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The Cinematic Orchestra frontman J. Swinscoe sees and hears the big picture. The DJ’s 99 debut, Motion, was a sweeping jazz/beat epic, creating sprawling, Alice Coltranesque tracks by recording a group of live jazzers and then seamlessly reconstructing the tunes on his sampler.
The seven tracks on Remixes apply that formula to other people’s original music with equally impressive results. In the true spirit of a remix, all the tunes here are unrecognizable, with only the theme or feel of the original used in the new mix. Faze Action’s percussive latin house is transformed into surging spiritual jazz, with double bass and soprano sax setting the tone, and Piero Umiliani’s moody soundscapes are stretched even further out with subtle piano and horn lines. The real jaw-dropper, though, is Swinscoe’s recasting of DJ Krust’s Re-Arrange. Any hint of drum ‘n’ bass agitation is wiped clean, replaced by a churning jazz beat, swollen brass choruses and one immense bass line. Imagine the look on Krust’s face when he heard this.MG
