REVIEW: Front 242, Mut@ge.Mix@ge (PIAS/Never)
- Lee Graham Bridges
Keyboardist Patrick Codenys said in an interview following Front 242's Lollapalooza stint that during the 80's "it was very difficult [doing aggressive electronic music]; you know how music is. If you take the cinema industry, it's way more open minded. Music is a very traditional branch."
Like other fans, Front 242 was my official breakthrough in understanding the creative entity in music. People are increasingly constrained to the image of music over the substance; the MTV-ization of music has created a strange gospel for most: a sickeningly sweet pop rhetoric that permeates society, attached by claws of desperate normalcy. Strangely, those who reject this lifestyle often end up creating a similarly ridiculous clique of their own in an effort to share safety in numbers, rather than a mutual respect for aesthetic of composition and performance. Before I knew anything about industrial or electronic music or any sort of "scene" derived from either of these genres, I appreciated the individual contribution Front 242 was making to music. Though I've owned it since its release eight years ago, Tyranny For You remains one of my most listened to albums.
Bands with such a respect for Front 242 (founded in 1981 and most commonly pronounced "two-four-two") have remixed the band's material according to their own equally pioneering styles. Needless to say, every remix album (or perhaps any remix in itself) deserves a fair amount of scrutiny. What fans expect in a remix album sold under the band's name may be quite different from what they receive - in this case, a tribute to the band by other artists. Mut@ge.Mix@ge succeeds where other such remix albums have failed. A balance has been carefully constructed between the remixers' own voice and adherence to the atmosphere created by the original track.
The album is a collection of remixes of Front 242 material by mostly dance oriented electronic artists: the Orb, Prodigy, Underworld, etc. Four original tracks from Front 242 are also included, and half of the remixes by other bands were previously unreleased. The original tracks referenced by these remixes come from 242's last three studio albums: Tyranny For You, 06:21:03:11 Up Evil, and 05:22:09:12 Off.
The band's own contributions include the supersensory "Junkdrome" - a highlight of 05:22:09:12 Off - as well as other newly-titled reconstructions of their work which can be recognized by sound structures salvaged from past tracks and reworked. For instance, "Dancesoundtrackmusic" merges familiar melodies and sounds from at least three tracks on Tyranny For You ; an entirely new composition results.
"Rhythm of Time," from the Tyranny For You album, is remixed twice by The Orb. The "victor the cleaner" mix is a bit fuller and less ambient/minimal than the "messengers of Neptune" mix, and includes more samples from the original track. The vocals are treated with a metallic distortion, and the rhythm enhanced; in effect, the Orb has done an excellent job of updating this track by merging their infectious sound sensibilities with those of Front 242.
However, Underworld's versions of "Happiness" diverge a bit more from the original. The "dub" mix comes on slow and builds to a somewhat peaceful climax. The "dance" mix sounds similar but faster. Smooth bass tones wind tightly between big drums, piano sounds and other subtle elements.
Prodigy contributes remixes of "Religion". The "bass under siege" mix sounds as rehashed and impotent as the "trance u down" mix sounds vibrant and wickedly sweet. In the latter, the sampled "burn you down!" vocal, distorted and scary, penetrates the mix as the beat erupts like cannons all around, and consonantal beeps and strings soar above the whole composition.
Which proves the main point: the material on Mut@ge.Mix@ge is not a rehash of Front 242 - -far from it. It's a reconstruction of the band's best moments, but done so in a fitting manner by other bands. The contributors have, in their original work as well as in these remixes, strived to pull the listener in and create for them the same kind of overwhelming of the mind that Front 242 did in their most shining moments--which, thankfully, are not at all isolated. It seems that Mut@ge.Mix@ge might, as a result, provide a truer definition of "remix" than what has been utilized in other cases.
At press, another live album, Front 242 Live, will hit the shops this spring. Front 242 also plans to tour the U.S. in July. For more info visit http://www.front242.com
