Tiefschwarz – The Mix Collection (Renaissance
Recordings)
CD/DL
8 July 2013
Brothers, Ali and Basti Schwarz return with the
latest instalment of the Renaissance series - a double album containing two mixes of other people’s
tracks is a bit of a strange thing. Whose
album is it? Is it a compilation, or, is
it classed as a Tiefschwarz album? It
would seem to be the later, but, the mixing of remixing of their favourite tracks
is a strange way to credit new material to the duo.
The Tiefschwarz back catalogue of people they
have worked with is impressive – from Depeche Mode to Plastikman, from
Goldfrapp to Madonna – and they are clearly in demand as remixers. They have also developed their own sound over
the years from the House sound of the late 90s to the harsh electro house sound
that they now inhabit.
By their own admission, today’s music is
largely “crap”, and, it’s difficult in some areas to disagree. The question that is then raised is do they
have a solution to the claim by adding their touches to existing tracks? They certainly have their audience and there
is clearly a market for the Tiefschwarz sound, and, it can’t really be argued
that, yes, they do add that little je ne sais quoi with their work. What is really the point here is – is it
enthralling enough to create over two hours worth of mixing?
The answer(s) are simple. For die-hards of the genre, Yes. For anyone new to it, it’s a definite
No. There’s no doubt that there are some
great tracks here – Death In Vegas’ Richard Fearless mix of Basement Of Love by
Bot’ox and Mornings by Knox are perfect examples – and, the way CD1 has been
turned into a semi-atmospheric trip is to be applauded. There’s even an original track by the Schwarz brothers, Introduction, to kick off the proceedings.
CD2 is certainly more in the direction of their
current sound and cleverly includes another of the own tracks, the Collection
exclusive, Voices, and, again there are some good sounds here from the likes of
Dose Rhythm by Sonodab or Dauwd’s Heat Division. That said, there are also some very poor
segues where the adjoining tracks don’t seem to gel.
The Mix Collection is by no means a bad album,
but, it really needs to be listened to as just two tracks. Playing individual pieces just won’t work, so
unless you’ve got an hour to spare, you really won’t get the full effect of
either. Close, but, no cigar.
7/10
Links
Published on Louder Than War 9/07/13 - here
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