dZihan & Kamien

Remixing a track for someone is a lot like also designing new clothes. It's about bringing out a fresh perspective on the person, a revitalised sense of their energy and being. In the case of Refreaked, dZihan & Kamien's remix album, the tailors are so good that not only do they put a new spin on the duo's tracks, they seem to do it in a way that's closer to expressing the intentions and attitudes that the duo arguably had in mind for their original project, Freaks & Icons. It's still about D&K's conceptual meetings of electronics, jazzy funk and Middle Eastern instrumentation, but this time around, the tracks go deeper into these fields and hit closer to their source. United Future Organization's "Vienna Vista Sexual Dub" of "Homebase" borrows the snaky lines from R.D. Burman's "Shalamar" theme and rocks it with rhythms straight out of a bazaar. Fauna Flash executes a similar streetwise Middle Eastern feel with their communion of electro-beats, swirling Arabic strings and Indian percussion. The At Jazz remix of "After" is one of the most subtle and meditative moments in house music, with its smoky flute and warm synth pads. The new grooves on "Before" and "Smile" are similarly deep, but also sunny with their snippets of Björk-like vocals. Refreaked also comes with an untitled bonus track with elements of the aforementioned pieces and it's a good sign of their work to come.