Nitzer Ebb
Murderous (Phil Kieran mix) / Control I'm Here (LFO mix)Mute Records are preparing to release Body Of Work, a retrospective look at Nitzer Ebb's 80s output. To launch the project Novamute have licensed a trio of remix packages based on tunes from the era. This, the last of the three, follows new versions by Derrick May, The Hacker, Thomas P Heckmann and Terence Fixmer.
Phil Kieran takes a reverential approach to Murderous, which preserves the cold, industrial landscape of the original. Those familiar with his recent work will immediately recognize his style in the buoyant acid bassline that pins the track down, but it is the percussive elements that dominate, in the spirit of the hardbeat genre. Kieran applies heavy filter sweeps and delays to percussive riffs, lending the track a motion which a synth might otherwise have provided. The original is preserved through vocal snippets arranged in percussive patterns, and this helps to recreate the aggressive energy of Douglas McCarthy's astonishing performances. The track builds through timely sections of hi hat, and then sweeps into a clattering breakdown. There's something for house and techno heads alike here, and Phil Kieran has done a great job of updating Murderous for today's dancefloor. But this 12” is all about what lies on the flip.
LFO, represented here by Mark Bell, have produced a brilliant, twisted, electro house rework of Control I'm Here. The intro is nothing more than the central, distorted hoover riff which runs for the body of the tune. You may notice that only the most talented producers can leave a riff exposed solo without allowing the tune to sound empty. When it drops into the beat the impact is phenomenal: the familiar 808 percussion has been crushed and compressed out of recognition into an explosive 21st century disco groove. Bell develops the tune by layering cold analogue strings and plucks without complicating the arrangement. The result is a lesson in true electro programming. This is how you sound if 14 years ago you made LFO (Leeds Warehouse Mix). Get me?
Phil Kieran takes a reverential approach to Murderous, which preserves the cold, industrial landscape of the original. Those familiar with his recent work will immediately recognize his style in the buoyant acid bassline that pins the track down, but it is the percussive elements that dominate, in the spirit of the hardbeat genre. Kieran applies heavy filter sweeps and delays to percussive riffs, lending the track a motion which a synth might otherwise have provided. The original is preserved through vocal snippets arranged in percussive patterns, and this helps to recreate the aggressive energy of Douglas McCarthy's astonishing performances. The track builds through timely sections of hi hat, and then sweeps into a clattering breakdown. There's something for house and techno heads alike here, and Phil Kieran has done a great job of updating Murderous for today's dancefloor. But this 12” is all about what lies on the flip.
LFO, represented here by Mark Bell, have produced a brilliant, twisted, electro house rework of Control I'm Here. The intro is nothing more than the central, distorted hoover riff which runs for the body of the tune. You may notice that only the most talented producers can leave a riff exposed solo without allowing the tune to sound empty. When it drops into the beat the impact is phenomenal: the familiar 808 percussion has been crushed and compressed out of recognition into an explosive 21st century disco groove. Bell develops the tune by layering cold analogue strings and plucks without complicating the arrangement. The result is a lesson in true electro programming. This is how you sound if 14 years ago you made LFO (Leeds Warehouse Mix). Get me?
