Search - Underworld :: Underworld Singles Box Set

Using a typically deft DJ touch, Karl Hyde and his sharp-eared cohorts flesh out a compelling collection of new textures and beats on these extrapolations from the original singles on Underworld's excellent 1999 release Beaucoup Fish. In typical remix fashion, thematic tidbits get deconstructed and rebuilt, framing familiar songs with new settings. However, Underworld's low-key tactics make these small nuggets of rhythm or intriguing melodic elements sneak up on you. Check out how the "Jedis Sugar Hit Mix" of "Jumbo" takes a naked central melody and cuts it up into snippets of synthesized bliss that gradually lend the song an entirely different texture and direction. When the song kicks into gear for real, those spare snippets are washed away with oceanic blasts of keyboard and rhythm. By stripping the original rhythms and melodies bare, most of these mixes open enticing new musical avenues, often producing song versions that match, or even surpass, their predecessors. Matthew Cooke