Track: GoGo Penguin – ‘Totem’ (James Holden remix): expansive, swirling and hypnotic rerub paves the way for what’s sure to be the remixes album of the year

WITH their deliciously tempting new remix album GGP/RMX out in a month’s time, GoGo Penguin are just keeping them comin’; following the deeply energised MachineDrum retake on “Atomised” and Squarepusher’s stealthily head-melting inversion of “F Major Pixie”, the Mancunian trio have just dropped the blissful dream of “Totem”, as overseen by James Holden. Come listen within.

GGP’s Nick Blacka says: “James Holden creates a beautiful, reflective soundscape for this track. We love it when another artist takes your music and hears something in it and a way of interpreting it that you wouldn’t necessarily have heard yourself.

“‘Totem’ is a great example of this because it’s pretty far from the original track’s intensity but the spirit of the original remains intact.” 

James himself adds: “I loved the piano chords that make the core of this song and knew instantly that I wanted to try to make them into a giant monolith – austerely restating their circular melody while my synth dances around them.” 

You know, this is a beautiful meshing of aesthetics; James bringing his trademark scented exoticism to swirl and garland around the chordal core of the original, sending it off into expansive bliss.

GGP/RMX promises – and so delivers – on an idea the Manchester combo have been nurturing for years – to allow their songs out into the world and then into the hands of a selected roster of remixers to emerge anew.

And it’s their self-titled fifth that they’ve opened up for a diverse host of producers and musicians to spiral out into multifarious new forms.

As well the trio of artists mentioned above, Clark lends his trademark brooding complexity to “Petit_a”; hometown techno legend Graham Massey of 808 State brings his styles to “Signal In The Noise”, and new generation North-West talent Shunya lends elegant enigmatic moods on “To The Nth”;  wide-screen minimalists Portico Quartet bring down the curtain with an evocative, closing deconstruction of “Don’t Go”.

French producer Rone creates a beautifully reflective new version of that selfsame track Squarepusher wreaks his mighty work on; Tokyo’s spacey indie excursionist Cornelius brings the joy on his invigorating take on “Kora”; and Portico Quartet create an evocative closer with their poignant reconstruction of “Don’t Go”.  

There’s more, much more; looks like it’s so gonna be electric music for mind and body. My money’s on it being the remixes set of the year.

GoGo Penguin’s GGP/RMX will be released by Blue Note digitally, on CD and on vinyl on May 7th; pre-orders are being taken now.

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