Mia Doi Todd

Remix albums are a strange breed. When they work, they can provide an artist with an audience they would have never dreamed possible, but when they don’t, it’s just a bunch of repetitious fiddling. Luckily, Doi Todd is squarely in the former category as La Ninja is nothing short of captivating. While her solo releases, including the source material here, was mostly centred on her voice and sparse guitar, the bold remixing here provides an incredible accompaniment to her songs and actually makes her voice more affecting. Although Doi Todd has roped in remixers like Dntel and Dungen, it’s the smaller names that really shine here, especially Flying Lotus’ remix of "My Room is White.” Hefting a jungle-esque beat behind Doi Todd’s voice and then cutting it up so that it’s layered and echoed makes for a sublime and addictive track. While the remixers are stealing the show, Doi Todd does get in her own two cents, as original "Kokoro” is prime stuff. While some remix albums are better if you know the artist’s back catalogue, there is no such prerequisite here. This is a stand-alone piece of electro-acoustic beauty. Essential for Doi Todd fans and highly recommended for everyone else.