- As a solo artist and as one half of Pachanga Boys, Mauricio Rebolledo knows just how much he can get away with while still leading bodies towards the dance floor. He edged perilously close to that line with 2016's Mondo Alterado, a loose-limbed and occasionally gorgeous house album that was equal parts flaky and formidable. When it comes to remixing an album of this nature, how much of its singular otherness should you retain? A varied cast of artists—including Red Axes, DJ Tennis, Danny Daze, Fantastic Twins and Maceo Plex—has taken on the challenge for Mondo Re-Alterado. The best remixes capture the eccentricity of the originals while imbuing them with some of the remixers' own idiosyncrasies.
Superpitcher's remix is among the strongest here—unsurprising given his working relationship with Rebolledo (he's the other half of Pachanga Boys). His interpretation of "Spacer Rainbow Woman," here called "Rainboy Superspacer," retains the original's vocal coos and lilting melody, but evens out the ramshackle guitar and pawnshop drums with a droning organ and thick kicks. Jörg Burger, appearing here as The Black Frame, takes an almost art-rock approach to the same song—the strummed guitar is the centerpiece, its chords defining the song's intensity. "Life Is Strange," a Red Axes remix, mirrors its precursor's crawling tension with thudding kick-and-snare patterns and pulsing synths.
A couple of remixes are less successful. Maceo Plex's "Discótico Pléxico"—his version of Mondo Alterado's "Discótico Estático" and "Discótico Sinético"—has a nicely rolling drum pattern, but it's surrounded by too much reverb-heavy, big-room filigree for its own good. A few others, like Paulor's "Discótico Desértico," have a forced eccentricity. There's no avoiding the fact that some of Rebolledo's skewed vision is lost in a remix. Even the best tracks suffer a bit in comparison to their predecessors. But if you can judge these tracks on their own merits, you'll find that they can offer up wonders of their own.
Tracklist01. Life Is Strange (Red Axes In The Moment Remix)
02. Black Rainbow Woman (The Black Frame Remix)
03. Discótico Pléxico (Maceo Plex Remix)
04. Discótico Desértico (Paulor Remix)
05. Rainboy Superspacer (Superpitcher Remix)
06. Pow Pow (Fango Remix)
07. A Numb Gas To The Future (DJ Tennis Pimiento Drive Version)
08. Fantastic Pow Pow (Fantastic Twins Remix)
09. Want (Danny Daze & Shokh's Fears Come Dub)
10. Discótico Simonéttico En Pánico (Mike Simonetti Remix)
11. Discótico Simonéttico Hypnótico (Mike Simonetti Remix)