drawn Boy, Simian Mobile Disco, Goldfrapp and Franz Ferdinand (sounding like Norman Whitfield dropping acid on Ibiza). There’s even a hallucinogenic slant on Peter, Bjorn & Paul’s whistle-anthem Young Folks. Mindblowingly recommended.
