Remixes

Transatlantic Balearic supergroup Paqua return from their brief hiatus (the band took time out from the studio to concentrate on live shows and sandal making) with a flurry of action. Not only is there an intriguing "Dubs" 10" on the horizon, but also a debut LP slated for release sometime over the summer. Thankfully Paqua have taken pity on us and eased our hunger with this tasty remix double pack of a couple of their big hitters. Up first, those Idjuts come back for more with their frazzled and wiggy dubbed out version of "Late Train". The more alert of you may remember Th'Idjuts were behind the 12" edit of "Late Train" first time round, and this mix is a reinvention of that edit, with the Idjut factor turned up to 11; expect echo, delay, phazing and flanging as things get more Balearic than a south Manchester picnic. On the flip, Idjut associate and UK disco don Ray Mang drops in to work his magic on the blissfully horizontal "The Visitor". Taking on the unenviable task of reworking my favourite Paqua number, Ray extends the glory of the original, stretches out the groove and adds the subtle flavour of rattling percussion and mellow synth sequences to the track, succeeding in creating a hazy dub which soars along atop a thermal. The closest comparison I could make is to Mudd's version of "Open Rhythms" on Nado002, it's that strung out. On the second disc, Stafford's synth maestro Andy Meecham puts on his Emperor Machine space suit and sets about creating a stomping Moon-boogie version of "Late Train", complete with a text book EM bassline. Staccato sequences stretch out into infinity, while boogie synth leads take us to an upmarket dancefloor on the far side of Venus. This cosmic disco groove will have you dancing in all sorts of peculiar ways, especially when Andy introduces one of his trademark zero gravity breakdowns. If vocals aren't your thing, but galactic grooves are, then you'll be mad about the Instrumental version on the flip.