MUSIC/REVIEWS

SILENT POETS
To Come... Remix Volume 01 and Volume 02
(Toy's Factory)

Like deja voodoo, we get two remixes each of the finest tracks from the Silent Poets' latest release, "To Come..." and two seperately-sold discs. Spared the filler, "To Come..." is a seamless work of moody, mellow vocal melodies and gently-rockin' beats of delicate perfection.

Many of the tracks were written by Haruno and Shimoda in collaboration with other artists (some of whom fans of the Silent Poets' previous work will already know): Terry Hall, Roba, Virgina Astley, and many others. "To Come..." arrives by the standard the Poets have set for themselves on previous releases and with a mature, sophisticated aural sensitivity.

Remix albums have posed formidable challenges for even the most seasoned of remixers. To rework something already so beautifully crafted as "To Come..." requires confidence and vision that manages to still maintain respect for the original. Like some marriages, remixes don't always work. Taking an artist's record and tweaking it, rearranging parts and altering the sound, is easily achieved, but to do so and offer the listener a payoff for committing their ears to five minutes of a track for which they may already feel familiar is tricky business.

The mission of early remixing had been to take an otherwise fine tune that's a bit shy of the dance floor and add to it some bigger beats and bells and whistles so the clubbers will get up and wave their hands in the air all the night longer.

The real magic of the remix, however, is in the reinterpretation of the original. It's here the beauty and finely woven sounds of Shimoda and Haruno's work provide wax for the molding.

On "To Come...," The Silent Poets' weren't messing around. They called on Kaoru Inoue (Chari Chari), DJ Vadim, Doc Scott, Lewis Parker and others to reinterpret their sounds.

Remix Volume 01 offers us two distinct remixes by two distinctly different remixers for each of the six tunes from the album. The result is a 12-track collection that brings together drum 'n' bass and hip hop beats, dub and acid jazz treatments, and flourishes of folk and soul.

With "I Will Miss This Holy Garden," we get treatments from Nitin Sawhney and later by Doc Scott, whose deft hands bring hypnotic drum 'n' bass beats that are the equal of the Reprazent sound's finest hours. The brash sub-bass loop comes in hard and quick. The Doc's brash beats contrast with Virginia Astley's soft, soothing vocals and Sawhney's remix and its heart-tugging string arrangements, Arabian brush strokes, and cruisy introspection.

On "Save the Day," Seven Dub gives us a dubbed-to-the-max tune that for some may have a psycho-kinetic response -- you'll sense the faint aroma of a spliff nearby and a chilled glass of Bacardi Coke sweating condensation on Montego Bay. The track would could sit comfortably on Smith & Mighty's recent "Big World Small World."

Kaoru Inoue remixes "Sugar Man" into a work of his own organic samples and beats that plays Terry Hall's vocals to synthy '80s backdrop. Weschel Garland's touches on "Save the Day" add xylophone phrases that recall the cosmopolitan dashes of the Modern Jazz Quartet.

The luxury of this remix album is that these tracks stand out as distinct works of the remixers themselves, and could stand alongside their own original tunes. The payoff is big for the listener. The interpretations of "To Come..." give voice to the artists (Haruno, Shimoda, etc.) who have penned these tracks as well as those who have the liberty and skills to drop their own science into the mix. Volumes 01 and 02 remind us of the diverse musical perspectives available to us, and how one tune can mean many different things to different people.

Silent Poets and silent friends, speak further, our ears beckon your beat.

-MARK SHIELDS

Peace Orchestra
"Peace Orchestra"