Spacetime Continuum

Remit Recapes (Astralworks)
by Joshua Brown

This is not the new Spacetime Continuum album. It’s a compilation of their older stuff remixed by different artists/producers. As a whole, it rivals any of their other releases, at times surpassing them. We begin with “Simm City (OST mix)”, which plunks us in a chamber of reverberating television static and tunes us into alien communication frequencies. “Kairo (Carl Craig mix)” is reminiscent of Japan’s Yellow Magic Orchestra, in that it’s a happy mechanized lullaby with a meaty bassline. This sonic flowerpatch fades from view in the middle portion of the song, leaving only a pulsating dance beat that could level a house. The journey back to chillin’ is not only comfortable, but also spine-tingling. This brings us to a deep and insectile techno groove called “Iform (Velocente mix),” with a lazy melody and an exhilarating strangeness. “Twister (Move D mix)” is a light-metallic drum ‘n’ bass cut. The high end sounds as if it were made from waving mirrors of sheet metal, reflecting rainbows of noise. Next we meet space age bachelor pad music’s evil twin, “Vertigo (Kobat- the Ghanima edit)”. The first minimalist tune of the bunch, “Movement #2 (Herbert mix),” is highly repetitious but justifiably so. From the outer limits comes “Swing Factory (Spacetime Continuum mix),” a funky but relaxing psychedelic space-jazz groove. If the next song doesn’t stupefy you, it’ll get your heart pounding faster. “Funkyar (Higher Intelligence Agency mix)” is funkadelic ping pong with talking bass. The second mix of the song “Kairo,” Subtropic’s “Absolut Black mix,” is nearly unrecognizable from the first mix, which just goes to show that remix comps like remit recaps can be thought of as legitimate albums and not just something for the “fans.” This version of “Kairo” is a boinging, percussive jungle track with syrupy synths to offset the savagery. “Pod (the 4 Quarters mix – featuring Jamie Hodge),” has a sleepy, bonfire-on-the-beach-at-night feel, with a lurching, disconcerting rhythm to shake things up. Lastly, “String of Pearls (Autechre mix)” is a barbaric, robotic electro stomp-fest.