Customer Reviews

Dfa Remixes: Chapter 1 (Rmxs)

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The DFA is one of the most sought after production teams. I have been into their stuff for quite a while. I have been playing these tracks for many years. I sometimes moonlight as a DJ. Any of these tracks always go down well. Even more exciting is LCD Soundsystem. That was my favorite record of last year. I am not a big fan of Le Tigre, but this remix of "Deceptacon" is great. Other things by Blues Explosion and Soulwax are interesting choices. Shows a little range. The Chemical Brothers and Fischerspooner are some of my favorite groups. Their remix of "Emerge" is very tight. Of course I have the 12-inch. Most of these tracks are long. The most well known track here is "Dare" by Gorillaz. There is also a bit by the new group Hot Chip. Excellent stuff.

Chubby James Murphy and his geeky DFA partner Tim Goldsworthy might not be the most photogenic pair to emerge from New York's chic music scene in the last five years, but their cracking abilities in the production and remix stakes has marked them out as zeitgeist conquerors. Want proof that their skills extend further than signing weirdo noiseniks Black Dice and releasing LCD Soundsystem's catchy self-titled debut? Look no further than The DFA Remixes - Chapter One - a thrilling 74-minute ride through some of the DFA team's finest remixes for big name acts from across the globe. Blues Explosion's Mars, Arizona is rid of overbearing guitar doodles and made into stomping dancefloor wonders, Le Tigre are filled with lusty beats for Deceptacon and Soulwax's divergent electro instrumental thrill of Another Excuse. Gorillaz are stretched to more than 10 minutes on the spacey sounds of Dare, Chemical Brothers are given a strong dose of chilled out funk on The Boxer and Fischerspooner's Emerge is initially trimmed of all fat for maximum effect when the synths finally kick in.
One minor quibble is that many of these tracks have been widely available on previous albums (such as Le Tigre's This Island - Remixes and Soulwax's Nite Versions) rather than being exclusives, although for a rounded overview of the Jim and Tim show, this is an upbeat treat.
Unfortunately DFA's work for Unkle, Nine Inch Nails and Goldfrapp doesn't make an appearance on this nine-song collection, but perhaps that's in the vaults awaiting Chapter Two.
I'm already looking forward to it.

Having loved LCD Soundsystem, and every album the DFA's produced, I was very interested in picking in this up, and I'm glad I did. The Le Tigre track is the perfect opener, being a great energetic tune (love that bassline). The Blues Explosion starts off great, and gets progressively wacked out, which is good, as the Blues Explosion aren't known for normality. The Chemical Brothers track is turned into a more relaxed buildup, using elements from the original in a very interesting way (as it was very energetic and uptempo). The Soulwax mix is excellent, with a little keyboard riff that reminds me of rain for some reason. The Radio 4 mix somehow manages to sound just like the original, and nothing like it at the same time (The DFA had just produced and album for them, so they probably knew the track better than most). The Fischerspooner is a quick little hit, and then it's out, keeping most of the vocals, and stripping them down. The other reviewer points out that the Gorillaz mix is a bit too long, and in all fairness, the first few listens do seem a bit monotonous. However, like the Prententious mix of Yeah off the LCD Soundsystem, you start to hear more bit and pieces the more you listen to it, which makes the track better. The Metro Alert track is a nice little funky track. Lastly, the Hot Chip both manages to both float and march along, and is it just me or do the vocals sound a lot like Beatle-era Paul McCartney? This is a great album, and best of all, manages to fit cohesively as an album, instead of sounding like a compilation. Apprently, a volume 2 is due out later this year, and there's already a Japanese version collecting both volumes planned (it's listed as not yet available on Amazon). If you like DFA stuff, this will be perfect. If you don't, these guys really know how to make a remix, and you won't be disappointed.

Late late at night, while I sleep, I like to stream WFMU, the last true free form radio station in the world. I do this every bedtime. One night I saw Kevin Spacy in war paint, doing a go-go dance for me, in Pakistan. He did it to this very odd dance music

Obviously, I was dreaming. But it turned out, the music was real, or at least some of it was--maybe I dreamt other music on top.

The real music, I later found, was this, the DFA remixes. This is solid, spacy, dance music with lots of layers on top of beats. This music is thick, filled with eletronic dynamics, voices, all kinds of trippy effects, popping out more each listen,

THe music of dreams

And I am glad, very glad, I had not REALLY seen one of my favorate actors, Kevin Spacey, naked.

Super overindulgent, repetitive, boring mixes.
He kills Le Tigre's "Deceptacon" as the opening track and it's all downhill or round and round and round in nowhere land for the rest. Seriously, a 12:13 mix of Gorillaz' "Dare?" These tracks are too long for dance tracks unless you're a seriously crispy raver. I think they have hit the boundary of white boy dance music and gone beyond. Not worth the money no how no way. Buy a track before you buy the cd. All the tracks are trademark LCD Soundsystem beats driven monotonously into the ground