ARANDEL: In D Remixed (InFiné)

By

Posted on Aug 4th 2011 11:54 pm

Filed in Albums | Tags: ,
Comments (3)

Arandel: In D Remixed

ARANDEL
In D Remixed
IF3007
InFiné 2011
09 Tracks. 66mins12secs

Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD

Amongst the many excellent records published on Franco-German imprint InFiné last year, one stood out as a particularly original record. The work of enigmatic French DJ and producer Arandel, In D was an electronic record for which the man (this is about as much as we know of who Arandel actually is) had renounced MIDI equipment and samplers, and had instead made extensive use of a vast array of acoustic instruments which he had painstakingly recorded and processed into nine very impressive pieces.

In the next few months, the tracks from In D were handed over to a number of artists for them to offer their vision of Arandel’s music. The results were collected into two digital EPs, which have now been compiled, with additional remixes, into this companion to the original album. With contributions from inFiné’s Fraction and Rone, alongside Bruno Pronsato, Solfeggio, Ol4f, Mr Raoul K, Michael Forzza, Manvoy de Saint Sadrill and Sinner DC, In D Remixed is a wonderfully eclectic and inspiring collection.

The opening two mixes, by Fraction and Rone respectively, almost appear to echo each other and work as two sections of a single piece. Yet, while Fraction tackles #5, injecting a seismic kick drum over sumptuous electronic textures, at times reminiscent of the sombre pop of The Knife, Rone focusses on #3, creating a much richer, yet strangely similar set up of textures and beats. Later on, Sinner DC explore similar terrains again, although their approach reflects the sombre atmospheric techno of their recent releases.

Elsewhere, Bruno Pronsato delivers a sprawling hypnotic version of #3, which he infuses with deep dub undercurrents and drives with a linear beat which stretches over the full thirteen and a half minutes of the piece, and later on, Mr Raoul K and Michael Forzza also provide two excellent minimal mixes, of #7 and #5 respectively. While the latter is built from very sparse components and strips of vocal textures processed into a series of haunting howls, and set to a motorik beat, the former is a slightly more elaborate piece, expanding the original’s string work into swelling waves as a bubbling electro bass line keeps the pace going for most of this rather exquisite remix. French producer Ol4f also opts for a pretty straightforward 4/4 groove for his reworking of #7, Manvoy de Saint Sadrill openly flirts with musique concrète for a moment before devising a fairly complex electro construction which is progressively stripped off all its components. Solfeggio takes a totally different view, accentuating the vocals of #5 as he layers the ethereal textures and turns the track into a deeply reflective and immersive piece.

Very much like the rest of InFiné’s production, the quality of the music collected here is second to none, each remix expanding Arandel’s totally unique vision without compromising any of the originals. Even subjected to a radical reshaping, the music still sounds very much Arandel’s, and while each remixer brings in some elements of their own personality into the mix, the overall record is as consistent and captivating as the original album.

4.5/5

Arandel (MySpace) | InFiné
Amazon UK: DLD US: DLD Boomkat: DLD iTunes: DLD

Filed in Albums | Tags: ,
Comments (3)

3 Responses to “ARANDEL: In D Remixed (InFiné)”

  1. Ashon 05 Aug 2011 at 12:06 am

    Yeah, I agree. I really liked its new perspective. Wish I’d had the time to write it up.

  2. themilkmanon 05 Aug 2011 at 12:44 am

    It’s nice, innit? I really like InFiné, very fine label indeed, and Arandel’s album is definitely one of my very favourite releases of theirs. It’s good to hear a remix album that manages to give a new angle while respecting the original music, but this is definitely the case here.

  3. Alan Rantaon 25 Aug 2011 at 11:50 pm

    Yeah, nice write-up for a nice release from a nice label. The word of the day is NICE!