IQU
Teenage Dream
K
Essentially this is a record of remixes, mostly of “Teenage Dream,” a new song based on samples of an old Japanese children’s song “Tou ryanse.” IQU niches the samples amidst standup bass, organ, beats, and the occasional noisy guitar wash. This in turn gets reworked in various ways by the likes of Looper, Lexaunculpt, Team 714, Dub ID, Take One & Red Clay, and Concentrick. Each turn in a decidedly different take on the basic groove.
Also included on the CD version are two remixes of “Can’t You Even Remember That?” from IQU’s debut courtesy of K.O. and Sonic Boom.
The textures IQU comes up with through their organic mix of live instrumentation and electronics always enthralls me. Similarly, I’m fascinated by which elements have been chosen to be magnified and accentuated by the remixers. How the emphasis is placed results in some very interesting mutations. There are seven versions of the same song here, but the similarities act mostly as a theme, musically different enough to be listened to as a whole without seeming like the repeat function is on.
K, P.O. Box 7154, Olympia, WA 98507; http://www.kpunk.com; http://www.iquiqu.com
