Having forcibly squirmed through several previous TIM WRIGHT releases, the idea of wrestling with some amorphously faceless trance after a day of reviewing vital, slashing, guitar-based gear hardly filled your reviewer with good cheer, but - lo and behold - "Oxygen (Remixes)" is actually quite a worthwhile release and certainly the best thing this hack has encountered with a Tim Wright imprint.
There are three remodellings of "Oxygen" featured and all are quite distinct entities. The ball starts rolling with the "Abe Duque Remix", which is minimal, insistent and sleek. It's pretty hypnotic and quietly picks up speed as little windows of interest ( the odd new beat, synth stabs etc) are punched in strategically along the way. The buzzing, Moog-y bassline is also a good thing, as is the phasing that comes and goes.
Wright then gets into the act with his own remix, and probably steals the show. His versh is cleaner and initially distinctly Air-ier. However, it beefs up when the swooshing synths descend like punctured hot-air balloons and it does have a certain looming atmosphere all its' own.
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The "Vector Lovers' Antimatter Remix" that winds up, meanwhile, is considerably more abrasive and hardline, with warped out robo/vocoder vocal samples. It does step up a gear thanks to some "Dr.Who Theme"-style monophonic synth splatches, but to this addled mind it's the weakest of the renovation work commissioned.
Still, a decent, thought-provoking listen of its' kind and far better than expected in these quarters. Just goes to show, doesn't it?
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