- This limited collaboration between Ghostly International and Rush Hour sees the latter flexing its distribution muscle, making half of the remixes from Shigeto's debut LP deservedly tangible. Released digitally back in February, the vinyl pressing boils the remix EP down to its moody essentials, a slimmer collection now slightly offset by the fat-bodied funk of Samiyam's "And We Gonna" remix. That inclusion aside, the rest of the record finds its likeness around Shigeto's strengths: namely his affinity for atmosphere and his ability to make challenging rhythms sound effortless.
Mike Slott, who usually offers loose arrangements, remains surprisingly restrained throughout his version of "Relentless Drag." It works to great effect, though. By fastening modest wooden percussion onto warm, rounded bass, Slott approaches the original with added humility, complementing its pastoral sense of melody with a steady, somber bounce. Meanwhile, LA-based Take reverses the process. Here, the oft-overlooked producer trades the tidy, Lusine-inspired design of "Look at All the Smiling Faces" for vintage fixtures, refitting the tune for hazy joyrides across wide open spaceways.
While perhaps a little less distinctive, relative newcomer Om Unit still manages to deliver the most affecting rework of the bunch. With "Sacrificial"'s jazzy textures stretched over a slow house variant, the track's brooding tension can now be worked out at ease, thoughtfully tempered by 4/4 mechanics before riding out gently into the unknown. "Microcosmos" then (the only original exclusive to this release), is best served at the end of the line. Here, your vessel is submerged, yet functional—still rattling along at half-speed, the axles all bent due to intense ambient pressure. As the compression causes your vision to tunnel, chimes begin to sound, serving as buoys in the murky depths of the subconscious. And then, inside the bells, a clue: In Shigeto's world, it's the tone that resonates, and each beat provides the cadence to which the internal can surface.
Tracklist A1 Micorcosmos
A2 And We Gonna (Samiyam Remix)
B1 Relentless Drag (Mike Slott Remix)
B2 Sacrificial (Om Unit Remix)
B3 Look At All The Smiling Faces (Take Remix)