[a]pendics.shuffle - elegance and malice (re-worked) (2009)

i admit i'm not too familiar with [a]pendics.shuffle's producions, seeing who was doing these reworks - thomas melchior and adultnapper - perked my antennae, so i had to give it a listen. in my opinion these tracks definitely carry the traits of their remixers, which is a good thing in both cases.

the 'disturbing idol' remix by melchior productions ltd. requires a bit of patience, but your attention will be rewarded as the track digs into a streamlined groove, starting with effected male vocals and building up a simple, mellow chord progression and a variety of soft, swirling, echoed effects.

in contrast to melchior's light, easy-going track, adultnapper's 'pineal eye remix' of 'perky slip (do you see)' aims to disorient before he brings out the zombie funk. the track starts with a heavy, tribal rhythm before fading in a distorted, swirling riff that gradually grows sharper and sharper. other melodic elements are pieced together (in very adultnapper-esque fashion) as the distortion is turned up and up and up until the track peaks... and drops hard as a new, slightly-subdued buzzsaw riff works with a hushed, incoherent (to me) male vocal under that sinister upper melody. dark.as.fuck!

at 10 minutes apiece, these tracks take a bit to build up and come down, but i think the pair work great together, offering an interesting contrast of sound and mood.

thomas melchior

i've only recently discovered thomas melchior. i first found out about his music via his who can find me ep from last year; check out the b-side, 'choir,' and dig the black hole it gets sucked into during that middle section:


the dude has made music under his own name as well as the name, melchior productions ltd. he has produced for a number of labels, including cadenza and perlon. his 2007 album no disco future for perlon made resident advisor's top albums of 2007 list, and i definitely think it's an album worth an hour of your ear-time.