Track Listing

1. Music for 18 Musicians [Remix] - Coldcut
2. Eight Lines [Remix] - Howie B
3. Four Sections [Remix] - Andrea Parker
4. Megamix [Remix] - Tranquility Bass
5. Drumming [Maximum Drum Formula] - Kurtis Mantronik
6. Proverb [Remix] - Nobukazu Takemura
7. Piano Phase [Phased & Konfused Mix] - D*Note
8. City Life [Open Circuit] - DJ Spooky
9. Come Out [Remix] - Ken Ishii

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #125819 in Music
• Released on: 1999-03-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
The beauty of Steve Reich's minimalist compositions can be found not in their repetition but in their evolution. Listening to the Kronos Quartet perform Different Trains, the listener quickly gets over the camp value of the conductor samples to discover an unfolding theme that harks back not only to bustling industrialism but also to the horror of the Nazi concentration-camp trains. Reich is a master of such subtle changes in sonics, and his impeccable timing turns simple phrases into musical tapestries. On Reich Remixed, some of dance music's more innovative artists pay homage to the composer in the way they know best: by sampling his works and remixing them into their own. Coldcut's take on Music for 18 Musicians adds a fast-paced techno flair to the classic composition, Howie B's Eight Lines respectfully keeps the integrity of the original piece, and Tranquility Bass peppers "Megamix" with voices and (eventually) beats. There are some misses here, and, most unfortunate, DJ Spooky's schizophrenic treatment of City Life lobotomizes a previously fine composition. No, you still can't dance to Reich, but you can see how others use him for source material. But after hearing these condensed and diced versions, you might find it's worth delving back into Reich's originals to hear what the fuss is all about. --Jason Verlinde

Entertainment Weekly
This anthology, on which techno DJs overhaul Reich's recordings, makes clear their debt yet is a remixed blessing.

Customer Reviews

Good techno, mediocre as a "tribute"
A few of the remixers do a decent job of understanding Reich's music and translating it to a technobeat, but none of them really "get it" I think. Nobody works with rhythms that gradually go in and out of phase with each other, nobody works with songs that very gradually evolve and change...

If you like both Reich and techno, you'll probably enjoy trying to identify the sources of the sounds, and there are sometimes some surprising and pleasing results from juxtaposition of Reich recordings. If you like techno, it's a good techno cd, but you won't really learn anything about Reich. If you're expecting something where the remixers are reaching artistically, trying to elaborate upon and learn from Reich's compositions, I think you'll be disappointed.

boring,as expected
Choosing electronic/(post-)techno artists less dancefloor-oriented but more original(e.g Monolake,Ryoji Ikeda,Oval....)would surely have given better results. Although Reich's music is inherently rhythm-based, its dynamic textures are too complex and subtle for a simple drumloop to add anything new and interesting (the definition of a remix!).Stay with the originals......

Children of Reich Create Loving Homage
The entrancing hobby of looping gave birth to essencially all forms of techno in existence today, and all followers should be thankful Steve Reich's cassette tapes messed up one day to create a looping effect. He soon became obsessed with overlapping sounds and varying tempos, a basic foundation for modern day electronic music. Such is the reason why a wide variety of artists came together to create a tribute album to this obscure classical composer, and the end result is a diamond in the rough.

If "Reich Remixed" has any style permeating through the whole album, it is the esoteric sounds of trance. Each track brings in a sentimental mourning, but also sings out hosannas of joy, hailing the appreciation of the father of techno. Tranquility Bass's "Megamix", succeeding fully in painting a mural of Reich's repertoire, Coldcut's loving recreation of "Music for 18 Musicians", and Howie B's "Eight Lines" tribute will draw you in with their joyful melodies. Yet darkness lies ahead as well. Andrea Parker brings in a creepy Trip-Hop version of "The Four Sections", perfect for committing a bank robbery if you get off on that. The bonus track from freQ Nasty & B.L.I.M. has the rough sound of Drum n' Bass without corrupting the original message, although it sounds a bit out of place on this album. The masterpiece is Nobukazu Takemura's "Proverb", which stacks the voices in one loop, which will make one double check the CD for scratches. It not only holds true to what Reich was attempting, but re-interprets.

To those who were already die-hard Reich fans, a word of caution. This CD will sound repititive, perhaps even like cheap rip-offs of the original tracks, as they cannot possibly recreate the massive pieces Reich composed in six or seven minutes of CD time. As well, there are slip-ups. "City Life" is butchered to pieces and essentially impossible to enjoy, and "Come Out" only highlights the limitations of techno's possibilities to create as compared to pen, paper, and a symphony orchestra.

The album explores techno's creative possibilities to new levels, and is an aural treat. Consider it Reich's first DJing experience, changing the world of music in the same way his originals shook the ear drums.

Highs: Techno symphony, with the same variety as an orchestra, skillfully mixed, loving and appropriate recreations of Reich's original masterpieces.
Lows: Reich's originals are better, sometimes butchered here, same repitive downfall of techno at times.
The Score: A-, Reich not Lost in Techno Translation.