Cylab - Disseminate
Cylab - Disemminate (Whispercore Records)
Coming off the release of their second album, Satellites, Cylab offer up a full length remix album to the tune of 13 remixes and one cover song. With the exception of “Greys” and “Motion Fix”, all of the original versions for the remixes com from Satellites, with the exceptions coming from their debut release Unparallel Universe.
Cylab, in general, has a trip-hop bend to their music in the style of the vocals and these remixes do a very good job of preserving that feel while putting them into different contexts. The remix of “Embryo Time” by Pacific Mile makes the song even more chill with a smooth bass beat and an almost house feel to it, it reminds me of any number of Delerium songs and remixes. The remix of “Greys” by Shok sounds like it could have been done originally by Garbage and remixed by Nine Inch Nails or Filter. “Dented Halos” gets remix treatment by both Imperative Reaction and Skinjob, both who make it into an even more floor pounding electro-industrial dance track. One of the big differences between the remixes of “Dented Halos” is the increase in tempo (from about 116 to 130 bpm) of the Imperative Reaction mix, while the other remix keeps the tempo of the original. Displacer’s remix of of “Satellites” makes this song even more chilling and hypnotizing with the vocal effects they run throughout the song and layer with less processed airy tracks of the same vox, and the repetitive nature of this remix tops it off making it hard to stop listening to over and over again. Combichrist appears on this disc and delivers a disco fueled remix of “Kundalini” with a groove that’s got a real dirty feel due to the synth they break in during the chorus, almost like running a trumpet line that’s slurred through an overdrive effect. The Hype in a Party remix of “Parting Fields” is a very sparse but effective mix layering a rhythm track, synth-bass, vocals and not much else to create a very head nodding (Roxbury style) groove from beginning to end. Not to be forgotten, Cylab’s cover of Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” really delivers, the smooth female vocals and excellent delivery really make this cover shine and I’d dare say it’s almost worth the price of the CD for the cover. This version of “Heart Shaped Box” would have no problem holding up on the dancefloor.
I could go on with all the other tracks but I’ll simply stop here and say that if any of the above piqued your interest that this album is well worth the money whether you decide to buy the CD or snag it off iTunes.
