John Barera - Forever Anyway The Remixes (Planet 9)

 

Title: Forever Anyway The Remixes

Artist: John Barera 

Label: Planet 9

Cat Number: P9005

Genre: Beat Smorgasbord

1: SF Is Underwater (Panooc Overflow Mix)

2: Forever Anyway (True Yorker Remix)

3: You Are Here (Black Cadmium Citric Acid Mix)

4: Keep Ya Head Up (Love Letters Remix)

5: Time’s Mirror (Chris Patrick Remix)

Five tracks and five different remixers so the hope is always that there will be variety and, just as important, utility. Is there a point to art for art’s sake? Surely these different compositions should have some use? And that’s not to put them in the category of purely functional. Thankfully they do, the remix gods having strayed clear of self-indulgence to deliver five pieces of dance floor gold. ‘ Forever Anyway (True Yorker Remix)’ is a break beat laden monster, energetic and sudden. The breaks cross over into electro on ‘Time’s Mirror (Chris Patrick Remix)’, which plays with similar elements to ‘ Forever Anyway’, but is more minimalist and funkier. ‘You Are Here (Black Cadmium Citric Acid Mix)’, is a piece of unapologetic, linear techno, enhanced by synth swirls which are similar to those used in the previous tracks described, but they soar more dramatically. ‘SF Is Underwater (Panooc Overflow Mix)’ has a concave sonic underlay which combines with a solid kick and a pulsing, emotive melody to recreate something which is a Detroit/early UK techno hybrid. And ‘Keep Ya Head Up (Love Letters Remix)’, is the most abstract composition here, draping a fuggy ambience over beats which feel smeared and slightly fuzzy as a consequence. All in all, a great package which isn’t afraid to go out on a limb.