- Though it holds only alternate takes of the same track, Slightly Disturbed's three cuts are fairly different. Darko Esser's original is bright and quirky, progressing via a whirling arp. It bobs and lurches like a high-speed carousel, with a raft of effects ensuring the ride keeps moving.
Sandwell District's remix is similarly entrancing. The track's immediate surface seems depressingly static, façaded as it is with limping, defeated machine cycles. Concentrate hard enough, however, and the kick drum's microscopic tweaking becomes apparent, as do the ghostly screeches in the back. It's more implied sensation than tangible feeling, truly visceral despite the absence of pummeling drums or euphoric chords. There is one niggle though. About 40 seconds from the track's conclusion, an insistent, twanging synth enters the mix, its impact amplified after so many minutes of mind games. It changes the groove completely, hinting at loftier heights. Just as quickly as it appeared, however, it vanishes into the ether, and everything else fades prematurely to silence with it. It's like being ushered out of the movie theatre right before the ending.
Van Hoesen's remix is less destructive, heavily blurring Esser's hyperactive arp rather than removing it altogether. Or more accurately, "Stretching and Pitching," as the title instructs. While Sandwell's version feels dusty and lifeless, this one is warm and aqueous, swaddled with bulbous chords and gentle, splashing hi-hats. Even its sharper portions—rapid bursts of 808 claps and snares—feel benign when submerged in such masses of delay and thrumming ambience.
Tracklist A Slightly Disturbed
B1 Slightly Disturbed (Peter Van Hoesen Stretched And Pitched Remix)
B2 Slightly Disturbed (Sandwell District Remix)