Red Flag - Who Are The Skulls?

Nevermind http: (Remixed by Cosmicity)
Cause And Consequence (Remixed By Paul Robb)
On The Highway (Remixed by Rob Rowe of Cause & Effect)
I Don't Know Why (Remixed by Shades Of Grey)
Russian Radio (Remixed by Scribe Machine)
Take Care Love (Remixed by Wave In Head)
Destiny (Remixed By Bobby Clark)
Control (Remixed By Craig Degraff and L. Barron)
On The Highway (Remixed By Somegirl)
Heaven In Medias Res (Remixed By Voytech & The Vis)
Things We Say (Remixed By NewVember)
Lullaby For A Restless Girl (Remixed By ROOM 1202 and Aaron Messmer)
If I Ever (Remixed By Provision)
If I Ever (Remixed By Bobby Clark)
In My Arms Again (Remixed By Scribe Machine)
Remember To Forget (Tragically Hip Mix by Thee Skulls (Hugo and Dante))

This remix album was a long-awaited answer to a call I had been making since the release of the first Megablack series disc, which was to allow more outside remixers to work with Red Flag's material. Featuring newcomers and stalwarts of the electronic pop scene, this release gives a wonderfully fresh spin on most of the RF tracks featured here. Cosmicity, Paul Robb, and Rob of Cause & Effect kick off the compilation with a absolutely spectacular set of three remixes. Cosmicity turn "Nevermind Http:" into a demandingly dance-inducing track, Paul Robb (in a similar vein to his remix of "Bass State Coma") lends a somewhat wandering yet very groovy feel to "Cause And Consequence", and Rob Rowe transforms "On The Highway" into a cross-country trance-esque trek. All truly wonderful remixes.

Shades Of Grey continue the roll call of great remixes with a mid-tempo take on the classic "I Don't Know Why", which is somewhat unusual considering their remixes of late have all been rather club/dancefloor oriented. Still, it's a very cool remix. Of the two remixes by Scribe Machine, I really found myself preferring the mix of "In My Arms Again", if for no other reason the copious use of the squelchy synth sounds that are so cool in my mind. The other mix, of "Russian Radio", just came across as too contemporary (read: mindless) dancefloor oriented.

Wave In Head remix "Take Care Love", but in the mix the vocals seem somewhat compressed sounding. Other than that one factor, it's a fun dance remix of the track, but not flawless...

Bobby Clark is a name I'm familiar with from the Electrogarden Forums. After hearing his eerily ominous take on "Destiny" and a very cool updating to the sound of "If I Ever", I'm eager to hear more from this artist. The new take on "If I Ever" retains the majority of the spirit and melody of the original song, while updating the synths and percussion sounds used to modern standards. Excellent, enjoyable remixes!

Craig Degraff and Tony Gral (aka Persona) take "Control", a previously unreleased track from Red Flag, as far as I can tell, and twist it to their own means. The track is based on a rather (old school) hip-hop-esque feel to the music, which makes for a rather unusual sound paring with Red Flag, but works well in this context. An pretty cool remix!

Somegirl, a recent signee of A Different Drum Records, give us the second mix of "On The Highway" on the album. It's a very smooth, melodic mix, emphasizing the flowing & sweeping nature of the synth parts in the song. A very good remix to relax to..

"Heaven In Medias Res", a track that I initially mis-understood completely before emailing Mark & Chris, makes the transition from a pounding morose dark synthpop song to a more downbeat and understated musical expression of misery. Voytech & The Vis do a very impressive job to maintain the emotions present in the original song. Excellent.

NewVember take on the arduous task of taking "Things We Say", and making a 12 minute opus into a 3 minute remix. Realistically, it's a bit much of a task to ask of anyone. I'm having a hard time with this remix. It's a interesting take on the track, but three minutes is just not enough to do the original track justice...

"Lullaby For A Restless Girl" is given a Drum and Bass workover by Room 1202 and Aaron Messmer. Really, this was one of my least favorite mixes from the album. The rather wandering lead synths that have been introduced get old quickly. Also, the emotion and feeling in the original track has been totally stripped out to make room for the Drum & Bass stomper the song has been mutated into. No thanks...

Provision take on the classic Red Flag track "If I Ever", and this remix emphasizes using the elements of the original song, added in very little new musical material, rather re-arranging the existing synth lines and vocals in the song. It's really not that bad of a remix, but when compared to some of the really original re-workings of other tracks here, it does pale just a little bit.

The final remix is a bit of a mystery to me. It's a track that doesn't appear anywhere else as far as I know, entitled "Remember To Forget", remixed by "Thee Skulls", Hugo and Dante(?). It's a short, but really cool track. I hope to get to hear a full version of it someday.

Overall, this is a excellent remix album. There are a few tracks that aren't quite as thrilling as others, but there's enough truly enjoyable material here to make it a really worthwhile purchase. Highly recommended!

Added:  Saturday, July 27, 2002
Reviewer:  Jason Baker
Score:
Related web link:  Official Website
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Language: eng