Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » GoGo Penguin: GGP/RMX

5

GoGo Penguin: GGP/RMX

By

Sign in to view read count
GoGo Penguin: GGP/RMX
It was really just a matter of time. With the spirit of techno and trance being such an essential part of GoGo Penguin's musical makeup, the seeds of a remix project have been there all along; they often compose their songs with beat programs before deciding how to arrange them for an acoustic trio, and adding little sonic tweaks to their instruments is just as much a part of the process afterwards. It's perfectly apt that a range of clever musical colleagues would take these pieces straight into full electronic territory to stretch their possibilities even further.

Since the self-titled GoGo Penguin (Blue Note, 2020) made a defining summation of what the band is about, the occasion was just right to make a startling step sideways by overhauling the entire thing. These pieces aren't remixes so much as reinventions. Each collaborator takes the basic core of their track and finds a fresh angle as if building it over from scratch. A mini-suite of two "F Maj Pixie" variations shows this malleability the most, first as a strangely beautiful drift through cyberspace haze, then a jittery Squarepusher take which coasts on funky slap-bass before piling on some buzzsaw beats.

While GGP/RMX dips into similar ear-blistering squeals in a couple more spots, these are generally outweighed by treatments more alluring and exotic. The cinematic sweeping of "To the Nth" gets both a classy string intro and loud glitch breakdown this time around. "Embers" evokes some alien beach at sunset with a light-crackling wash of synth and static, while spots like "Atomised" and "Signal in the Noise" come out danceable and trippy enough for a hopping rave floor. The whole hour is a wild kaleidoscopic journey for a trio that richly deserves it. GoGo Penguin's already-captivating sonic universe just got a whole lot wider.

Track Listing

Kora (Cornelius Remix); Atomised (Machinedrum Remix); Embers (Yosi Horikawa Remix); F Maj Pixie (Rone Remix); F Maj Pixie (Squarepusher Remix); Open (Nathan Fake Remix); Signal in the Noise (808 State Remix); Totem (James Holden Remix); To the Nth (Shunya Remix); Petit_A (Clark Remix); Don’t Go (Portico Quartet Remix).

Personnel

GoGo Penguin
band / ensemble / orchestra

Album information

Title: GGP/RMX | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Blue Note Records

Comments

Tags

Concerts

May 5 Sun
May 7 Tue
GOGO PENGUIN
Le Bikini
Ramonville St Agne, France
May 10 Fri
May 12 Sun
GoGo Penguin
Wylam Brewery Tap
Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
May 13 Mon

For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Fiesta at Caroga
Afro-Caribbean Jazz Collective
Fellowship
David Gibson
Immense Blue
Olie Brice / Rachel Musson / Mark Sanders

Popular

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.