- Well then. Robert Hood—grand overlord of raw, stripped back techno—given the Shonky treatment? On Freak n' Chic of all labels? Hmm. To many a devotee it's nothing less than sacrilege, only compounded by that fact that the Frenchman responsible has done little more than lower the tempo, throw in some relatively pointless samples and slap on a jacking tech house beat (i.e. not very much). Fortunately though, it works, if only by default.
The original—released back in 2002 as part of Hood's immense Point Blank LP—is an absolute stunner, and reason enough to pick up this record. A breathless piece of sleek, hydraulic techno, it conjures up utopian images of a mechanised, post-industrial future rid of today's grubby historical small print. Coming out at a relatively dry time for the genre, it reeked of class, and still does.
But what of Shonky's version? Quite frankly, it's a harmless, Ibiza-friendly update; nothing more, nothing less. The aforementioned samples—a glossy vocal and a swooping aircraft, both mildly inane—keep enough with the original to steer clear of trouble, whilst the housified percussion, fit with obligatory congos, lends the track a pleasantly bouncy feel. Drama is provided by a couple of tidy, well-placed drops, and the whole thing sticks together in a satisfyingly restrained fashion. All in all, it's a solid rework that (quite rightly) makes no attempt to supersede its master. For that Shonky deserves credit. As they say: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Tracklist A Who Taught You Math
B Who Taught You Math (Shonky In The Hood Remix)