Various Production - Versus

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  • Various Production thrives in spaces short of light—cultivating an anonymity that matches well with the tone of their dense, muscular dubstep productions. They excel at scratching down the shiny parts of the material they're toying with, and yet somehow maintaining its musty surface beauty. And yet, in their softer modes, they shape vocalists and samples into forlorn, lost-soul folk songs like the new-trip-hop classic "Hater." Now, in advance of the duo's second full-length, Various Versus combines rare and unreleased remixes of their own with reconfigurations of Various tunes by others. To start, much of Various Versus sees Various revising tunes to sound like many of their own past singles, and that's no criticism. Both Sia's "Where I Belong" and former Delgado Emma Pollock's gorgeous "Limbs," released as a limited-edition 12-inch late last year, meld billowy chanteuse vocals into their own dim clatter—perfecting the bizarre balance between urban and rustic. The latter sounds languorous, as breathy and open-lunged as the duo's own "Lost." Elsewhere, the Sugababes' "Too Lost in You" trades Top 40 electro-pop for stockier, less bright-eyed Top 40 electro-pop, while with Virus Syndicate's "Apollo" Various revisits grainy grime and 2-step in a way that feels kind of washed-out for a duo so credited with staying ahead of the curve. With that in mind, Various really excels here when working against the grain. In fact, the most striking remixes are perhaps the two that looked the strangest on paper. Ian Brown's "Sister Rose" becomes a greasy electro jam, with stunted string samples and thick, dubby textures swallowing up its lean Brit-pop wail. For Various, the vocals become a refrain of warning, another instrument to manipulate. In keeping the track's UK chart-ready melody, they forge an odd anthem that sounds almost like an old-school Chicago joint. Likewise, the Foals' "Red Sox" becomes a clamorous dubstep workout, evoking this same sense of back-alley dread. Yannis Philippakis's voice gets shaped for tone not tongue, scary in how detached it sounds against the music. Given that Various has often felt like they were reworking old LPs they'd found in an aunt's attic, the remixes of Various songs sometimes take on a third-hand feel. Perhaps the highest profile producer here, Zomby (Hyperdub), sticks too close to "Hater," simply trading its folky breeze for whirring 8-bit noises while maintaining its disenchanted feel. Another of the set's newer heavies, Rustie, clutters the brawny grime of "In This" with smudged effects, but doesn't capture the original's momentum. Actress, however, turns in perhaps the album's highlight, transforming "Lost" into a gentle ambient-house cut that might highlight on Traum or Border Community, like Gas with Wagner swapped out for Various' hum and echo. Zan Lyons also chooses transformation over subtle shifts, twisting "Foller" out of recognition by phasing its slow acoustic waltz into big, slinky drum-rolls and pealing bells. Ultimately though, the successes here probably won't interest fans as much as the work of Various themselves, and thankfully though Various Versus serves as a nice appetizer, album two's not far off.
  • Tracklist
      01. Sugababes - Too Lost in You (Various Production Mix) 02. Sia - Where I Belong (Various Production Mix) 03. Various Production Vs Emma Pollock - Limbs 04. Virus Syndicate - Apollo (Various Production Mix) 05. Ian Brown - Sister Rose (Various Production Remix) 06. Foals - Red Sox (Various Production Remix) 07. Various Production - In This (Rustie Remix) 08. Various Production – Hater (Zomby Remix) 09. Various Production - Lost (Actress Remix) 10. Various Production – Foller (Zan Lyons Remix) 11. Various Production – Deadman (Milanese Remix)
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