Gonjasufi / Various

How can a remix album be more accessible than the original? Gonjasufi's A Sufi and A Killer was a demanding, yet brilliant, listening experience, with Gonja's vocals painfully careening off the Gaslamp Killer's claustrophobic, global hippie constructions. Although these remixes have carte blanche to be as progressive as they wish, there is by definition a wider variety of production approaches to soothe the anxiety the original tracks produced. One of the key differences is that these remixes aren't afraid to use synth sounds liberally, whereas the originals were essentially re-edits of analog and electric sounds. The garage rock vibe of "NedNd" is transformed into a staccato drum machine beat down, while the fairly minimal "Holidays" becomes a cavernous break beat with tympani-like bass. There's even a nod to indie rock-friendly dance vibes with the re-rub of "Love of Reign." These imaginative remixes place Gonjasufi's vocals firmly in this century, rather than in some psycho nostalgic timeframe only expensive drugs can access.