Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve: Re-Animations Vol. 1

Richard Norris and Erol Alkan are known together as Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve and have managed to remix for quite a number of artists since their birth as a super producing duo. 

Re-Animations Vol. 1 is a compilation of them working their magic tricks over twelve very different tracks and alot of these re-workings you will have heard before.

It starts off with The Chemical Brothers corker Battle Scars with Willie Mason on vocals and strips down the huge beats to reveal an almost a-ccapella version of the track, it then builds nicely with some mesmerizing beats and pieces. One of the more noticed tracks that have received the BTWS treatment is Midlake's Roscoe, which in itself is an excellent tune but Alkan and Norris take it and put a Boards Of Canada spin on it with it's nostalgic, emotive layering of electronics instead of straight forward synthetic sounds. Franz Ferdinand's Ulysses becomes almost unrecognizable as the single being constantly played on radio stations around the world to a lo fi electro track, which in my opinion is no bad thing. I do like the FF single but the way the whole track has been reinvented I suppose I am more impressed with. The remix I was most apprehensive about listening to was Late Of The Pier's The Bears Are Coming, It's a song that needs little or no remixing as it's excellently put together and produced (already by Alkan). It again strips down the vocal and concentrates on the music, building and re-enforcing the already tribal and addictive beat on the track. All in all it is an interesting album if anything and probably the first compilation I have enjoyed for some while. Re-Animations Vol. 1 includes twelve excellent remixes and is out for release on New State on February 27th.

Check the following tracklisting:

1. The Chemical Brothers - Battle Scars [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
2. Late Of The Pier - The Bears Are Coming [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
3. Franz Ferdinand – Ulysses [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
4. Peter, Bjorn And John (Ft. Victoria Bergsman) - Young Folks [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
5. Tracey Thorn - Raise The Roof [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
6. Badly Drawn Boy - Promises [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
7. Goldfrapp - Happiness [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
8. Midlake - Roscoe [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
9. Dust Galaxy - Come Hear The Trumpets [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
10. Real Ones - Outlaw [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
11. Simian Mobile Disco - Love [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Remix]
12. Findlay Brown - Losing The Will To Survive [Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation]
13. Enhanced Web-link to MP3 of Beyond The Wizard Sleeve Mixed by Errol Alkan

Late Of The Pier-The Bears Are Coming (Beyond The Wizard's Sleeve Re-Animation