Pawel - The Remixes

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  • One reason Pawel's self-titled debut is durable is that Paul Kominek plays his cards judiciously. That meant it was a listening album much more than a club one, and these three remixes help make up some ground in that department. The album version of "Crillon" is luminous and techy, but Patrice Scott reduces it down to a clear broth: synth pads and an easy groove reminiscent of Detroit at its most plangent, a wide-eyed sensibility that stays in line with Pawel's ideas, if not his sound. The skipping keyboard hook of Pawel's "Panamerican" guided an arrangement that skips and hops with a Latin tinge, so Osunlade is exactly the right person to make it over. He nails the beat into place, abetting it with tighter percussion (sticks, shakers), and throws in a chanted vocal refrain, whose backward-sounding "aaaahhhh" repeats through the track even after the chant disappears. But the EP peaks at the end. The original "Kramnik" is late-drive-home music, low-key and comfortable, but John Roberts' remix turns up the fog, giving us about 1.5 minutes' worth of classic Dial grayscale before a machine-triggered breakbeat comes in and throws it under a slightly different light. Roberts chops up the beat for a while, then breaks down to faded cello sawing under the keyboards.
  • Tracklist
      A1 Crillon (Sistrum Remix By Patrice Scott) B1 Panamerican (Yoruba Soul Remix By Osunlade) B2 Kramnik (John Roberts Remix)
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