L.A. based Collide is comprised of Statik (noise) and kaRIN (vocals, words). My previous plans to expose them to the Glasswerk fans were scuppered by the fact that my reviews of their two previous albums (Chasing the Ghost/ Some Kind Of Strange) were written long after the albums release dates (sorry), So it’s with a hint of glee that I can now present to you this review of VORTEX: a double disc collection of remixes of material from said previous albums as well as a few cover songs thrown in for good measure.
For the uninitiated: Collide at their most basic are a female fronted Rock band – under the microscope they are a Rock/ Goth/ Synth/ Pop/ Industrial duo in the likes of Curve, Nine Inch Nails, Cocteau Twins, Kate Bush… aww shit I could be here forever.
NIN’s affiliate Charlie Clauser has the honour of presenting the first remix of Euphoria that is nothing but a work of rock genius. The first couple of minutes build and build until you are thrown into a void of guitar ecstasy. And this quality is pretty much maintained throughout the first CD. There are a few covers of note as well – But the non-remix highlight has to be ‘Predator’ which is a gothic masterpiece. (And if my geek mind is working properly I think it opens with sample music taken from ID4 of all places?)
Fans of Collide already will appreciate the selections made from artists home and abroad. The Sensory Gate Aura mix of ‘Halo’ is beautiful and far reminiscent of the original. The disc closes with one of Statik’s own mixes of ‘Frozen’, which perfectly complements the already accomplished original.
CD 2 (Xetrov) does take a bit of a dive as far as the Remixes are concerned. There isn’t anything of bad note, but some do de-track into auto-play dance remix zone. What disc 2 does offer though is an amazing cover of Love and Rocket’s ‘Haunted When The Minute Drags.’
Vortex demonstrates several things. Firstly that they are both masters of the music and poetry they command. Secondly that their material is so rich that any idiot can make a decent remix of it, and lastly that from their already known covers of ‘Preacher Man’ and ‘White Rabbit’ on previous albums, that they here are still capable of covering classics and making them their own – and in many cases – BETTER than the originals.
Also like to point you towards their packed website where you can get a first listen to their material - [link]
