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Olaf Dieckmann's first release on the popular High Contrast imprint is a vocal number featuring a blend of different styles. The vinyl includes the original plus remixes by Nic Chagall and Sphaera, so let's find out what exactly we're dealing with here...
Just a few months ago, mister Wippenberg created quite a stir in tranceland with his unexpected yet great remix for Cosmic Gate's 'Should've Known'. The last solo singles released were the 4 'Elemental EP' tracks on Olaf's own label Touched By Sound. Furthermore, in the past he has remixed big artists like Blank & Jones, ATB and Green Court.
Out very soon on High Contrast is the release reviewed here. It's quite different from his earlier productions (to speak mildly)...
A-side: Extended
Right from the beginning, a bit of a funky, chunky vibe is being ignited through the use of thick, thumping beats, crisp bits of percussion and a Gabriel & Dresden-esque use of greatly crafted guitar synth, a heavily intoxicating, deep bassline and an array of flutes to die for. The overall feel of the tune at this early point is very full already, but luckily everything changes with the introduction of Tiff Lacey's vocals. They're quite okay I must say, but not really of the type you would remember years later, if you know what I mean. The lyrics are acceptable and Tiff's voice blends in nicely with the rest of the track, but somehow I feel this tune could have been equally good without the vocals. This is mainly because the track's main structure is very well built; the combination of deep guitar basses, superthick percussion and good use of them trademark, distorted guitars works out like a charm. Olaf shows that he has it in him to create somewhat different tunes as well, with this one being a great example. Apart from the vocals, which don't add much in my opinion, this is quite the nice production!
B1: Nic Chagall Remix
If someone's on fire at the moment, it's got to be Nic Chagall. Together with Bossi, he has recently released Cosmic Gate's new album 'Earth Mover', and his own 'Monday 'Bar' released last year on HCR was received greatly. Also, he has an amazing new track called 'What You Need' coming up soon on the very same label, so keep your eyes peeled for that...
On to this remix. It is very noticeable that Nic has tried to incorporate a more minimally oriented vibe here. Bouncy, effective beats and raw guitar interludes complete the picture during the first sections, led onwards by a sweeping bass array and subtly placed vocal hints. Sophistication might be the right word to describe what is going on here; the percussion has a really nice flow glowing over it, flaunting through the track very nicely using its slightly housey, electro-ish structure. The guitar riffs are incorporated every here and there, generating multiple interesting climaxes along their way. In a way, this remix is a lot less straightforward than the original. It's a tad simpler, but uses its elements in a good way to result in an interesting interpretation of the original. Again, I think the vocals don't add a lot to the whole thing, but that's just a matter of digging them or not I guess.
B2: Sphaera Remix
Sphaera is actually Wippenberg under another alias. And it's quite wicked what he has delivered with this remix! In a sense, this one's more mysterious than the other mixes. It leans on cool vocal snips all through the track, with an intricate use of percs and a massively bouncy, uberthick bassline taking up every lower frequency without remorse. Again, the similarities with G&D are imminent every here and there, especially with the introduction of a few typical soaring synths during the build. Quite neatly though, the track gets back into gear using just that phat, wobbly bassline and some well put weird FX. Low, distorted synth rhythms take up part of the breakdown, guided onwards by chunked up bits of the vox. While a first climax results from these synths, the real coolness again ignites when just the beat and that immense bassline return. It gives the tune such a stubborn vibe (in a positive way), really well done. Concluding, this is a welcome remix to this already nice package. A dub of this mix will be available for digital download from the beginning of February.
Conclusion:
Apart from the vocals, I think this package contains some very cool mixes. The original is nice & bouncy with its heavy guitar use and nice percussion, Nic Chagall's remix does it more subtly with a more minimal approach, and the Sphaera version takes on the electro-ish way with its gorgeously deep bassline and fine climaxes. All in all a good release.
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