WRF Two

WRF, a series for Fridays celebrating remixes by Andrew Weatherall focusing on the lesser known or overlooked remixes, began last week with the 2011 remix of Allice Gold's Runaway Love. Today's remix jumps forwards two years by which point Andrew was so firmly back in the remix game and so on it in terms of quality that a list of remixes released in 2013 is almost an alternative best of album-

• Trentemoller: Silver Surfer, Ghost Rider Go! (Andrew Weatherall Prinz Remix and Sky 81 Mix)
• Toy: Dead And Gone (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
• Baris K: 200 (Asphodells Remix)
• Madness: Death Of A Rude Boy (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
• Emiliana Torrini: Speed Of Dark (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
• Moby and Wayne Coyne: Another Perfect Life (Andrew Weatherall Remix)
• Primal Scream: 2013 (Andrew Weatherall Remix and Dub)
• Jagwar Ma: Come Save Me (Andrew Weatherall Remix)

In the midst of this purple patch came Andrew's remix of The Emperor Machine. The remixes above, done with Timothy J. Fairplay as trusted assistant and engineer (and in The Asphodells, whose album was released in 2013 also, musical partner), there can be found sky scraping cosmic dub, thumping glam rock/ Brix- era Fall, dubbed out ska, twisted Turkish acid, widescreen joyous Balearica and hypnotic krautrock heaven and uptempo indie- dance- I'll let you decide which of these labels applies to which remix. The remix of Like A Machine stands out from all those, darker and deeper, more electronic and more acid, fat bass and synth arpeggios, relentless Belgian New Beat, more the sound of sweaty basements than the open air. For vocals just two voices repeating two words, 'electric desire'. 

Like A Machine (Andrew Weatherall Remix)

The Emperor Machine is Andy Meecham from Staffordshire whose first taste of musical fame and glory came with Bizarre Inc. Their rave singles were massive in the late 80s and early 90s, in the clubs and the charts- singles such as Bizarre Theme, Such A Feeling, Playing With Knives and I'm Gonna Get You. He was in dub disco purveyors Chicken Lips. His back catalogue as the Emperor Machine is wide and extensive. Recently he's remixed and collaborated with A Certain Ratio, including in 2021 to bring things to a neat conclusion on a track dedicated to Andrew.  

The Call Of Unknown Genre

Another release I've been playing catch up with- Unknown Genre, a collaboration between Hardway Bros and Emperor Machine for Berlin's Other Goodness record label. There are two tracks, both clocking in at over eight minutes, combining Sean Johnston and Andrew Meecham's love for propulsive, dancefloor facing, robotic, analogue synths. The first is Elevator Ride, a fast paced piece of ommpty bumpty business, hypnotic techno rhythms and sci fi synths. 

It's paired with Cthulhu Macala, which opens with 'a-ha a-ha' chanting and some big drums, a slower, grinding tempo and rhythm with all manner of wigged out sounds and a huge, distorted bassline. The vocals keep flitting back in ominously, summoned from somewhere down below. As anyone who was into role playing games and the surrounding culture for any period of time in the 1980s will know Cthulhu is a cosmic God, an anthropoid octopus being, created by H.P. Lovecraft, the old one of great power,  worshipped by cultists, who slumbers awaiting the time to return. 

Cthulhu first appeared in the 1928 short story The Call of Cthulhu, published in a pulp magazine called Weird Tales. I recall reading some Lovecraft borrowed from the local library circa 1984 and not being able to make head or tail of it. 

The EP is completed with a remix of Elevator Ride by Halifax group The Orielles. Elevator Ride (The Orielles Ambient Mix) is a bit of a revelation. They cut the running time in half and the tempo too, slowing things right down and finding inspiration in early 90s ambient techno. This remix wouldn't sound out of place on Warp's Artifical Intelligence compilation or on the Belgian R&S label, a seriously impressive remix from three youngsters not long out of their teens and better known for their ACR/ ESG style punk- funk grooves.