Ennio Morricone

In his heyday, Ennio Morricone had his pulse on then-modern sounds, rhythms and technology of his time much in the same way that today’s DJ-friendly producers are with ours. The only real difference is that he made music for films, whereas the producers on Remixes Volume 1 weave sounds for the nu-jazz dance floor set. The results on this disc (commemorating Morricone’s 75th birthday) are equally eclectic. The Amalgamzation of Soundz fill out their version of "La Cugina” with bossa-ambient layers. Alex Attias pushes "Foto Proibite Di Una Signora Per Bene” on a chill, samba-house groove, while Kabuki escalates "Dal Mare” up to jazzy, junglist heights. The spaghetti western-defining hooks of "Il Buono, Il Brutto, Ill Cattivo” (Italian for "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly”) are almost unrecognisable with Swell Sessions’s bouncy, carnival backbeat and Raw Deal’s moog-adelic take on "Ninna Nanna In Blu” has the mock-presence of an original. There’s no end to the flow of stylish sounds on Remixes but what remains most appealing above all is Morricone’s signature combination of sensuous textures and a melodic touch that’s sweet, sad and timeless.