Dusky - Skin Deep (Global Communication Remixes)

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  • At a time when Aphex Twin has an active SoundCloud account, just about anything seems possible. So goes the return of Global Communication, the pioneering ambient techno duo of Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton, who made some of the most important electronic music of the '90s. They haven't arrived totally out of the blue, though. The pair issued a couple of mix CDs in the 2000s, and have been performing together more recently, though this remix package holds the first Global Communication productions since 1997 (although it's only Middleton behind these tracks). Dusky's big-room house might seem like an odd catalyst for the project's return, and yet that music's proggy roots—not to mention its sense of melody and melodrama—does align itself with Global Communication's more floor-oriented moments. The main remix of "Skin Deep" sounds like a vintage Global Communication track made with modern production values, or at least post-2000 production values. (There's a hint of Sasha in the flowy, featherweight synth melodies and its generally high-gloss coat.) The eight-minute remix takes its time, building what's essentially a five-minute intro for some unexpected drum breaks that crash through the back half in glorious slow motion. A "Dub Mix" takes out Dusky's vocal sample and replaces the 4/4 pulse with a looser dub techno rhythm, casting those contoured synth sounds in a light that that feels more like the Global Communication we know. Silky and seductive, these remixes are a welcome surprise, if not substantial enough to hold up the weight of a big comeback.
  • Tracklist
      01. Skin Deep (Global Communication Remix) 02. Skin Deep (Global Communication Dub Mix)
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