Nothing Is Triggered, Nothing Is Silent

The Smile have released a couple of remixes on 12" vinyl, transforming tracks from their album Cutouts.

I haven't heard the original album versions yet, but the mention of James Holden remixing the A-side Don't Get Me Started was enough to get me straight over to YouTube for a listen, and it's well worth a visit.

Coming on like some lost Byrne and Eno outtake circa 1981, Don't Get Me Started has a menacing, percussive rumble, before Thom Yorke's vocals come in on waves of synths and loops, Holden maintaining the tension and drama for the remainder of the song. 

It's an irresistible eight minute ride.

Robert Stillman's remix of Instant Prism also starts off with a evocation of another era and genre, this time mid-90s Japanese ambient techno.

Again, Thom's voice comes in early, the opening line "The overfllow in a hurricane" a portent of what's to come.  By the three-and-a-half minute mark, the vocals are looped, reversed and dropped back in the mix.

The last three minutes lose Thom altogether, strings, clanging metal and synth squalls all treated with a lightness of touch, before the subtle fade in of frenetic percussion, nothing overwhelming though. 

And then, just shy of eight minutes, it all drops away to a few phased, shimmering chords before coming a gentle but sudden end at nine minutes and sixteen seconds.

Both stunning remixes which have the desired effect of making me want to rush out and buy the EP and check out the original source album.

You can find the remix 12" and Cutouts album in The Smile's online shop and other retailers. To get the EP in digital format, look to the likes of iTunes and Amazon. Bandcamp doesn't appear to have either, but previous digital releases are available. 

I'm not the killer

Don't get me started

I'm not the villain

Choose someone else

You don't get to

Nothing is triggered

Nothing is silent

Don't pull me backwards

No, you don't get to

And your voice means nothing

And your voice means nothing

And your voice means nothing

And your voice means nothing

You don't get to

Don't get me started

You don't get me

You don't get me

You don't get me

You don't get me

You don't get me

Don't get me

And your voice means nothing

And your voice means nothing

And your voice means nothing

And you don't get me

We Should Give Ourselves Another Chance

A couple of songs in and I'm already excited by The Smile, the new project by Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood and Tom Skinner, working with longtime Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. 

 

Opening salvo You Will Never Work In Television Again kicked off 2022 in raucous style, whilst The Smoke is a bass-and-horns driven beast, which cried out for a dub reworking.

 

The Smile has duly obliged, with none other than the mighty Dennis Bovell serving up an extended dub remix that really hits the spot. Dennis introduced the song on Mary Anne Hobbs Radio 6 show on Thursday night - I hesitate to call it an interview as it's so brief - but you can listen to the snippet here.

 

There's also a video on YouTube of Thom performing another song by The Smile at the Letters Live event at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 30th October 2021. It's a beautiful synth-and-acoustic number called Free In The Knowledge.

 

The Smoke (Dennis Bovell Rmx): The Smile (2022)

The Smoke (Original Version): The Smile (2022)

You Will Never Work In Television Again: The Smile (2022)