It will come as no surprise to those that read my blog that I am a big fan of a local band called Delhi2Dublin (see here and here for previous posts). If you like groups like Afro-Celt Sound System, Transglobal Underground, etc., you’ll like them. Anyway, the D2D crew have now released a set of remixes of their first album (release party is a Beats Without Borders event this Thursday at the Red Room). The good news? Everybody that likes the Delhi2Dublin sound is going to like some of this album. The bad news? Everybody that likes the Delhi2Dublin sound is probably going to find a track or two they don’t like. But I guess that is the nature of an album like this. Anytime you take someone’s work and rework it using your own artistic sensibilities, you create a new piece of art/music/writing/whatever. For me, a great piece of reworked art allows me to appreciate the new piece and the old piece as related, but distinct, artistic creations and to enjoy both on their own merits. Sometimes that reworking does it for me, and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s a little harder when you have an album that has been reworked by a bunch of different people. When the reworking is done by a single person (think DJ Danger Mouse and the Grey Album) then the new pieces all hang together, just like the old ones did. You may like or hate the Grey Album (I thought it was great), but you can’t deny that he put his own stamp on the album. Other times, it is a mix of people reworking a body of work (the Will.i.am produced Timeless album of Sergio Mendes tunes). In that case, each puts their particular stamp on the tune they’ve reworked and the whole may no longer tie together as well.
That’s how I feel about this album. There are some remixes that I loved on this album (Steven Mek’s Double O Dubstep Remix of “Nightstep” and the Tspoon’s Po’ Girl remix featuring Allison Russell of “Apples” among others). They take the original, add their own stamp to it, and come up with something just as good. There are a couple of others that I care for less. Of course, that is entirely based on my own personal taste. It is not that those remixes are inherently worse. It’s just that they’ve done something to the original that I find less compelling. My guess is that a couple of my friends are going to favor precisely those remixes that I did not enjoy as much and vice versa. We have overlapping but not identical tastes. Bottom line is that there are some great tracks on this album. Your favorites may not line up with my favorites, but I can guarantee there will be something for everybody who is into this type of music. So, go see Delhi2Dublin live if you can (it really is the best way to hear them). Then go buy their first album, you won’t regret it and you’ll be supporting a great group of musicians. Finally, if you like what you hear, get the remix album. I know that there will be a couple of tracks that are going to be on regular rotation on my ipod and that is my mark of a worthwhile album. Well done.
