The first notes on Leslie Feists remix and collaboration record Open Season are of soft, elegant piano, a cover of "One Evening by cohort (and Let It Die producer) Gonzales; the next, is a spare, stripped down "un-mix of "Inside + Out by another collaborator, Broken Social Scenes Apostle of Hustle, Andrew Whiteman. Only when Mockys mix of "Mushaboom kicks in does this begin to resemble a typical remix record; then again, the source material, Feists stunning Let It Die is hardly typical itself. More assembled than commissioned, Open Season shines new light on that artful torch song effort by taking it through walks in the woods, on amusement park rides and to the club. Some work better than others, but almost every track provides a new perspective on songs you might only know from one angle.
What was your involvement in the process? It was a matter of reaching out, scooping all the remixes into one spot, deciding how to sequence it and it was finished. It all happened so fast that I thought, "Wow, can you get away with calling this a new record? I dont go to clubs; wherever these things see the light of day, I dont really go there. I was busy touring and taking care of the songs in a live way while the record went out on its own.
Someone threw the "Lonely Lonely (Frisbeed Mix) on stage in London? It was in a plastic slipcover and literally almost got crushed under my heel as I walked off stage. I stuck it in my pocket, put it on in my hotel room, and was floored. I know that melody inside and out and I know the time signature, and yet he found a new way to deliver that melody and to alter that time signature.
Did you second-guess putting four "Mushaboom remixes on the record? Well, Mockys takes it walking through the snow, slow jam style; the Postal Service one takes it on the Santa Monica freeway, top down, full of speed and excitement on your way to a gig; the k-os one is totally a basement jam in some crazy bar where the beer costs two dollars and the party is all sweaty; the VV one is something totally different. There are almost no vocals on that one its all my breaths and little moments of impacts on notes as percussion thats like the veins inside the song. I cant deny that thats the song I sang the most the last two years. In a way, it was a centre-point of the last record for me, so to have it be this thread that runs through Open Season is only accurate. It got around and came back in different outfits. The songs played dress-up and this is show and tell.
(Arts & Crafts)What was your involvement in the process? It was a matter of reaching out, scooping all the remixes into one spot, deciding how to sequence it and it was finished. It all happened so fast that I thought, "Wow, can you get away with calling this a new record? I dont go to clubs; wherever these things see the light of day, I dont really go there. I was busy touring and taking care of the songs in a live way while the record went out on its own.
Someone threw the "Lonely Lonely (Frisbeed Mix) on stage in London? It was in a plastic slipcover and literally almost got crushed under my heel as I walked off stage. I stuck it in my pocket, put it on in my hotel room, and was floored. I know that melody inside and out and I know the time signature, and yet he found a new way to deliver that melody and to alter that time signature.
Did you second-guess putting four "Mushaboom remixes on the record? Well, Mockys takes it walking through the snow, slow jam style; the Postal Service one takes it on the Santa Monica freeway, top down, full of speed and excitement on your way to a gig; the k-os one is totally a basement jam in some crazy bar where the beer costs two dollars and the party is all sweaty; the VV one is something totally different. There are almost no vocals on that one its all my breaths and little moments of impacts on notes as percussion thats like the veins inside the song. I cant deny that thats the song I sang the most the last two years. In a way, it was a centre-point of the last record for me, so to have it be this thread that runs through Open Season is only accurate. It got around and came back in different outfits. The songs played dress-up and this is show and tell.
