Owl (Low Remixes)

Low | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 28, 1998)
• Original Release Date: July 28, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vernon Yard Records
• ASIN: B000009N2U
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #295,212 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The ambient possibilities that emerge in remixing the work of slow-core rock outfit Low would seem to be endless. Several of the artists on this remix CD take full advantage of this fact, but others do not. Porter Ricks's excellent reworking of "Down" has a film-music feel and creeps along like an expansive noodle by Bowery Electric. DJ Vadim's rendering of "Laugh (Vox-Reverse Tele)" is right-on with its use of bass and vocals mixed with heavy downtempo breaks. It's the best track here. Others, like Neotropic's "Anon (Spore)" and "Anon (Pollen)," flow nicely enough but are filled with some dance gadgetry that has little to do with the feel or flow of the original music. Neotropic are featured on the album three times. Jimmy Somerville, formerly of Bronski Beat and the Communards, makes a wonderful appearance with the bouncy "Words." Also featured are Skull Valley Dub and Tranquility Bass. --Aaron Tassano

Spin

Remixing [Low] is kind of like rearranging sand in an hourglass, so the corps of trained experts recruited for owL tend to overcompensate by dragging the songs into the light.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars More for electro / chillout fans, not for straight fans of Low's normal folksy vibe, February 23, 2010

By 

C. Minshall "Music and Word Sleaze" (Altamonte Springs, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Owl (Low Remixes) (Audio CD)

I like Low, but I favor electronic music more than most folk-based music. If you're no fan of electronic music and were trying to complete your Low collection, this would be for completist purposes only. It sounds nothing like Low's normal mellow and silky recordings.

That out of the way, I like most of the mixes on this EP. I have all the earlier Neotropic discs, and Riz's three efforts here were very comparable to 15 Levels / Ultra Freaky era NeoT.

However, the best mixes on the disc are both of Over the Ocean - and they're probably the only two mixes fans of "normal" Low would give more than two or three stars...

If you like Ninja Tune / N-Tone bands, or generally laid-back experimental electro or chillout, well worth it. If not, maybe just snag the Over the Ocean variations.

3.0 out of 5 stars Low for those with ADD, July 23, 2007

By 

Stargrazer "the lost mixtape of my life" (deep in the heart of Michigan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Owl (Low Remixes) (Audio CD)

Low's consistently minimal aesthetic is too tempting for admirers not to remix, cover, and in some cases immolate. There are so many suggestions of bell-like tones, submerged beats and erased tracks in their album material that when collaborators like Neotropic and Skull Valley Dub are allowed to tweak and augment, many of these seemingly drowned sounds bubble to the surface.

While some of the remixers on this collection take a more minimal approach that sounds like the band itself -- but in an extremely insular or experimental mode -- a few remixes go in an opposite direction like the busy but confectionary remix of "Over The Ocean," with its percolating horns and sliced-and-diced vocals.

Overall, the album remains calming even though rife with textures and beats.

As other reviews have noted, this is perhaps not the best starting point in the Low catalog, though it is of interest to fans or those who like unconventional electronic collaborations.

1.0 out of 5 stars LOW shown no respect...., November 22, 2003

By 

paul jackson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Owl (Low Remixes) (Audio CD)

I love live music, but even more so the ethereal haunting edge that only LOW can deliver. I also have been a big fan of the Dance/Electronica scene, and this album seemed to promise as intriguing fusion of both styles . Unfortunatley LOW'S incredible music has been swept aside by nieve immature non musicianship of amazing ineptitude. If this were just a cheap DnB album it would of been cast aside in the bargain bin along with countless other albums of Lift music. This is not LOW, just some a hopeless attempt to steal some light from one of the most incredible bands around. GO buy Trust, Things we lost in the fire or Secret Name .. and really experience LOW.