- Lucas Croon and Christina Irrgang's 2014 debut album was a tender '80s-pop record with a deep California tan. Inspired by a trip to Los Angeles, the city's influence on Welcome To BAR was easy to discern, yet the music was less the sound of summer than the sound of someone's summer. There's an intimacy to its velvety textures and the duo's half-whispered singing, which, if interpreted by a third party, could make for less personal music. For the most part, though, the remixes on LA Düsseldorf strike a good balance. The collection teases out the exotic threads of BAR's FM radio synth pop and new wave, careful not to pull it all apart.
Welcome To BAR also had a rhythmic suppleness, which Wolf Müller exploits best on his remix of "BAR Theme." A cascade of slow African polyrhythms, the track is light as perfume, and its whistling synth melody lingers pleasantly. Of the four songs here, it's the only one that taps into BAR's gently eccentric persona. Pharaohs' remix of "Anjali Reverse" is a quiet jangle of acoustic guitars and slippery sax riffs, held together by soft bass notes and not much else. Over this version of "Anjali Reverse," Irrgang's voice sounds even more like a lullaby.
Orson and Diva Dompé slow down BAR's music, but the latter's work on "Adios" is most interesting. (Orson's hesitant changes to "Dexy's Alrobe"'s arrangement are little more than cosmetic.) Irrgang and Croon's outstretched vowels float on "Adios" as if in water, and the rest of Dompé's remix unwinds in the same way, turning the original's sprightly synth pop strut into a mesmerising Balearic drift.
TracklistA1 BAR Theme (Wolf Müller Remix)
A2 Anjali Reverse (Pharaohs Remix)
B1 Dexys Alrobe (Orson Remix)
B2 Adios (Diva Dompé Remix)