Reel By Real - Surkit - Remixed & Remastered (EPM/Yoyaku)

 

Title: Surkit – Remixed & Remastered

Artist: Reel By Real

Label: EPM Music/Yoyaku

Cat Number: EPMYYKV2501

Genre: Techno

1: 1990 Original Version (Remastered 2025)

2:  Keith Tucker v Strand ‘Circuitry” Remix

3:  Keith Tucker v Strand ‘DIODE Reprise’ Remix

4: Calibre Remix

5: Ben Long & Oliver Way feat. Jon Dixon Remix

6: 1991 I-102 Version (Remastered 2025)

7:  Keith Tucker v Strand ‘Surkit’ Reprise (Digital Only)

Anyone who is familiar with the original will know what a great piece of work it is. Having said that, not that many people are. ‘Surkit’ being something of a lost classic that hasn’t been on a lot of radars since its release. Why? God knows. Reel By Real, aka Marty Bonds, has hardly been prolific over the years and ‘Surkit’ is just as famous for LTJ Bukem’s use of it as a sample in his ‘Atlantis’ as anythingn else. It’s an intricate piece of unmistakeably Detroit techno whose chord progressions are encased in filigrees of electronic synapse flashes. A very deep take on Detroit techno in which it is possible to glimpse all possible worlds. As far as the remixes are concerned well, both of the Keith Tucker v Strand efforts don’t sacrifice much of the original. They also sound remarkably similar to each other. I mean they’re both good, if you like one you’ll definitely like the other. The track is slowed down and more muscle is given to the kick. I listened to them both consecutively and wasn’t aware of any big difference. Calibre’s remix is all airy break beats, which retains the main synth motif, but speeded up, and the Ben Long & Oliver Way feat. Jon Dixon Remix does something similar, but with more intensity. The 1991 I-102 Version is possibly that which remains truest to the source material, deploying more body and density to it, while the Keith Tucker v Strand ‘Surkit’ Reprise (Digital Only) version is a woozy take that, for me, is by far the most interesting interpretation on offer, apart from the peerless original. A worthwhile release inasuch as it will shine a light on a Detroit classic, but none of the new bits really grab the attention, apart from the ‘Surkit’ reprise.

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