- Bird Matrix (Remixes) / Pear is a catchall follow-up to Actress's DJ-Kicks entry from this year. A 12-inch comprising three different takes on "Bird Matrix" and one semi-related original track, it carries the same splintered, no-holds-barred spirit of Darren Cunningham's mix. It's anyone's guess what stylistic overlap can be found between two guileless Kid 606 productions, Simbiosi's droning industrial plod and a spindly experimental piece by GNESIS, so the question remains: who is this record meant for?
Maybe Actress completists? The way Kid 606 slowly teases bass groans and astral pads from underneath noise and unfussy 4/4s, or how he slyly flips the process in his doped-up dub, sounds tailored to Hazyville and Splazsh fanboys. Though the "Dub Remix" is the most interesting, neither version holds up against Cunningham's monolithic, labyrinthine original. Simbiosi seem to phone in their remix. After 90 seconds or so of drifting through fuzzy, Actress-like soundscapes, the Italian duo land on a heavy churn that repeats for the next five minutes.
The EP's saving grace is a childlike original track by GNESIS, a suspected secret alias for Cunningham. "Pear" is an unassuming twinkle of static and synth, not unlike some of R.I.P's best moments. You could imagine why the completists would want the track on vinyl, and even more so if instead of these clunky remixes, the original "Bird Matrix" was included.
TracklistA1 Actress - Bird Matrix (Kid 606 Club Remix)
A2 Actress - Bird Matrix (Kid 606 Dub Remix)
B1 GNESIS - Pear
B2 Actress - Bird Matrix (Simbiosi Remix)