- Brian Kolada once called Karl Meier's credentials "impeccable," a claim easily supported by the tracklist of Battle Standards Remixes, the third record on his label with Johnathan Krohn, Standards & Practices. To rework their recent EP as Talker, Meier and Krohn called in an impressive cast of artists—namely Surgeon, Broken English Club and Regis, with whom they have a particularly close history (Talker has released music on Downwards, and Meier once spent a year in the UK working at Regis's distribution company, Integrale Muzique). The result is a dynamic EP that shows some of techno's most influential artists in fine form.
Talker's "Battle Standard" is a rumbling bit of industrial techno with just the right balance of grit and atmosphere. Surgeon's remix is more ruthless, trading the original's cavernous atmosphere for a denser, noisier mix. Regis, ever the groove architect, reshapes the track into something nimble and almost breaky, building a fearsome momentum behind its leaden kick. Oliver Ho reimagines the stuttering rhythm of "Snub Nose" as a post-punk beat, then completes the picture with a distorted bass guitar, wailing feedback and Alan Vega-style vocals—a well-executed curveball. Also included is "My Favorite Color Is Gold," a sinister abyss of ambient noise that originally appeared on the 2015 Downwards compilation The Immortal Eye. Be it the founders or their friends, Standards & Practices have some extraordinary talents at their disposal.
TracklistA1 Battle Standard (Surgeon Remix)
A2 My Favorite Color Is Gold
B1 Snub Nose (Broken English Club Remix)
B2 Battle Standard (Regis Remix)