A Tribute to Thomas Detert - Review by LaLa
If you are not familiar with the German Remix Group, maybe you should be, since this is already their sixth album. They are, erm, a group of, erm, remixers from, erm, Germany. Well, their name pretty much says it all, doesn't it?… Their first remix album - which was published 11 years ago - paid tribute to Jochen Hippel's music. Already with that release they established a decidedly electronic direction with a crisp, clean sound with more than just a few nods to 80s and 90s pop music. After also paying tributes to such legendary musicians as Jeroen Tel, Rob Hubbard, Chris Hülsbeck and Tim & Lee Wright with subsequent album releases they decided it was time to dedicate their latest one to another well-known and much respected musician, who also happens to be German: Thomas Detert.
Right out of the gate the first track, Dr. Future's interpretation of Another World (subtune 1)
establishes a grandiose electronic soundscape which serves as a perfect intro to this album. It is followed by a remix from CZ Tunes which is dominated by shiny, sparkly pads and a rhythm section that evokes the 1980s perfectly. Although I have to say, Action Mary
was a bit of an odd choice to remix, since it was originally composed by Link on Future Composer, which Detert then transplanted to RoMuzak. So, technically, it's not an original Detert composition, but let's not split hairs on this. This remix is still a delight to listen to.
The next track, a remix of Quadrant
is heavy on sound design, presented in a unique style by Xenox. Frankly, it's like listening to a demo tune from the 1990s - and I absolutely mean that as a compliment. The fourth remix of the album, Gordian Tomb
is less to my liking, though. I like the vocals in it, I like the choir, I like the varied instrumentation of this track. That's all good, but it somehow doesn't quite gel together. Mitch van Hayden has been pumping out excellent remixes throughout the decades, but this one misses the mark by me a bit.
It is followed by another CZ Tunes remix, B-Bobs
: yet again, an upbeat, sparkling tune. If you listen to it more closely, even the original sounds like a theme music to a children's TV program, and thankfully, the playfulness of the original SID is very much present in this interpretation, too. Track number 6 is Dr. Future's second contribution to the album in the form of a remix of Game On 1990/02
. Dr. Future brings the maximum out of this tune, making it sound so much bigger than the original. My only gripe is that this track seems to end a bit abruptly - a longer outro would've been welcome here.
And then we arrive to the seventh track of the album, a remix of Another World (subtune 6)
by Synthatiger. He gets my attention right away by opening it with a church organ that is underscored by what I can best describe as that instantly recognizable Elka Synthex preset that is informally known as the Jarre laser harp sound
. What a combination of lovely sounds! All this seamlessly morphs into a synth-heavy piece - the more I listen to it, the more I like it. The album closes by a second piece from Xenox, a remix of Magic Disk 1993/09
, a self-described glitch hop style tune which provides a bouncy upbeat closure to this album.
There you have it: eight tracks, and just under half an hour of new content. This album sounds clean, fresh, electronic. If any of that sounds good to you, this album is definitely for you. All this for how much, you ask? Zero euros. Zero dollars. Zero whatever currency you have in your country. That's right - like all the other albums published by the German Remix Group, this one is also free. My hats off to them for doing such a great job simply out of their love of Detert's music! All the hours, all the effort they poured into each and every track of this album - and they just let us listen to it for free. Respect!
So, what are you waiting for? Go to their website and download your copy today. And then come back to Remix64 where you can leave your own comments on each of the tracks in which you are absolutely free to agree or disagree with my opinions. Because it's a free world where you can even get a great remix album like this for free. And for that I am very grateful to the German Remix Group!
Review by LaLa, June 9, 2023
Screenshot of B-Bobs courtesy Lemon64.com
Cover image of Magic Disk 1993/09 courtesy MagicDisk64.com
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