2015 has proven to be a prolific year for Emika, with the Czech-born and now Berlin-based electronic producer dropping no less than two albums over the last six months, the more electronic-centred ‘Drei’ and its classical / chamber music oriented follow-up ‘Klavirni.’ As its title suggests, this latest 12” EP acts as a remix companion to her ‘Drei’ collection, with an impressive cast of artists contributing reworkings of two track taken from that album, ‘Battles’ and ‘What’s The Cure.’ Fresh from their own new album ‘Neither / Neither’, The Black Dog open proceedings with a remix of ‘Battles’ that doesn’t veer too far from the brooding stripped-back landscapes traversed on that aforementioned album as Emika’s cut-up and stuttered vocals glide eerily against a cold backdrop of ghostly synth atmospheres, distorted noise bursts and skeletal electro rhythms.
By comparison, Kamikaze Space Programme’s remix of the same track places the emphasis upon clattering drum programming and handclaps as it sends a rhythmic groove that hints at half-pace drum and bass against pitched-down orchestral shades and Emika’s rippling, dubbed-out vocal before buzzing bass synths brings the drama to the forefront and the breakbeats flex their muscle. CNCPT meanwhile reconfigures ‘What’s The Cure’ into a spacious dubby techno wander that sees a pumping 4/4 kickdrum pulse suddenly lock in halfway against hypnotic looped samples, but more than anything else there’s a curious sense of hollow-ness at play, the entire track calling to mind some ghostly past echo of a warehouse rave. Elsewhere, Eomac’s remix of the same track offers up this EP’s most gorgeously understated highlight as ominously spectral pads build against a distant muted drum pulse and elegant strings trace a path against smeared remnants of the original vocal. A consistently inspired collection of remixes that remains gripping from start to finish.
