- Steve Barnes' Cosmic Sandwich project has been remixed into opacity, which perhaps explains the cover shot of Barnes inside a photo booth, confirming his own existence. Liking what he saw, he has okayed two more makeovers, one of which arrives before Barnes’ original.
Both remixes here work on stretching the MBF disco house sound into demanding, progressive dimensions. Fresh from releasing 'Less' on MBF, Baggy Bukaddor and Tim Fishbeck return to give credence to Scatter Realm's title, looping a skittish bass swell that bobs along until it sinks altogether. The pair gradually introduce a catalogue of old-school themes - phat keys, pads, shakers and cowbells - but they're all too wet to work, promising much but delivering little more than frustration. This flails where Barnes walloped.
The Silent Jeffs are Felix Martin and Al Doyle from Hot Chip and Londoner Tom Hopkins, and their debut is a (p)remix of Cosmic Sandwich's yet to appear 'Marble'. Things start promisingly with noise and buzz circulating around a repeated riff, but the trio keep shuffling the deck – this one is all prog expectation without the-hinted at DFA-styled blowout. There's a punkish insistence on squeezing life out of the central melody, and a pleasingly ad hoc shabbiness throughout, but despite occasional fun, this too fizzles. Like the entire progressive genre, these two cuts leave you yearning for a conclusive statement.
TracklistA Scatter Realm (Bukaddor And Fishbeck Remix)
B Marble (Silent Jeffs Remix)