LOUDERBACH SHINE MINUS75 For the first remix excursion from Louderbach?s Autumn LP, Troy Pierce and Gibby Miller have assembled an inspired cast of international producers to interpret the album?s closing track Shine. Miller?s vocal performance recalls the cathartic Joy Division/New Order crossover period in both texture and mood, exuding both vulnerability and danger. As a remixer it?s the type of track you can really get your teeth into and it seems to have struck a chord with all the artists involved. Subsequently these unique, personalised remixes seem to channel Millers? lyrics into something of a recurring mantra, achieving heightened levels of intensity, that compliment the original song. A fellow American in Berlin Bruno Pronsato provides the perfect opening to the collection with a rich, abstract interpretation that walks the line between electronic and acoustic. The beatless intro exposes the vocals in their purest form against a tapestry of ambient tones and sonic trickery that slowly unfurl throughout the track. There?s also some striking interplay at work between the triangular guitar melodies, basslines and fuzzy electronics, as Pronsato demonstrates a sensibility and understanding for the track?s influences and origins. JPLS is definitely in the mood for dub over the course of his two mixes here, drenching the vocals in reverb and submerging them in a sparse, shuffling groove full of vibrant shakers and hi hats that shimmer in the darkness. As the groove takes shape the vocals spectacularly crack and splinter under the weight of the thumping bassline while the urgent, chirping melody maintains a detached yet constant presence. The Hard mix is a more intense variation on a similar theme, this time round the vocals are barely recognisable, pitching up and down in waves of distortion while the monotone bass and kick unify to hammer the dancefloor and the abrasive percussion parts. With the controls set firmly for the heart of the sun, Alexi Delano turns in a hi-octane workout full of dramatic shifts and freaky sounds. If dancefloor unity is what you?re seeking, this tune will do the business as the flanging percussion and twisted organ of the intro section drop away to reveal a bass riff that?s pure fire. No frills no fuss ? it?s a bomb, with the cut up, processed vocals doing further damage in the break down. Just as intense is Thrill Cosby?s (aka Seth Troxler) scratchy, feverish interpretation complete with breathy, resung vocals that lend an additional air of tension to the track. Together with the walls of cascading effects that repeatedly engulf the arrangement it overwhelms the listener without mercy. Mike Bryant injects a more experimental approach into the proceedings. The first of his two mixes is a stripped down, drum machine dominated affair that offers up choice vocal fragments that echo amid the ghostly drones. Bryant gradually allows the delicate melody to emerge from the mist, which is, in turn, usurped to great effect by a slowly mutating swarm of buzzing synths. Bryant?s Eerie remix strips the music back even further but reinstates the vocals to something near their entirety. Both mixes possess poise and stealth living from their precise drum programming and perfectly controlled synth sequences. Deep tech house sounds dominate as Swayzak step up for a subterranean voyage of epic proportions. Their repertoire is full of beautifully crafted vocal tracks and this is no exception with thick, minor chords underpinning the loose bass-heavy groove, exploiting the melancholic aspect of the repeated vocal line, while analogue squiggles in the sky add a soft, hallucagenic quality to the experience. Last but by no means least, Ryan Crosson stays true to the original bassline while exploring a strange alien terrain full of lazy, reverberating bleeps. The raw linear groove suddenly opens up, taking control of the dancefloor amid a flurry of percussion, before a massive, dive-bombing bassline explodes into earshot, signalling the dramatic end of this fascinating, multi-functional EP.