New Order - Krafty Remixes

New Order, "Krafty (The Glimmers 12" Extended Mix)" (YSI link) 320

New Order, "Krafty (Phones Reality Remix)" (YSI link) 320

New Order, "Krafty (Riton Re-Rub Remix)" (YSI link) 320

Sorry for the lack of posting, but we've been struggling with work, poor health and a lack of inspiration lately. To help us get back in the swing of things, let's hit this softball out of the park. I mean, it's New Order remixed by three of my favorite current producers, The Glimmers, Phones (Paul Epworth) and Riton. They gave their interpretations of one of the decent tracks from the Waiting For The Sirens album that came out in 2005. I mean, if this isn't the Pound for Pound equivalent of a belt-high fastball down the middle, I don't know what is. Speaking of which, what's up Phillies? Do not let this moment pass, please.

Anyway, all three of these remixes are solid, each offering a nice take on an original that has that typical New Order synthesized indie sound. Ironically, it's the one that most closely hews to the original that works the best for me, as The Glimmers have stripped the original of its more bombastic, overwhelming sound and given it a much more shimmering, disco-fied feel. I'm never great at describing changes, but it seems that the drums have been reprogrammed, they've taken out the drone-y synths and allowed the bass to come up in the mix.

The Phones and Riton version stick out the most, messing around with the vocals and pacing quite a bit. The Phones Reality Remix keeps those soaring synths, but makes them more of an embellishment, far from their role as centerpiece in the original, as a wicked bass, bleeps and propulsive drums create a raging monster. It actually might be too intense, as there's no-let-up in the seven-minute track. The Riton re-rub has a similar vibe but stays on a more relaxed pace. The jagged bassline is nasty, the percussive elements provide some nice flourishes and the less intense pace sounds more right to me. The chopped-up vocals actually give the remix more room to do its thing, as a New Order song is such a distinctive thing, it's hard to let loose with their stuff. At times though, I feel like Riton tries to do much, like the synth smears around the 4:20 (dank!) mark don't really fit in my opinion and the whole thing sometimes seems a bit too busy.