- DJ Stingray and Tale Of Us repurpose trance on this wide-ranging package.
- Lorenzo Senni's single XAllegroX / The Shape Of Trance To Come was begging for a remix EP. There's not one drum sound or bassline on either track, just earnest, trance-adjacent synthesizers rising and falling in grandiose arcs. If you loop a 909 drum machine under either of these tracks and make a couple of nip-tucks, you have a peak-time bomb on your hands. Of the three acts that Warp Records tapped for this remix EP, only one, Tale Of Us, take the easy way out. And while theirs is the least imaginative remix on the record, it’s the only one that succeeds.
DJ Stingray's version of "XAllegroX" is a missed opportunity. It sounds like he copy-pasted a short loop of Senni's synths into an unrelated Ableton project that was already in progress. There's no rule that says a remix must retain key aspects of the original, but if you're going to add a brand new synth line, why add one that clashes with the source material? It negates the musicality that made the original so compelling.
Florian Hecker's remix is more conceptual. He separates the original track into left and right stereo channels, sends them through a few different looping and effects modules and stretches them out into 12 minutes of sound art. It's certainly an unconventional approach to remixing, and the extended runtime creates an interesting effect with slow, shifting repetition. But with all this emphasis on process, it's not a worthwhile listening experience. It may be intellectually stimulating, but it's not actually satisfying, neither for its textural richness nor its musicality.
Tale Of Us might seem like a strange pick for the EP, but their penchant for sentimental melodies makes them a clever match. They take the main riff from "The Shape Of Trance To Come" and layer it over a simple drum pattern and voilà. It's nothing life-changing, but it ticks the boxes for those looking for an effective, even poignant, big-room tool.
Tracklist01. XAllegroX (DJ Stingray’s Molto Allegro Mix)
02. XAllegroX (Hecker Scattering.m Sequence)
03. The Shape Of Trance To Come (Tale Of Us Remix)