Tosca

It takes balls, ego, or owning your own label to release over an hour's worth of single-song remixes. Make that all of the above for Tosca, a Richard Dorfmeister project (with partner Rupert Huber). Here, 12 producers offer 13 different mixes of "Honey," found as an original on Tosca's excellent Suzuki full-length. It's overkill, especially following on the heels of the mediocre Suzuki in Dub remix album, and is near impossible to swallow in one listen. It is interesting, however, to hear the variations in approach. Markus Kienzl (of the Sofa Surfers) comes with much bass in the place for a deep, down and dirty mix. Both Funky Lowlives and Faze Action turn in decent mid-tempo percussive numbers. Organic Audio strays far from the original and injects some party action with his bass-heavy, "up for it" funky electro, while Portugal's Azoia injects a sweet, breezy lightness. But it's the dub remixes that have a life of their own, with Glyn Bush (formerly of Rockers Hi-Fi) giving the slow building and excellent "Biggabush" funky dub and G-Stone's own Keiser Velten coming with their deep, dark distinctive goods. Germany's Supatone is the standout, providing one deep, modern dub mix and another on more of a roots tip. It's obvious that he took the time to live with his mixes and connect with the sensuality of the original, which is sadly not the case with too many versions here. Most bittersweet of all? The gorgeous original is not included.