ATONE – un an plus tard

(free download, autres directions)

Three weeks of summer sun in springtime and a sky as blue and pristine as in the mediterranean, so I thought I’ll start this review with writing about how this remix album fits the wonderful weather perfectly. And today I get around to it and the sky is all clouded and it is suddenly 5 degrees cooler. But the music fits this kind of weather as well. Probably it fits any kind of weather as long as the listener is inclined. Ain’t it interesting how things as ephemeral and dispensable as music or the weather influence how we feel and act in such a strong way? A lot of people, including me, have suggested labeling music by the situations or emotional status of listening rather than inherited genre-names. But that would probably take it too far, though it would sure make things easier.

By the way, when I loaded the last album by The Twilight Sad into my Player the internet database suggested “music for kids”... maybe we are on our way to random labelling. As a step towards non-labelling and freeing ourselves of the necessity of describing music and thereby getting rid of all the stupid music journalism, I am all in favor. But now we should probably face the music:

Atone aka Antoine Monzonis-Calvet released “un an” in summer of 2006 and it definitely was on of the more refined and finer moments of last summer and it lead to some or more insights on composition and construction of music from an almost subconscious point of view. “un an plus tard” contains all remixes of this album and from the starting point described above the task to remix one of these tracks is a complicated one. Because it means that the remixers have to get deep and even deeper into the music to find the connections they can link their own ideas and interests on to. Did it work out? Mostly it did.

The reworkings range from rather extreme to subtle and the ideas re-included into the tracks are all original and able to stand on their own. Remixers come from all over the place, geographically as well as musically; only one is also from Autres Directions: Tony. Starting with City Centre Offices recording artist The Remot Viewer is of course another good choice, because his easy yet complicated electronica between glitch and ambient and structural noise sets the mood quite well for the rest of the record. All the other artists start from this framework, then expand and mulitply or re-arrange it. Lullatone from Japan stand out by stripping the track “resonance” to its basic glass chimes core and then adding beats after half the song is over that are fusion of IDM and minimal electric. Hushed female vocals push the track over the top in consistency and imminence. Laid back yet haunting, but in a subtle and subdued way, which is something Burial or The Knife never manage, because they just do too much. Simplicity always wins if it is honed to perfection and polished to shine like a small sun.

There are a lot more highlights on here, for instance the way Pandatone takes apart the music and then lets the little bits swirl around the room or the ambient wave of Praveen, but I have never been a friend of re-telling records. Everybody should find out for themselves by listening themselves – which is easy enough in this instance. Maybe Tanuki and his choir should find some mentioning, because they take the track out of one sphere (digital project) and then re-invite it into another one (analogue project) which results in something reminding of Tupolev in regards of atmosphere, emotion and attitude.

After EP’s with remixes (amongst other tracks) from Depth Affect and Melodium this is another instance of remixes on autres directions in music. Looks as if they are making a rule of spreading the music of their artists onto other artists to expand them. All according to the mission statement conclusive from their label name, it seems. It takes strong artists to have their music remixed, because it means losing control and that is always connected with the fear of losing. But you sure remember: He who wins, loses.