Or both? Another bag full of Bandcamp boogie and beats that will give Santa's sack a run for its money.
After featuring Charlotte & Reinhard in yesterday's selection, it's back to their day job with Rheinzand for the first goody, the 'Sonic Refurbished' version of their album Atlantis Atlantis which proved to be a summer highlight.
Pete Blaker's 'remixes' of Facciamo L'Amore and Ibiza Macht Frei had been released as standalone singles in 2023, and they both appear here alongside four other extended reworks. This is no mere 'remix' album though, as indicated by the fact that Blaker receives an artist co-credit with Rheinzand.
Pete got the band back into the studio to record new
vocal and instrumental elements, which were dubbed and layered to create a fresh incarnation of each song. The shortest song on the album is eight and a half minutes, the longest - a version of Level 42's 1981 hit Love Games - nearly twelve and a half.
The Gift Of Love is nearly twice the length of the Atlantis Atlantis original, retaining the former's languid melody, adding some bass from the bottom of the ocean and taking the listener on an even deeper dive.
From Pete Blaker to Pete Bones, here as The Shaker with the excellent 3-track single You Ain't Seen Me from April. I previously featured the Black Octopus remix, so I've gone for Serge Santiago this time, a heady mix of samples, synth stabs and fat beats dragging you back to the late 80s like the party never ended. All three recommended, to be honest.
Greendoxyn is Alen Delon (or Alen Ari, according to other t'internet sources) from Kazakhstan. I'd not heard any of his music or remixes before but the Roaming EP was released on the excellent Nein Records, which was good enough for me to take a punt. I did not regret it.
Three tracks, Roaming, Closed Gamer and The Shark, with a remix of the latter by Elninodiablo aka Stephanos Pantelas. Titled the Close Encounter Remix, which immediately calls to mind a John Williams film score, with a title like The Shark, there is inevitably a nod to his earlier classic, Jaws. Nein were so impressed that the remix is also included on their Best Of 2024 compilation.
Portland, Oregon-based label Boomarm Nation released Family Album 2024 on January 1st, the fourth such compilation but the first since 2018. Again, another punt on a label and artists that I was mostly unfamiliar with, on the strength on the sole contributor that I had heard of, StinkyJim. His offering Lie In King, is a dubby, bubbly warm hug of a song and worth the price of admission alone.
Jim's in good company, as evidenced by the bass-heavy, dub colossus that is the 10-minute extended version of Ancient Atoll by Ulrich Troyer. Nineteen tracks in all, available as a name your price download. I mean, why wouldn't you?
Returning to planet Nein, and Walentin Pauer. What can I tell you about Walentin? Well, he's based in Bucharest...and that's about all I've got. July saw a 4-track single featuring Maat Mons and Voyager III, with a remix apiece by Stockholm Syndrome (Iain Mac, Australia) and From Beyond aka Alex Wastnidge, England). Here's the latter.
Getting down to the indie disco with Spare Snare, who handed their excellent album The Brutal over to other artists, resulting in the rather wonderful Mix Up, out in November. And what better way to kick of than with HiFi Sean's superb Echoplex Dub of I Have You? The bar is set high and maintained throughout.
I've been subscribing to Richard Norris' Bandcamp for a few years now and the amount of music that's come my has been staggering, with 2024 being an especially fertile year. An almost impossible task to pick just one, the quality being so high, but I've gone with April's standalone single Weatherall's Last Stand, simply because it's a beautiful tribute to a much missed collaborator and friend.
Given the season, a reminder that Paisley Dark Records released the superb compilation Shelter Me - In Crisis in April. Eighteen tracks by top notch artists such as Al Mackenzie, Duncan Gray, Jezebell and Zillas On Acid, all for fifteen quid. All proceeds go directly to the account of UK based homelessness charity, Crisis.
Again, a tough one to pick from, as they're all so good, so I've taken the easy option by choosing A Space Age Freak Out aka Paisley Dark Records co-founder John Paynter. His contribution Song Of Siraba is remixed in full effect by Mindbender aka Mårten Attling. Buy the whole album now!
