Rez (Bassnectar Remix) - Feb. 12, 2013

[jose m]

http://youtu.be/7ye1vP2vgsg

home of country and western ?

[TheBang]

Nashville. Who'd a thunk. That arena is packed.

They even got some slow Rez action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2GV0CzS8b0#t=2m3s

[TheBang]

Ah, actually, I'd heard this was coming, I forgot it was by Bassnectar.

Om Records is putting out a "Rez (Bassnectar Remix)" single on Feb. 12 on digital and vinyl:

1. Rez (Bassnectar Remix)
2. Rez (Bassnectar Extended Remix)

http://twitter.com/OmRecords/statuses/286958239122345984
http://www.allmusic.com/album/rez-bassnectar-remix-mw0002475689/releases

http://distilleryimage9.s3.amazonaws.com/a2e42446432311e2bb5122000a9e2955_7.jpg

[jetpig]

oh shiiiiiii!

Bassnectar was my first techno obsession. He's not been to my taste as of late though and his last show i went to was underwhelming.

This though... This is pretty filthy and fantastic.

[TheBang]

lpmNDxXf4vk

I like the drums before the wub-wub kicks in. But I do like how he fits in the Rez arpeggios in-between the wubs too.

[dubnobasswithme]

I think that I have to give this a 'thumbs up' as well. A fresh look at a track that is ~20 years old now!

[Andrea]

really good! keeping that happy energy
made me smile and be a bit euphoric
not so good before bedtime :)

[jetpig]

I enjoy parts of what he's done with the original material, less of what he added. It's lacking the nuance and patience of the original, but maybe that'll be there in the extended mix? Here's something from bassnectar in '04, to give you an idea of where he's come from. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvT5JnixzeU

[TheBang]

Looks like the Extended Remix might not happen. I'll see if I can find out.

[vacant]

I can't say I'm a fan. It's just noise, he's taken (IMO) one of the most beautiful pieces of electronic music of all time and added without thought or conscience a generic 'dubstep/EDM' wall of sound that doesn't complement or add to the original in any way. The new drums I'll admit aren't half bad, but the drums in the original sit perfectly. They're there, and you'd miss them if they weren't, but they don't overpower the track.

In a way, I can see why Rez was a good candidate to remix like this, the original builds and builds to a near orgasmic crescendo, so it kind of makes sense to apply a standard drop and build it up again. But the way the original builds, but never reaches it's climax is also it's greatest asset. You can climb Everest, or stand on top of the tallest skyscraper, but you'll never be in heaven. Rez gets you as close as you can mortally get, before bringing you gently back to earth.

It's not all bad news though, theres hope that this track can open Underworld up to a new audience, and the drums - at the start at least - do in some way pay a homage to those in "And I Will Kiss". But for me this is like looking at a copy of the Mona Lisa done in crayon, the parts are there, it looks right, but it's not just, you know, right?

(I'll be buying the 12" for my collection though)

v.

[Future Proof]

I found this to be a gorgeous redux of the original, but I'm also a pretty rabid fan of all of Lorin's work. I feel that Lorin sometimes gets a bad rap, getting thrown into the Dubstep category (a genre that I personally enjoy but, as evidenced by Vacant's response is a fairly hotly contested genre) because Lorin I feel is much more than a simple "wub-wub" artist. He has a flair for beautiful, shimmery soundscapes with a positivity and energy that hasn't been as often prevalent as, well, when Underworld were originally the talk of the town. When people talk about the energy and optimism of the early 90's rave scene, they're talking about Lorin's energy, and god knows we need that these days. But anyways...

It's been 2 years since I last posted. I think it speaks well to UW's legacy, I first visited Scott Warner's original site in 1996, stayed with the site for years and even though my UW obsession has cooled that even today's artists are drawn in and captivated by Underworld's catalog. Respect.

[//\/\/]

Rez - do a simple thing brilliantly - repeat it.

This is just candy-floss for idiots. You want homage? High Contrast - respectful enough not to over-tinker.

[Andrea]

such a strong word for music lovers
other than looping without name in the middle of nowhere
year after year

[jetpig]

I didn't mean this to end up as a wall of text...

Future Proof: I was with you for a LONG time. I used to dig the SHIT out of lorin's music. He used to be all bout social commentary and soundscapes and awesomeness with a bassy throb. Cozza Frenzy was the last album of his I could listen to. He used to regularly sample famous speakers (from Noam Freaking Chomsky about our current society to Bill O'Rielly about net neutrality) and use lyrics to push awareness of issues (not necessarily a position) going on around us. Not since Underground Communication in 2009 has that happened. I used to listen to his albums as full things, ala STITI or something, and in fact that's where I really learned to take in a full album as a piece.

As for live I've seen him 4 times, and the last two shows weren't particularly fantastic. the two shows i saw in '10 (Seattle, Showbox Sodo and Coachella) were awesome. A journey from start to finish, he was in the groove, having a blast. they were sets where i was thanking my neighbors for experiencing it with me, fresh new material that flowed and grooved together, damn near spiritual. His 2011 show in seattle at the paramount was less fantastic. He was still energetic, and I still had a lot of fun, but there were a few tracks that fell flat on me, were just more noise containing predictable buildups and, thus, unexciting drops.

2012 was atrocious. His basscenter 6 at the wamu in seattle put me off live music for 9 months. His set felt phoned in, and I had two different people try and pick fights with me. One was a 16 year old girl who wanted to edge her way in front of me (I was 3 people back) 90 minutes into his set. When I said no she tried to swing at me and would later put gum in my water cup.... Another creepy guy tried to punch me when I gave the girls he was creeping on an escape route... Needless to say i was very dissapointed in his set, and the crowd and vibe he is attracting as of late.

I really hope bassnectar (and his fans!) come back around. I think his rediculous amount of touring (while well-intentioned, and I love the love he has for his fans) has left him with a flawed view of how his music should sound (edit: from a mixing standpoint. For example, why fade something to back when you can't hear it live anyways? because it gives it more detail and nuance!).

Sorry for the length of my rambling. I'm still pretty bummed by his change over the years.

[TheBang]

It looks like the Extended Remix is no more, and the only different version coming out is a Radio Edit for Japan, according to Om Records.

[holden]

i'm sure it's tempting, but when will people learn that "Cowgirl", "Rez", and "Born Slippy" are not to be remixed, reimagined, remade, revisited....?

Leave perfection alone! I think that in the 20 years or so that i've dug electronic music, maybe 5% of remixes are interesting takes on the original. Bless the producers for trying, but really, who cares if you try to put your stamp on an anthem or butcher a new track? Produce something new and exciting! jmtc.

[Future Proof]

Holden: Not to argue with you, I don't think I really expected anyone to like the track over here on UW's site. Now of course, everyone's going ecstatic over on Bassnectar's side, but could you blame them? Bassnectar belongs to those people, not the Dirty folk. And vice versa, of course.

That said, Bassnectar is one of the most prolific artists in music right now. Last year he brought out an album, 2 EPs, two long (and free!) continuous mixes which were AWESOME, and STILL TOURED 250 days out of the year. I thought that was worth mentioning, figuring that when you quipped "go write something original!" That my first thought was to give it three months and see what he brought out next. :)

JetPig: I'm sorry that you've had bad Bassnectar experiences as of late. I won't apologize for him, he definitely seems to have gone into autopilot with his shows and it's really sad. Then again, pretty much all EDM acts are bogus in a "live" setting, as astutely pointed out a few months ago by Deadmau5. Even Rick and Karl, after Emerson left seemed to really rein in the dynamics of their set, and I can't begin to express how disappointing it was to watch them live on the AHDO tour, after hearing all of the bootlegs and et cetera. I have no idea how Price has changed any of that, by the way... But long story short, I think I just got to the point where I don't expect much from a EDM show, unless there's a full touring band with the person.

But an observation that I've made, I think that Lorin's getting sick of his fans as well. I follow him on Facebook, and all through the year last year he was getting into public squabbles with various fans over various political things. People have been telling him that he needs to stick to music and not preaching his own views, which as you've noted is absolutely not what Lorin is about. And the reality is this-Dubstep is full of a bunch of moronic, idiotic people right now. They're all a bunch of late adopters to a genre that has been around for a decade, and will be gone in a year. It's kind of like punk, punk is great except for the fans.

[chems1919]

I really don't understand the popularity in the dubstep scene. Like some others have said here, it just sounds like a bunch of noise to me. And that's coming from a guy that loves some really weird music like Planningtorock and The Knife.

[jetpig]

UW still did a bit of improvising up until very recently (maybe not as much as in the 90s, but still). 2010 was a VERY static set, but I suspect that's because rick was singing as well and wanted to leave a lot of structure. I wasn't around to be able to comment on the AHDO tour... i'm rather new here, but from what i've listened to, I suspect they were trying to find their feet in that time. I follow lorin pretty closely still, hoping he swings things in a new direction and I've seen the squabbles you mention and I think you are spot on with your assessment about the fans. People telling him to stay out of politics and stick to the music when he's had a political awareness message from the get go.

[TheBang]

i'm sure it's tempting, but when will people learn that "Cowgirl", "Rez", and "Born Slippy" are not to be remixed, reimagined, remade, revisited....?
But then we would never have had the High Contrast remix of Rez.

[ultradave]

what would be the point if a remix were to sound similar to the original... unless UW were creating a new version, oh say like Rez 2013...

I'm not a huge fan of dubstep as it's become so overplayed and instead of being creative with the sound as was in it's infancy has become a bunch of nonsense and random "dubstep" versions of pop trash have emerged.

that being said - this remix of Rez was done creatively by adding those drums. they just make the track. w/out them, it would have suffered the same doom as all of the other "dubstep" remixes cluttering our soundwaves...

[Andrea]

Thanks to all those so-called "idiots" we can listen to new music genres and new experiments, may be good or bad. (I´m not a huge fan of dubstep either.)
If it wasn´t for these rebels we would still listen to the old school Rock & Roll and Country I think.

As regards High Contrast´s remix of Rez, it is old fashioned. It is so obvious that it was made to please everybodys taste.
He´s is much better when he sticks to his own style.

[Future Proof]

Thanks to all those so-called "idiots" we can listen to new music genres and new experiments, may be good or bad. (I´m not a huge fan of dubstep either.)
If it wasn´t for these rebels we would still listen to the old school Rock & Roll and Country I think.

I wasn't going to even patronize that but you are right. And the audacity to claim idiocy, as if one has some kind of extraordinary authority on the arts... get real. Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one, most of them stink, and people are better off keeping theirs to themselves.

[//\/\/]

You're holding Bassnectar as a great innovator who's taking Rez to a different level? Do me a favour. I think most people, rightly, wouldn't go near Rez because there's no point. You're only likely to fuck it up.

The fact that UW have let this happen only shows how far they've fallen in terms of music. What next? Justin Bieber singing 'Born Slippy'? Yeah; down with the kidz innit...

[jetpig]

We dont know enough about how this came about to say they let it happen and i certainly think its going a little far to say that this is indicative of a fall from grace or whathaveyou. The two share a label, om records, who happens to be putting out this remix. I wouldnt be surprised if here was contract stipulations that allowed this. Its not like there hasnt been shitty remixes of uw tunes before...

[//\/\/]

I contend that it does. I view this as a continuation of the shambles that ended up with the last 'underworld' album - a ropey collection of collaborations to try and spice things up...

[jetpig]

I don't feel that Barking was the atrocity you say it was. I think it fits well in the pantheon of UW. Was every track amazing? No. Was every track on any other album amazing? No. STitI is the only album that can claim that distinction, I think. I agree Barking was lacking in a few aspects (most tracks fall right at 6 minutes, for example. Varied producers remove a little bit of the cohesion) but I still think it's a solid album with quite a few good tracks, and even a couple great ones. I think ALAF, Bird1, and Scribble are gonna be around for a long time to come and have a lot of room to grow in the live set. I hope Between Stars and some of the quieter tracks see more attention, too.

A big difference here is that this is a remix, rather than a collaboration. Even if they did give it an okay, I still fall back on the fact that there's been plenty of other sub-par remixes that they gave an okay as well. They aren't about to be doing a dubstep reworking of slippy live, I suspect.

[gcoleman99]

I contend that it does. I view this as a continuation of the shambles that ended up with the last 'underworld' album - a ropey collection of collaborations to try and spice things up...
As a LONG time fan of UW, I don't consider Barking to be a shambles. There is a song or two that didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the album, but I thought all of the singles, plus Grace, were amazing. Dubno was my favorite, Beaucoup 2nd, and Barking 3rd. So there! :p

[negative1]

not feeling any good vibes in this mix.

although it would have done well on the new wipeout soundtrack,
with the kittens remix or maybe replaced it..

that one wasn't so great either.

later
-1

[jetpig]

As a LONG time fan of UW, I don't consider Barking to be a shambles. There is a song or two that didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the album, but I thought all of the singles, plus Grace, were amazing. Dubno was my favorite, Beaucoup 2nd, and Barking 3rd. So there! :p

Personally I'd put STitI up there too. My next thought is usually that I don't want to think of OWB, Barking or AHDO to be in the bottom three (let's not even include the riverrun...) so I knock it off before I hurt my head trying a futile exercise. :p

[//\/\/]

Bassnectar commenting that Rez lacks a melodic line.

Idiot.

Maybe it's just my age; but UW haven't made an album I go back to since BF...

[jetpig]

where was that? I read his AMA on reddit yesterday, and it was about what I expected (dissapointing), but didn't see that anywhere.

[TheBang]

He said it in this interview:

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/code/1537658/the-resurrection-of-rez-bassnectar-and-underworld-talk-about-remixing

[jetpig]

Well thanks for the warning, //\\/\ and TheBang, that'll be an interview I don't read...

[gcoleman99]

He said it in this interview:

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/code/1537658/the-resurrection-of-rez-bassnectar-and-underworld-talk-about-remixing
I thought it was kind of cool that they mentioned Jason Bentley in it, as he IS the reason I was first exposed to UW in the beginning, in 1994-5 (don't really remember when I first started listening to his show on KCRW in Santa Monica).