53 cells

Middlebrow? Meh. Granted, Music for 18 Musicians & In C are relatively accessible pieces - but they also remain thrilling, ground-breaking masterpieces, with the scale, richness & beauty to invite & reward new interpretation.

These ears enjoyed the celebrated Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble's M18M well enough. But it's a pretty respectful version that neither surpasses the definitive ECM recording nor steps up to Coldcut's brilliant (yes, really) 21st century reinvention. Judge for yourself...



Whereas NME's new-ish In C Remixed & forthcoming live In C (Ghostly) with Dennis DeSantis are clearly deeper, more challenging undertakings. What's come this way so far suggests they are genuine heirs to the classic Reich Remixed (& not just because DJ Spooky is on both...).

These remixes are less rooted in club textures & tropes, for sure, & feature an infinitely less cool line-up (as though that mattered...). But peaks like the bass clarinetist Michael Lowenstern's unexpectedly taut, somewhat 2-steppy Bints Mix display the same ability to reframe a landmark in systems/minimal music in a contemporary texture - &, obviously enough, to add something to how we understand each & the connections between them as a result.

Ditto that beguiling wood block in Jack Dangers' Reichian toned Semi-Detached, albeit that the piece loses its way in a bit of bland swamp half-way through. Zoe Keating's Zinc is more obviously 'classical', though its strings cascade & saw quite prettily.

The live version too has a notable boldness & poise - pulling off an adroit interplay of chunky throb & filigree (especially in the second stream below).

Oh, & Terry (who it's hard to imagine ever not "smiling, beaming and sometimes amazed", admittedly): rates them: "...some ‘alternate universe’ In Cs that got me smiling, beaming and sometimes amazed. A new revelational viewpoint on a piece that has been turned every way but loose over the past 45 years."

Nifty Tokafi interview/review (though see second LMYE piece below for a different Reich take on RR...).

Previous coverage (Reich) & here (Coldcut/Reich).

Bints Mix (Michael Lowenstern remix) • GVSU NME

Semi-Detached (Jack Dangers remix) • GVSU NME

Zinc (Zoe Keating remix) • GVSU NME



In C - GVSU NME Live at LPR pt.1

In C - GVSU NME Live at LPR pt.2



Important: LMYE only makes music available that artists/labels have chosen to share freely. Let us know if something here shouldn't be.

Music for One Computer

I'd argue that Coldcut's awesome remix of Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians is as close as anyone's come to the fusion of Tony Allen & Reich that Eno once said inspired him to make music (apologies if I've cited that comment before...). It's a few years' old now, of course (remix released back in 1999, original from 1976), but still sounds fantastically, inspirationally modern to these ears.

That light, dry drum sound, the bass squelch & boom it offsets, the shimmering grace & build of Coldcut's pacing of the piece, the way its assuredness persuades you that glitchy electronica is Reich's rightful heir: eight years on, it seems more of a masterpiece than ever.

I considered also posting the original in its full 1-hour glory. But it's 80MB, so instead here's 12 great minutes from the world premiere of M18M (think Reich was giving this away during his recent 70th birthday celebrations).

Anyway, the Coldcut comes from an often excellent double CD of Reich remixes (originally one but expanded last year with four more mixes, including a 'Ruoho Ruotsi's Pulse Section Dub Remix' of M18M that I've not heard; buy here or here) by a bunch of interesting late 90s DJ/electronica types (Andrea Parker, DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, Howie B, Takemura, etc).

Here's Reich enthusing about the project (& showing real magnanimity over The Orb's thieving an uncleared Electric Counterpoint sample in Little Fluffy Clouds). Love his comment on his non-classical appreciators: "I think it's wonderful, and it's a kind of poetic justice", as well as the observation about 10/8 time...

& here he is on Coldcut's contribution, which is clearly one of the all-time peaks of their 20 years as sample meisters & taste creators (up there with Say Kids What Time Is It?, Beats & Pieces, the Journeys By DJ megamix & the Paid in Full remix):

bn: What did you think of Coldcut's take on "Music for 18 Musicians"?

SR: I was completely knocked out by it. Their own title -- and it's too bad we didn't use it -- was "Music for One Computer." It's very straightforward: "Here's 'Music for 18 Musicians' done our way."

Here's hoping 2008 brings more music as memorable as this...

Happy New Year from LMYE!

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