The XX’s sophomore album Coexist is underrated; perhaps a result of impossibly high expectations or the fact that it wasn’t as immediately winsome as their first. Either way, both albums have at least one thing in common: an abundance of ripe remix fodder.
Three of last year’s most critically acclaimed producers step up to the plate with two weird and wonderful reworks.
First time you hear frequent collaborators John Talabot and Pional’s remix, you can’t help but think this is a very strange track. Do those synths sound disconcertingly trancey (your inner snob barely containing itself)? And isn’t there something eerily familiar about the whole thing? All this until you realise that the synth line is a sample of The Streets’ ‘Blinded By The Lights’, a stuttering loop that gives the track its blissed-out haziness. A light-footed shuffle of percussion leads into a breakdown before unfurling some deliciously crisp beats. By the third listen you’re hooked.
Contrary to his often esoteric and off-kilter style, Jamie XX goes for a more groove-laden approach than usual. A steel-tipped snare is loosely slung over a leisurely house beat, but Jamie doesn’t ever stray too far from the essence of his original.
The money-shot comes from Talabot, who continues to confound expectations and again prooves that his collaborations with Pional seem to give way to his best material.
