earinfluxion

earinfluxion

31 October 2015

Application: “Steve Reich’s Ice Cream Van (Mark Fell Remix)” (Applied Remixes, Dust Science 2014)

Application is the duo of Martin and Richard Dust, perhaps best known for being two-thirds of The Black Dog (alongside founder Ken Downie). Application is a different animal from The Black Dog; whereas they embark on their Black Dog sessions with little to no parameters and whatever happens happens, Application has a different approach:

Having rules meant ideas are abandoned a lot quicker than with The Black Dog. But they rules aren’t constrictive, approached as an opportunity for creative freedom rather than something oppressive, it’s seen like a set of walls around a field. This system created an interesting internal conflict between artist and designer.

The setup is also entirely different starting with custom drum racks and bass sounds built specifically for Application. Everything is built from the ground up starting with the bass and drums, and everything is drive by those patterns and grooves.

For this collection of remixes, the Dust brothers invited some of their favorite talents to pick a track from the Application LP System Fork; this last remix of their clever track “Steve Reich’s Ice Cream Van” shows off Mark Fell’s knack for disorienting anti-grooves and edits. In selecting Mr. Fell they have this to say on their site:

Sometimes we don’t understand what Mark Fell is doing but we always enjoy the experience. He drags you further and further in to his world and not many artists can do that.

Between this and Fell’s recent take on Lakker’s “Oktavist,” I’m inclined to agree. His style is so distinct and almost immediately identifiable, yet there’s plenty of the source material to reinforce its origins.

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