Jahcoozi’s “Barefoot Wanderer” keeps striding onwards. The A-side of “Remixes Part 2” explores previously unknown features of the marvellous album opener “Barefoot Dub”, whilst the flip side turns to the gently provocative “Read The Books”. One immediately noticeable aspect of all these remixes is the way they casually play upon the stylistic unpredictability of the tracks. The three remix artists filter out the typical clues to the various genres – dancehall, dubstep, hardcore techno – in order to produce tracks which aren‘t typical, but play upon expectations, excess and suggestion.
First up, one of the shining stars of the small but highly regarded Vienna downtempo scene turns his attention to the “Barefoot Dub”. Producer Stefan Mörth, aka Stereotyp, has been releasing his dancehall, ragga and hiphop-infused works for over ten years, predominantly on Klein Records (The Bug, Sofa Surfers...) and Kruder & Dorfmeister’s G-Stone. He has contributed remixes for his label colleagues from Sonarkollektiv as well as for Faunaflash, Juryman and several others. His “Barefoot Dub” remix cranks up the dancehall elements of the original in an almost paradoxical fashion: double tempo and a whole catalogue of harsh noises turn this dancehall into a rollicking pogo pit.
Ramadaman, commonly known as David Kennedy, takes a considerably deeper and more relaxed approach. The high-flying Brit only recently turned 20 and has already booked his ticket into the premier league of dubstep. As co-manager of Hessle Audio he has released tracks not only on his own label but also on Tampa, Soul Jazz, 2nd Drop and Bare Dubs to name a few. His remix works include Delphic, Howie B, SpectraSoul and Ragga Twins, whilst his parties in the London dubstep institution FWD have seen him share a platform with Kode9, Skream, Benga, Scuba – and Ricardo Villalobos. Ramadaman also plays a skilful game with the typical ingredients of his favoured genres, although he never allows his “Barefoot Dub” remix to nestle too comfortably into the dubstep niche.
The greatest shock factor surely comes from Ikonika’s “Read The Books” remix. Sara Abdel-Hamid, who has cemented her own star on Dubstep Boulevard with her album release on Hyperdub, turns the rhythmically and sonically dub-laden original into a kick-ass electro smash by combining a hard- as-nails lo-fi beat, cheesy 8-bit melodies and ultra-soft sound textures – all the more remarkable, since Ikonika has tended to favour playful dubstep variations with her own releases on Hyperdub. As a remix artist she has already earned the highest honours with her version of the Warp hit Township Funk by DJ Mujava.
The 12” is completed by the “Read The Books” album track. Finally, on the download release, there’s an instrumental version of Ramadaman’s “Barefoot Dub” waiting to be dropped in the club.