the soulsavers - closer ep
to counteract the party vibes of the soulsavers soundsystem mixtapes comes this companion piece for last years excellent 'tough guys dont dance' release. featuring 6 tracks in total, combining remixes of one lp track and new material.
for review purposes only, i suspect, the cd came with some lovely 'fuck bush' stickers, which has the soulsavers name subtly embossed over the top, and the reverse cover of the ep depicts said president with a swastika tattoo between his glowing red eyes. for such full on anger its strange to find that the music is still a continuation of the cinematic dark and moody beats and implied mellowness. however after a few spins it becomes more apparent that this is not easy listening chill out music a la zero7. there is a real sense horror in the vocal samples used for 'hiatus (interlude)', gothic chord sequences in 'closer' and the variations thereof, and the general heaviness of the sonic atmospherics. best of the new remixes of 'closer' is 'down for the count', which isn't so much a remix as a proper new reinterpretation of the original track, as the track ups the tempo into a full on jazz drum epic. fantastic.
luckily the mood lightens a little with the closing track 'revolution song', matched against the trademark grandiose instrumentation is a sampled blast of Tijuana trumpet, making the track a wonderful spaghetti western melodrama set to a low and funky hip hop beat.