Search - FPU :: Crockett's Theme / Ocean Drive

Elegant late night FPU remix, quality ep package

Richard Diaz | 05/24/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Back in the day, day being just a decade ago, you couldn?t escape Jan Hammer?s immensely powerful synthesizer theme from Miami Vice. Admittedly there?s a bias here, having lived in the fabled hot spot at the time when pastel shirt power was everywhere, and everyone ? even my old granny ? watched the show. But that track is perhaps too obvious to bring back, hence the search for Crockett?s Theme, a downtime companion piece pairing synth and guitar. With retro-electro all the rave right now, why not bring this ditty back? Certainly it?s fitting that Turbo Recordings take a crack at it, mining gold from their recent remake of Corey Hart?s 80?s cheese slice ?Sunglasses at Night.? FPU, quirky alter ego of Stockholm-based producer Peter Benisch, gives the proper polishing you?d expect, crafting a simple, soothing techno track sans six-string, flipping the classic into an elegant late night breather. Mateo Murphy?s sleek and energetic mix certainly is one to play out, though it?s perhaps too slick, losing some of the retro-charm. Thankfully Zyntherius (Jori Hulkkonen) rectifies that on his bouncy remake.Bonus tracks include Tiga?s take on Ocean?s Drive, adding his lo-fi vocals over a bubbly, breezy minimal backing, example 1A that a sense of spacing and proper tweaking of a few gear pieces can go just as far as studio trickery. FPU?s unreleased ?Eastside Protection,? a clean, synth-laded vocoder-closer, rounds out the package. Any complaints? Well, couldn?t one of these talented gents whipped up a cheese-tastic, tasty ode just for the grin of it?"