Kat Kosiec on 10/28/2009 2:50pm
Remix albums can sometimes be a drag, especially when you are waiting for new music from an artist and get a remix album instead. In the commercial sector of music, remix albums can seem like a thinly veiled excuse to try and squeeze as much additional money out of an overplayed artist as possible. And then sometimes, a remix album is actually a decent album where you can listen to an interesting reworking of a favorite song. Luckily, Null Device’s latest release, Recursions, falls into the latter category.
Recursions features remixes from many songs on their last album from 2007, Excursions, as well as some from their earlier EPs. Although they performed at the Inferno at last month’s Forward Music Festival as part of the Reverence Showcase, don’t be so quick to lump them into the “industrial/goth” category if you’ve never heard them before. They have an acutely diverse range of influences in their music, including middle-eastern folk music, electronica and bhangra. The initial collaborations of the two Erics, lyricist Eric Goedken and multi-instrumentalist Eric Oehler, has since attracted the talents of Elizabeth Scheef (percussion, keyboards) Charles McKenzie, (bass) and Jill Sheridan, (vocals) for their current line-up.
On Recursions, the reinterpretations are sprinkled with elements of the same wide range of influences, from Bollywood club mixes to live acoustic sets. “The Hourglass” was recorded live at the Inferno, it sounds more like an spontaneous musical session with friends cheering drunkenly in the background. The aptly titled club mix, “Twisting and Turning” features gorgeous Urdu vocals alongside trancey beats. Perfect for the Inferno, and a Bollywood dance class too. Recursions also includes an unreleased demo, titled “The Choir.”