- A remix album that lives up to the creativity and heartfelt nature of Tirzah's work, with Actress, Arca, Loraine James and more.
- Tirzah's second album, Colourgrade, was a moonlit foray into the essence of new motherhood. Tirzah celebrated platonic and familial love and the miracle of life with dainty, elliptical songwriting, while shadowy production from Mica Levi and Coby Sey mirrored her venture into new unknowns. The results were simultaneously homely and unearthly. The intense intimacy of Colourgrade felt like an antidote to the collectively detached period of time that preceded it. A year later, Tirzah returns with Highgrade, her first ever remix LP and a worthy continuation of the original's distinct placelessness.
The elusive and recently re-emerged Speakers Corner Quartet kick things off with a version of "Hive Mind" that sounds as if it was carved from oak, where a chirpy woodwind refrain coils around swelling violins. The group's reinterpretation moves with decisive forward motion and a buoyancy absent from the original. If the clipped beats on Tirzah and Mica Levi's haunting duet were draped in shadows, this jazzy remix is the towering structure that cast them in the first place. TONE's "Beating" remix shines a similarly bright light, using optimistic chords and a reggae flair to hone in on the celebratory aura of the lyrics.
The rather sparse production of Colourgrade could've been a setback for the remixers, but instead it serves as a canvas for them to reshuffle and add their own strokes. On her remix of the title track, Arca takes the distorted refrain on the near-acapella original as well as additional, previously unheard Tirzah vocals and then warps them into a corrupted hymn. The already formless source material is further deconstructed over keys that sound like steel-drums, tropical synth plucks and a growling bassline. Lafawandah takes similar liberties with Tirzah's vocals on "Crepuscular Rays," mincing them into fluttering baby coos.
FAUZIA's take on "Tectonic" is a part-grime, part-ambient storm that wriggles and whirs its way into an out-of-body climax. The sudden switch-up reveals harsh guitar lines that lash like a full moon tide under Tirzah's carnal drawl. Elsewere, Still House Plants and Wu-Lu emphasize the rock flourishes of the LP with chaotic strumming and brash drum rolls. They stay true to the loose and improvisational vibe that Tirzah initially tapped into, leaving the raw feeling intact.
From making songs that were primarily harp-based to venturing into dance and electronic music, there have never been any rules when it comes to Tirzah's music, which is governed by a self-professed boundless desire to transmute feeling into sound. Speaking to The FADER about Colourgrade, Tirzah said, "The generosity of music is that you can take it as you want." On Highgrade she allows serial subverters like Arca, FAUZIA, Loraine James and TONE to take the source material as they want. It's one of those rare instances where each reinterpretation lives up to, and at times supersedes, an already incredible body of work. They've pumped new blood into the delicate heart of the original and ensured that it's still beating.
Tracklist01. Hive Mind (Speakers Corner Quartet Remix)
02. Crepuscular Rays (Lafawndah Remix)
03. Sleeping (Anja Ngozi Remix)
04. Colourgrade (Arca Vortex Remix)
05. Tectonic (Fauzia Remix)
06. Sink In (Actress Remix)
07. Hips (Loraine James Remix)
08. Recipe (Wulu Remix)
09. '22222 ('Send Me' Rework)' (Still House Plants)
10. Beating (Tone Remix)