Enpyschedelia electronica

Would it be too cheesy to say this album is a hoot?

If there's one thing I love, it's a good remix. Electronic music is filled with re-interpretations of classic tracks, some from the same genre, some from wildly different ones. 'Reanimations' by Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve is a bit of both. But before I talk about the remixes, it's worth mentioning about the duo behind them. Erol Alkan is a well-known DJ and producer in his own right, but for BTWS (it's easier than typing it out over and over again) he's joined by electronic music royalty in the shape of Richard Norris from The Grid (don't worry if you've never heard of them, one of their albums will be on here shortly, I promise). For me, that's a pretty outstanding combination. And the results are equally outstanding.

Unusually for electronic remixes, the inspiration for each of these 'reanimations' is the past not the future. 60s psychedelia to be precise. The first track sets out the statement of intent. BTWS transform 'Battlescars' by The Chemical Brothers into a smoky haze of sitar and bongos. It shouldn't work but it does, eclipsing the brilliant original in my opinion. Another highlight is the reverb heavy masterpiece reworking of 'Roscoe' from indie band Midlake. Laid back syncopation (wicked cymbals man) backwards guitars bring the vocals back from the future to the decade of peace and love.


Goldfrapp's 'Happiness' is made even hazier than the hippy original, as is Findlay Brown's 'Losing The Will To Survive', while The Real Ones' 'Outlaw' is gloriously trippy with more flashes of sitar, jangly guitars, jingly pianos and marching band drums. This is music for hazy sunny days, for relaxing in the park as the sun glitters through the trees.

Badly Drawn Boy, Simian Mobile Disco and Franz Ferdinand all get the Wizard's remix treatment too, taking great originals and, if anything, making them even more original.

Remixes are a great way of seeing someone else's intrepretation of a track. In electronica it can also be a way of discovering a new talent through the transformation of the existing one.

But 'Reanimations' is much more than just a collection of remixes, it feels like a coherent artist album, a sonic story. Just one that uses snippets of someone else's words.