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(N.B- review refers to expanded edition) What a pleasant surprise to discover that Nonesuch have reissued the fantastic Reich Remixed with additional mixes by the likes of Four Tet, who perhaps unsurprisingly chooses to rework Reich's `Drumming' (previously given an electronic twist by the venerable acid-house pioneers Mantronix). No one can doubt the impact Reich has had on both popular as well as classical music, and for me he is unrivalled in the world of minimalism, despite my respect for the work of Philip Glass, especially his seminal `Glassworks' (1982) and his collaborations with Ravi Shankar (`Passages', 1990) and Uakti (`Aguas da Amazonia', 1999). Receiving the 10 CD Steve Reich set `Works' was one of the greatest musical presents I ever got, and once I learnt of the Remix project, I just knew that would prove essential listening, especially with the likes of Coldcut, Howie B, Andrea Parker, Tranquility Bass, Ken Ishii and Freq Nasty making contributions. After all, I had first heard Steve Reich sampled on The Orb's 1989 classic `Little Fluffy Clouds' without even knowing it. Years later I learnt that I was actually listening to the cyclic guitar of Pat Metheny from Reich's `Electric Counterpoint' (1987)- testament to Alex Patterson's good taste and pioneering approach to ambient psychedelic dance music. Finally hearing the original transported me to an equally potent musical headspace and Reich quickly became one of my all time favourite composers.
I'm really not sure then how much more I need to say to persuade you just how essential this album is. If you don't know who Steve Reich is then I can only wonder what cultural crevice you have been hiding in- he's a living legend, widely acknowledged to have had a revolutionary impact on twentieth century music. So what of the remixes then? Well, Coldcut are responsible for an incredible six-minute contraction of Reich's renowned `Music for 18 Musicians', and in case you don't know, they are noteworthy for innovating VJing (the political potency of `Timber', with the sync-ed images of trees being sliced by chainsaws remains the zenith of achievements in this field), developing new DJing technologies, setting up their own Ninja Tune dance music label, as well as being responsible for some enduring tunes of their own. Other contributors attempt his early, ultra minimal works like `Piano Phase' (D Note), and `Come Out' (Ken Ishii), whilst others attempt his more orchestrated pieces such as `The Four Sections' (Andrea Parker) and `Eight Lines' (Howie B). All in all then, a fair selection of compositions from Reich's long and varied career are represented. I just think that rather than issuing an expanded version, Nonesuch should have commissioned a second volume- I would love to hear somebody like Amon Tobin rework `Different Trains' for example.
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A Kendall-Tobias
some great remixes others not so
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 12, 2015
