Various Artists
Reich Remixed
»
Various Artists
Reich Remixed
Nonesuch, 1999
RiYL: any of the artists herein, The Orb |
Reich first came to prominence with a series of tape loop pieces that emphasized the process of music -- in other words, the inherent ways that notes "became" sounds. "Come Out" and "It's Gonna Rain" utilized two recordings of human voices that, when played on two different tape recorders, gradually grew out of phase with each other, continually creating new rhythmic patterns. Reich later applied the same principle to the sound of live and recorded instruments ("Piano Phase," scored for live musicians, requires one pianist to gradually increase his playing speed while the other pianists maintain the original pace) before moving on to more truly compositional ideas with "Drumming," "Music For Six Pianos" and "Four Organs."
These early works foreshadowed the increased presence of electronic and computerized instruments in music today. Indeed, Reich's music has always been embraced by musicians from the other side of the fence, from Brian Eno to David Bowie to The Orb, who sampled his "Electric Counterpoint" on their 1991 song "Fluffy Little Clouds." But few could have predicted electronic music's mass appeal as the century pulls to a close -- few composers other than Steve Reich.
On Reich Remixed, some of today's most envelope-pushing electronic musicians pay homage to a man without whom little of today's techno or ambient music would be possible. Because Reich's music tends to have a very limited melodic range, the most succesful of the nine tracks here (not counting the unlabeled and untitled tenth track) wisely avoid trampling the cores of the original works. Tranquility Bass's gorgeous "Megamix" blends segments of no less than eight Reich compositions, although the lush female voice from Reich's "Proverb" and the sublime guitar riff from "Electric Counterpoint" seem to be the proverbial center. During the track's final third, TB mastermind Mike Kandel introduces a snippet of Reich's "Six Marimbas" before the hypnotic repetition of "Come Out" gains its footing. Incredible.
D*Note's turn on "Piano Phase" builds shuffling beats underneath the piece's inherent polyrhythmic foundation, resulting in a chill-out of epic proportions. Coldcut chooses to speed up the basic melody of "Music For 18 Musicians" on his track of the same name, and although its runs a bit long, he ultimately succeeds at pinpointing just what made the original so intense: the pulsating waves of sound and the ceaseless rhythmic motion.
A couple of the artists on Reich Remixed seem unsure how to do Reich's tracks justice. DJ Spooky, who has lately taken up the upright bass as his instrument of choice, doesn't offer much in the way of excitement on "City Life" other than some weird tape loops. Andrea Parker's "The Four Sections" is little more than a simple, programmed drum beat, and Japanese DJ Nobukazu Takemura's take on "Proverb" gets a bit caught up in the blip/bleep electronica now flooding the marketplace.
Ultimately though, Reich Remixed is a tribute that not only honors one of the century's most important composers but introduces his body of work to a new generation of listeners eager to be dazzled. A great asset indeed.
JONATHAN COHEN | Jonathan Cohen co-created Nude As The News with his Indiana University mates Troy Carpenter and Ben French. When not traversing the globe for business and pleasure, he holds down the fort as a senior editor for Billboard in New York. Stop him and he just may ask, "what for lunch?"