marumari "the remixes" press
xlr8r – july/august 2002
remixing providence’s marumari must be a blast, just because he offers so much to work with, from creamy, analog-sounding harmonies to fat, fractured break-beats. appropriately, this collection of remixes is all over the map, offering a good primer for IDM’s rediscovered range. l’usine’s delicate, echo-soaked hip-hop track is the likely standout, boards of canada soundalike or no; you just can’t deny a progression that poignant. casino vs. japan get theatrical with a jean michel jarre-influenced piece, and oddly enough cex tones down his antic theatrics, turning in a plaintive, recorder-drivin meditation on dissonance. Throw in lackluster, greg davis’s pastoral drake-beats, and more – plus a handful of mp3s and videos – and a whole summer’s worth of listening awaits.
- philip sherburne
artists
such as electric company, l’usine, lackluster and cex create 10 songs from
marumari’s career-spanning source material.
if
your tastes run towards icy, sine-wracked or ear-shattering IDM, then
marumari’s remixes, a collection of
soothing, loping grooves, isn’t for
you. the remixers typically avoid
“trademark” sounds (plaid/autechre/aphex rolls, spikes, hip-hop
abstractions, etc.), resulting in an unusual, warm and accessible collection
that gently jitters, but keeps from jilting fans of marumari’s mechanical
rhythms. 3.5 stars
- tony
ware
for
fans of: ISAN, minotaur shock, boards of
essential
tunes: the compositions of casino vs. japan, greg
sleaze nation – april 2002
marumari are now officially ‘the best band you’ve never heard’. The expression can henceforth never be used ever again. wonky electronic weirdness from two unknown kids from new york.
- chris hatherill
vice – june 2002
speaking of remixes, check out the latest offering from NY’s carpark label. you may remember marumari from last year’s supadope supermogadon (carpark) release and his wolves hollow and balld of the round ball albums from a few years ago. now the artist otherwise known as josh presseisen has assembled some of his best buddies to remix his album. luckily, his friends also happen to be dudes from the tigerbeat6 (cex, electric company), isophlux (l’usine), and kracfive (octopus inc., colongib) camps. the result is a blissed-out journey through electro-acoustic soundscapes that retain a melodic integrity over depp and minimal beats. from the hazy ether of the opening tune by electric company to the acoustic folk-tronics of labelmate greg davis, there’s something for everyone on this release. never sounding like it’s trying too hard, the remixes should be taken at face value: as simple and beautiful takes on a simple and beautiful album.
-raf +vince
the wire – june 2002
the peaceful, golden eyed inhabitants of agralope are calling once again, their delicate alien codes being reinterpreted this time by some of marumari’s best friends, including carpark labelmates greg davis and casino vs. japan. as a mark of identification with the planet’s ethereal order of floating strangeness, each track simply bears the name of its remixer. One thing seems to unite these artists: their shared wish to simplify marumari’s shifting sound spectra without losing any of its sweet melancholy. L’usine adds coltish beats to good effect. To rococo rot’s robert lippok strips his contribution down to understated techno-pop keyboards, while "cex" goes for an old west coast analogue approach reminiscent of mort garson. Meanwhile, marumari is elsewhere busily completing his first sci-fi novel.
- ken hollings
urb – july 2002
the darlings of IDM take material from marumari’s josh presseisen and sasha ellms’s various projects and fashion a whole new album.
the darlings of IDM of course: electric company, l’usine, greg davis, colongib, lackluster, cex, stars as eyes, not to mention 10 MP3 remixes and the MTV-friendly "baby m" video.
cex’s take is damned tight-booty bass fun; l’usine plies his slip-beat echo patterns; lackluster does the twee electro thing. for the computer side, proem and kettel do wonderful things on the MP3s, while the QT videos look great on a fast system. will keep you busy for hours.
- heath higknight
de-bug - july 2002
Ein
Remix-Album, das nicht als Aneinanderreihung disparater Einzeltracks (die
klingen, als würden sie, wenn sie Personen statt Musikstücke wären, kaum
Interesse füreinander aufbringen können) daherkommt, sondern mit einem roten
Faden. Der wiederum zieht sich durch einen Abwechslungsreichtum hindurch, wie
ihn ein einzelner Produzent innerhalb eines stilistisch grob abgesteckten
Rahmens gewöhnlich nicht so locker aus dem Ärmel schütteln kann. Der Eindruck
des Locker-aus-dem-Ärmel-Geschüttelten stimmungsmäßig miteinander in
Beziehung stehender und sich ergänzender Tracks mag nichts zu tun haben mit den
tatsächlichen Entstehungsbedingungen – langwieriges und voneinander
abgekoppeltes Werkeln verschiedener Einzelner –, aber er zeugt von einem
gelungenen Projekt. Vielleicht auch von Marumaris charakterstarkem
Ausgangsmaterial. Oder von sich ähnelnden Temperamenten der Remixenden.
Jedenfalls versieht hier denkbar fortschrittliche Electronika (von Electric
Company, L’Usine, Casino Vs. Japan, Greg Davis, Colongib, Robert Lippok,
Lackluster, Cex, Octopus Inc. und Stars As Eyes) Konzepte von Nostalgie und
Nestwärme mit fein verzweigten Systemen aus spannungsgeladenen Irritationen.
Jetzt zuckeln diese Konzepte von Nostalgie und Nestwärme vor Aufregung.
FG
junkmedia – may 2002
Regular Junkmedia readers may have noticed my distaste for the beleaguered format of the remix CD. Poor planning, lengthy releases and remixes tossed off between more important matters has led to a preponderance of thin compilations. This is unfortunate, since the idea of remixing—reworking another's material through your own lens—is fascinating. Think of Johnny Cash's complete overhauls of Will Oldham's "I See A Darkness" and even U2's "One"—two of the best remixes I've ever heard, computer or no. And here comes P. Diddy's new LP claiming that the motherfucker actually invented the remix. Maybe we need a new paradigm all together.
Unfortunately for the electronic music community, the ethics of 'remixing' have turned mushy. Weak-ass remixes litter the landscape, used more as publicity tools for up-and-coming electronic musicians than for furthering their musicality. Think about it: many more people will know you were on X or Y compilation than will ever actually hear the thing.
Into this sad scene saunters Marumari's The Remixes, and surprise! It's fantastic! Clearly a lot of thought and time went into not only the music itself, but the sequencing and choice of remixers. Many of our usual subjects appear hear—Electric Company, Cex, Robert Lippok (one-third of To Rococo Rot), Stars as Eyes—and most are in exceptional form, delivering dreamy, childlike-remixes of Marumari's dreamy, childlike music.
The Remixes is pleasantly consistent; you can hear the original Marumari sounds and aesthetic hovering below the careful methods each group took to reconstruct them. Electric Company deliver a sublimely minimal take of snare drums and ringing electric piano; a few haunting moments of longing, and out. As with any multi-artist compilation, we could go track by track, but the point is that The Remixes manages to transcend its scattered points of creation to create a unified piece of art. An elegant ride.
- Ben Sterling
other music – may 30th, 2002
ten tracks remixed by a bevy of largely U.S. based IDM trendsetters including casino vs. japan (look for the new, much anticipated album forthcoming on carpark), cex, lackluster, robert lippok (To Rococo Rot), l'usine, octopus inc., and more. all the artists involved do a nice job of reducing the tracks to three or four key elements without losing the trademark dreamy, childlike fantasy of marumari's original versions. casino vs. japan's offering brings to mind an image of a woolly mammoth galloping in ultra-slow motion through a snow blinding, icy tundra – opium tinged and beautiful. a handpicked assortment of mp3s and a few marumari videos are thrown in as a bonus!
- scott mou
almost cool – may 23, 2002
If you're a fan of Marumari, you may already know that this release has been a long time in the making. Originally scheduled to come out some time last year, it was delayed for unbeknownst reasons at least one time, but now that it's arrived, it more than makes up for things. Making sure to use all the space allowable on a standard CD, The Remixes is like two, two discs in one. Not only do you get 10 remixes by artists such as Greg Davis, Cex, and Electric Company, but there are 10 mp3 remixes contained on the disc (for computer listening) as well as two videos.
One interesting thing about the remixes contained on the disc is that while they are definitely comprised of different bits from Marumari tracks, no specific names are given and it's really inconsequential anyway. As with many remix projects, the new tracks come out sounding like a completely new ballgame anyway, depending on who has a hand in the particular tracks. The aformentioned Electric Company starts off the disc with a remix that lumbers along with a pilfered and distored melody before L'usine offers up a mix from The Wolves Hollow.
New Carpark label artist Casino Vs. Japan turn in one of the most spectacular remixes on the frontside, loping a funky beat behind layers and layers of subtlely shifting hazy electronics, the track practically glows, and makes me even more excited about the next album from the group. Greg Davis takes the happy little melody from "The Hunger" (also off The Wolves Hollow) and adds some nice guitar and texture to it while Cex turns in a minimal track with an oddly haunting rhythm.
The Kracfive gang (the same fellows who brought you last years Original Instrument wackiness) make a couple appearances on the disc, with Octopus Inc dropping a thick, soupy remix with tongue-in-cheek while Colongib goes chop-socky on a track and provides a bit of a wakeup about halfway through the disc. The mp3-only mixes aren't quite up to the quality of the stuff on the regular disc, but there's still a lot of fun to be had. Atomly cranks things up into a twisted garage remix while Buddysystem goes glitch-minimal for a nice reworking.
For a small label, Carpark is once again showing that they're on the cutting edge of things (they also release their first DVD this month). For the price of a regular disc, you essentially get 2CDs worth of music. While the musical styles are a bit different than what you'd usually get from a Marumari disc, nobody goes too overboard (i.e. no gabba mixes) with anything and the tracks all keep a general feel that fans should approve of. If you haven't seen the "Baby M" video (from Supermogadon), it's also included on the disc, and although it's a bit silly, it's a definite testament to what can be done on a small budget. Once again, another fun batch of stuff. What's next for Marumari? A sci-fi novel...
- aaron coleman Rating: 7.5
the daily vanguard – may 31st, 2002
The laptop movement finds its roots equally in the chaos of '70s krautrock and elektro and the stuttering, abstract beats of contemporary demigods Autechre. Yet most laptop artists (we'll try not to use the catchphrase IDM . . . yet) are infused with the indie ethos usually associated wth rock - they Do It Themselves.
Josh Pressein's Marumari has put out five releases in three years. His music is a mixture of the warm and the techy, the weird and the sci-fi. One almost wants to peg him a visionary, but that would be like laying down a hex.
Now his friends and colleagues give something back. On marumari. the remixes, 20 remixed tracks are presented, all most assuredly done in the comfort of the individual artists' homes. And the majority of them done well.
The artist herein have recorded on the hippest labels on the electronik scene: Tigerbeat 6, kracfive, Planet-(, et al. In the works since Marumari's inception, the remixes is worth the wait. The disc includes 10 standard CD tracks (all unidentified but for the name of the respective remix artist) plus 10 more tracks in MP3 format and two Quicktime videos.
It kicks off on an uplifting note with a crackly blowout by Electric Company. It's a nice kickback track that sounds like the speakers might be damaged, but don't worry, this is audio morphine - the crackle runs through the nervous system. L'usine, a Texan outfit with a French name, picks things up on the next track with a skittering beat and bassline that is remniscent of the IDM movement's most accessible work.
Wisconsin's Casino vs. Japan takes us, not surprisingly, down a road seemingly straight into Cologne, with a shuffle beat and bassline rolling through the same sort of fuzz and pop as on the Electric Company track, with sunny synth lines emerging from behind the static.
New York's Greg Davis mixes things up with a jaunty beat and some bells, while Colongib (who may play Portland in July) takes as many sounds as he can and constructs a quite danceable tick-tocking composition that is plenty danceable. German superhero Robert Lippok of To Rococo Rot turns a Marumari composition music into a contemplative sci-fi jazz bit that will make you want to do a robot dance.
The Finn who records under the moniker Lackluster works some straightforward repetition. Big beats in the background give way to playful phasing sounds and an IDM stutter beat before falling back into contemplation of itself and an eventual beat-less fadeout. Cex shows his affinity for hip-hop beats while piercing the ears with noises too fine for description.
Kracfiver Octopus Inc. really mixes things up, with a sense of humor and slamming beat that eventually doubles back on itself as big synth sounds take over. Rhode Island duo Stars as Eyes close the CD portion of the release with a good ear-cleansing - potent, melodic washes of sound and steady, uncomplicated beats swirl in and out of the listener's ear and fade on a nice pop note.
As for the MP3 portion, some track titles are viewable in the window of the computer media player. Atomly works a looped dog bark into his remix of "Josh has a Bowl Cut" in a way that makes incessant canine noise the perfect accompaniment to a garage track. Buddysystem gets click-y in what is simply titled "Remix Revised 7-04-2001."
Yuppster and Marumari team up to rework "Superbotany" in very pretty fashion - it's like a dueling nice-guy keyboard session, the love theme to a sci-fi movie. Kettel takes the same track and adds some crunch, turning it into all into a drum & bass freakout for just a minute. Proem slowly unfurls a beat about a minute into "Meter Made," then fades it back out after the synthesizers' ambient wash has crested.
Vim works with interplaying synth lines and draws out some crunchy beats, then takes them back as if in denial, finally ending it on a steady note. Thug is anything but thuggish - reverb and a lazy downtempo beat scuttle the ears on this untitled remix track. Multiplex makes what is definitely a cinematic noise. Their "01" remix is like future cop drama theme, complete with chase scene. Marumari's sci-fi synth lines are accompanied by 09's small, crazy, moving beat, like circuits through the brain. Phuidbax finishes the whole thing with a very big sound.
Marumari might be the closest thing to Bryan Wilson electronik music scene. His obsession with science fiction and a definite gearhead bent have not taken anything away from the fact that he is an artist, even with the goofy sci-fi posing (as evidenced on the included video for "Baby M," which garnered some MTV2 airplay last year).
The question is whether artists like Marumari and his cohorts can continue mapping the aural landscape as first begun by the likes of Neu!, Kraftwerk and Can back in the '70s, and even further back to the likes of tape loop originator Steve Reich '60s. So far, they're arguably doing a fine job.
What the artists on the remixes certainly have done, is taken the patchwork quilt of sound that is Marumari's music and restitched. In most cases, the warmth is retained, and yes, we're in enriched this automated world.
- cory murphy
Ink19 – may 15, 2002
Marumari is obsessed with the same erratic ambience, gorgeous swells, and space-noisefuckery that torments the brain stems of groups like Aphex Twin and Boards Of Canada. But the laptop architect, born Josh Presseisen, injects 'em with funky, accessible, downtempo grooves making them danceable, introverted think music. Gathering a series of high-profile fans (well, as "high-profile" as the world of IDM allows), Marumari undergoes the remix treatment on The Remixes, a collection so damn insular that it doesn't even bother to tell you the names of the songs that are being eviscerated.
The game plan is simple: Electric Company (genre-hopping pseudonym of Medicine's Brad Laner) turns some Marimari song into pillows of glitchy fluff, ambient Texan L'Usine turns some Marumari song into pillows of glitchy fluff, and Milwaukee's beat-heavy Casino Vs. Japan turns some Marumari song into thicker pillows of glitchy fluff.
Things pick up about halfway through as Colongib turns some Marumari song into a jittery ball-bearing bouncing inside a metal box over a stuttery groove. Robert Lippok (of arty electronica-inflected post-rockers To Rococo Rot) gets downright synth-funky, turning some Marumari song into a minimalist Krautrock-via-New-Wave dance groove. And Octopus Inc. turn some Marumari song into a snappy hip-hop groove that morphs into honking minimalist industrial-lite, leaving Marumari's ambient hum intact.
Includes two videos that are hard to sit through.
- christopher r. weingarten