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One of the finest remix compilations to arrive this year comes from no other than Erol Alkan and The Grid’s Richard Norris. Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve “Re-Animations Volume 1″ is a veritable trail mix that brings together all of the duo’s re-animations together for the first time. They have re-written all the rules set forth by top notch acts the Chemical Brothers, Late Of The Pier, Simian Mobile Disco, Franz Ferdinand and many more. URB caught up with Richard Norris to hear some thoughts on what motivated them to join forces and make beautiful music.
URB: Such lush, beautiful music. How did the concept for Re-Animations Volume 1 emerge?
Richard Norris: We were working on fairly psychedelic, widescreen re-edits…people heard a few of them and decided to offer us a mix or two. After a while we had enough for an album, so here we are! We didn’t plan it as an album – these mixes were done over a couple of years – but I think it holds up when you listen to them back to back. Hopefully they all take you someplace else.
As a techno purveyor, are your Wizard’s Sleeve projects a means to purge your other musical cravings?
Don’t know if that’s for Erol Alkan or me, but for my part all my past influences, from techno to dub to weird, spoken word records to psychedelia and beyond seem to be mixing together right now. It’s great to blend ‘em up and arrive with a new technicolour baby.
How were acts such as Tracy Thorn, The Chemical Brothers, Franz Ferdinand, Goldfrapp, Late Of The Pier, Simian Mobile Disco, Peter Bjorn and John put on the operating table?
First of all we have to love the song – If you don’t, after working for it for about a day or so, it’s hard to maintain enthusiasm; whereas if you love the song in the first place, it’s a breeze – a real pleasure. Sometimes I’ll start on a track; sometimes Erol will, then we’ll swap over and add ideas. We both have studios: Erol’s is in London, while I live by the sea near Brighton in a town with a castle and some druids. In fact, the castle is in my back garden. So sometimes we don’t meet when we do a mix, we do it via ichat. Sometimes we’ll work together in the same studio – we normally end up working together at the end of the mix.
What other acts would you like to see re-animated?
Flaming Lips, Black Mountain, Can, Dungen, MGMT, Kraftwerk, Wimple Winch.
What is the general response to your working with these more laid back sounds? Do people revolt in search of hard-as-nails techno?
They can find plenty of that elsewhere, but if they want to expand their horizons a bit – which we find a lot of people do – they can join in with us. People generally have broad tastes if they are exposed to good stuff.
Have you guys ever heard Ummagumma?
Sure. I particularly like the soundtrack to “More.” The Floyd played at the Town Hall here in Lewes in 1968. It was promoted by Lewes Football Club.
Is coining these cuts reanimations another way of calling them dubs?
It’s a way of breathing a different life into them via technology and the third mynd. How do you guys approach DJing together? Is there ever a bumping of heads? No we play back to back – one record on, one record off – for hours. It’s fun – we don’t get to do it enough.
What’s next for this obviously successful project?
We’re writing our first single at the moment – after re-edits and re-animations, we are finally doing our own thing.
Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animations Vol.1 Tracklist
1. The Chemical Brothers – Battle Scars (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
2. Franz Ferdinand – Ulysses (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
3. Late Of The Pier – The Bears Are Coming (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
4. Peter, Bjorn And John (Ft. Victoria Bergsman) – Young Folks (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
5. Tracey Thorn – Raise The Roof (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
6. Badly Drawn Boy – Promises (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
7. Goldfrapp – Happiness (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
8. Midlake – Roscoe (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
9. Dust Galaxy – Come Hear The Trumpets (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
10. Real Ones – Outlaw (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
11. Simian Mobile Disco – Love (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
12. Findlay Brown – Losing The Will To Survive (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
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