- Tommy Four Seven and Alain's self-titled album as These Hidden Hands was a refreshingly distinct work that rose above the murky swamps of today's industrial techno scene. Now following that fine LP are two remix records. First up on Remixes I is Marcel Dettmann's take on "Laika." The original, all red-hot synths and rolling drums, was a perfect example of the album's blend of melodies and a raw heft, but if you were into that, this effort from Dettmann could come across as quite bland. It's a perfectly crisp 4/4 cut, but by his standards it's nothing special.
Mysterious Swedes SHXCXCHCXSH transform "Kheium"—in its original form a slow-building cut that emphasized what sounded like a couple of long, distorted guitar chords—into a delightfully twisted half-time march laced with long, anxious strands of feedback. It's the boldest and strongest remix here. Another shadowy outfit, London's Old Apparatus, finishes things off nicely with an ethereal rework of "Hidden." The original was ultimately pulled down by the weight of a groaning bassline, but this version, after a few minutes of sparse and slowly fading drums, floats upward into a haze of shimmering distortion and choral drones.
TracklistA Laika (Marcel Dettmann Remix)
B1 Kheium (SHXCXCHCXSH Remix)
B2 Hidden (Old Apparatus Remix)