OKTOPUS
'And then it Was'
Remixed by Oktopus at Uptown Mixers in Harlem, NY, and mastered by Jesse Cannon at Cannon Foundsoundation, Union City, NJ
There is something enthralling about OKTOPUS' numbing, trance-inducing and merciless beats. Submit yourself to the power of low end frequencies and let your senses be overwhelmed by the overlapping of a million different pungent noises; resistance is futile against such a severe sonic downpour.
SUBHEIM vs POORDREAM
'Last of the Light'
Remixed and mastered by Subheim and Poordream at the John Valasis Soundcave, Athens
SUBHEIM and POORDREAM have both mastered the art of creating cinematic and narcotic tunes that carry you on the back of throbbing rhythms and pulsating melodies, to a place where mystery and melancholy paint the sky with city sunsets and the elusive light of speeding cars on a damp highway.
NECRO DEATHMORT
'Awake until Dawn'
Remixed and mastered by Necro Deathmort at various locations in London
The asphyxiating grip of an ever-increasing drone, maddening chimes that ring endlessly in the monotonous cadence of a ritual sacrifice, echoing screams clawing their way through the noise like a ghost out of the fog... NECRO DEATHMORT are truly a scary bunch.
JR MORGUE
'Fingers in Anguish'
Remixed by Jorge Mur at home in Barcelona and mastered by Mr Ax at Ax Studios, Barcelona
JR MORGUE is a shady and sewer-spawned artist with a morbid taste for the squalid and the macabre. He's so underground you've probably never heard of him.
DRUMCORPS
'Haunts of the Underworld'
Remixed and mastered by Drumcorps at La Source, Geneva
Featuring skull-crushing breakdowns, rabid guitars, dizzying pitch shifts and glitch-distorted beats, DRUMCORPS' dynamic and adrenalin-filled approach to electronic music is definitely not for the faint hearted; nor are his remixes.
LARVAE
'The Nurse'
Remixed by Larvae at home in Austin, TX, and mastered by Jeremy Wilkins at Underwater Research and Design in Portland, OR
Latter music from LARVAE may appear to be mellower than that from its breakcore beginnings, but don't be fooled by the dreamy soundscapes or the eerie sense of calm; for the dread has never left the building and is still lying in wait like a beast beneath an ocean of tall grass.
MOTHBOY
'Answers Revealing'
Remixed by Mothboy at Vent, London, and mastered by M Gregor Filip at the Dredging House
An album featuring remixes from MANTIIS would not have been complete without having MOTHBOY in it. That is why we are so grateful to him for coming back from the grave to produce more music in that gloomy and groovy style of his that fills us with such despair, even if it is just for this one last time.
Better than putting his opinion to words, Oktopus would rather have his music speak for himself; so go ahead and press play!
What was your first impression of 'Mantiis'?
Happily surprised and impressed by the musical skill to merge so many different musical genres yet managing to retain cohesiveness and build a wonderful, solid record.
Why did you decide to remix 'Last of the Light'?
Always loved brass, therefore it had to be this one!
How did you manage to turn 'Last of the Light' into a Subheim / Poordream song?
Easy :) Time-stretched the hell out of everything and started experimenting with recordings and synthesizers on top.
Which artist would you love to have you do a remix for her?
Lou Rhodes.
Which 5 albums are you listening to lately?
Shpongle - Museum Of Consciousness
Burial's first LP
The Sight Below - It All Falls Apart
Pantera - Reinventing The Steel
Eleni Karaindrou - Discography
What was your first impression of 'Mantiis'?
We were very drawn towards the layered sound of the record and the plethora of influences from black metal to hardcore, as well as the dense atmosphere of the record and the way the songs link together in a nautral, fluid way.
Why did you decide to remix 'Awake Until Dawn'?
We really liked all of the songs on the record, but felt that we would be able to work with 'Awake Until Dawn' the best, as we both had ideas of what to do with the track when we heard it. We really liked 'Cinnamon Balls' too, but didn't know what we would do with that track.
How did you manage to turn 'Awake Until Dawn' into a Necro Deathmort song?
We just picked out the elements that we could work with, like the bass riff, synths and vocals and used these elements as a framework to make our remix. We then added some synths, guitar and vocals of our own and spent time making these layers fit together. We are probably the most happy with this remix and it was good fun to work on!
Which artist would you love to have you do a remix for her?
We would love to remix Burning Witch, Godflesh, (old) Swans, Buried at Sea, Melvins, Thrones, Yob or Botch. We would love Techno Animal or Scorn to remix our own work.
Which 5 albums are you listening to lately?
Scott Walker 'Bish Bosch'
Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury 'Drokk'
Autopsy 'The Headless Ritual'
Daughters 'ST'
John Carpenter 'The Fog Original Soundtrack'
What was your first impression of 'Mantiis'?
I heard it playing somewhere and it made me want to come out of my sewer tunnel for the first time ever.
Why did you decide to remix 'Fingers in Anguish'?
It was mainly because of the vocal line; the raw material was awesome, and the lyrics reminded me of a very squalid personal story. It clicked something inside my psyche.
How did you manage to turn 'Fingers in Anguish' into a Jr Morgue song?
Actually, I was at home when Obsidian Kingdom crashed in, stole my files and decided that they were going to use the remix without my permission.
Which artist would you love to have you do a remix for her?
Honestly, I don’t want to remix anyone. I didn’t even want to remix Obsidian Kingdom in the first place.
Which 5 albums are you listening to lately?
Queens of Stone Age - Like Clockwork
Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks
The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us Is the Killer
...and bossa nova and stuff.
What was your first impression of 'Mantiis'?
Heavy & powerful, melodic & textural.
Why did you decide to remix 'Haunts of the Underworld'?
I listened to the whole album, and immediately got an idea where this one could go - an alternate version popped into my mind instantly. It's in that moment when you realize this is the one to remix. Choosing a tune is the most important stage of the whole process - and I make some time to have a proper listen with no distractions. Get a good rest - walk over to the studio with a clear mind & good clean food, light up some candles, a little quiet ritual. And it all starts...
How did you manage to turn 'Haunts of the Underworld' into a Drumcorps song?
From there it was just a matter of assembling things according to the vision. First I go for structure, then I add the elements. Of course as you start, the vision changes, and you roll with it.
I tend to start with the drums, and this went like that. I made some cool sequenced drums that complimented the original ones, and blended / rewarped the two together for contrast.
Sometimes for remixes I end up recording new guitar or synth elements - but that wasn't necessary this time around as the original multitracks already provided plenty of great source material. I took a few of the backing tracks that I wasn't using for the main parts, added some fx, made a few cool new textures, and threw them into the fray.
From there it was a process of cutting away the unnecessary - and boosting & enhancing the key elements. EQ, pan, placement, level, some fader rides. The final pass was to run each stem track through some outboard gear to give it some analog warmth, then a final mixdown & bounce.
Mastering was done a few days later once I'd regained enough distance & perspective from the creative stages. It's best to give some time to approach the mix fresh. I've been working with a really talented friend here in Geneva who has helped me approach mastering in a great way - he's got a great ear and a brilliant perspective. He's helped me immensely...I used to be completely 100% against self-mastering a tune - and I'm more okay with it now. For this tune, the mix was sounding complete on its own, so I kept it simple and just added level while keeping the mix intact.
Which artist would you love to have you do a remix for her?
Nine Inch Nails.
Which 5 albums are you listening to lately?
Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks
How to Destroy Angels - Welcome oblivion
Autolux - Future Perfect
Nils Frahm - Screws
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - s/t
What was your first impression of 'Mantiis'?
The whole thing sounded very dense and complex and it felt like a true album rather than a collection of songs.
Why did you decide to remix 'The Nurse'?
I wasn't sure how I might approach most of the album since the songs are all so fully-realized and well-constructed, but when I heard The Nurse I knew immediately where I could take that one. I liked that it was short, instrumental, and in some respects it felt like a fragment of a song meant to connect other songs on the album. Working with The Nurse felt like finding a minor character in a great novel and then writing a whole new story around that character.
How did you manage to turn 'The Nurse' into a Larvae song?
The album has such a live feeling that I wanted to decompose The Nurse into loops to make it feel less like a band playing together. I usually work by making sample loops out of some kind of source material and then I build up from there, and that approach seemed natural for a song that was originally less than two minutes long. The piano and brushed drums lent themselves to looping and I kept all of the strange noises and background ambiance from the original song in place. I added my own bass and drums and then went into a dub mix where I tried to evolve the loops into something that felt like it was growing organically towards some kind of conclusion. Since the tone of the song was very similar to something I might write, it felt natural to use pieces of The Nurse to build something that sounded like a Larvae track. In the early days of Larvae, this is how I collaborated with people like Chris Burnett. He would send me loops and melodies and fragments of things and I would build them into songs by adding structure and rhythm.
Which artist would you love to have you do a remix for her?
I have been lucky enough to work with great material from all kinds of artists, but I most enjoy working on source material that isn't obviously electronic. Remixes can feel crass and forced a lot of the time, so finding the right partner for a mix and the right reason for doing one is important. I'd love to work on a remix for a band from Austin called Lord Buffalo. Their work is dark and dusty and it feels like an extension of very traditional American music with little or no technology driving it.
Which 5 albums are you listening to lately?
Boards of Canada - Tomorrow's Harvest
Azure Ray - As Above So Below
Lord Buffalo - Lord Buffalo
Tunng - Turbines
The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Beyond This World
What was your first impression of 'Mantiis'?
Ambitious, mischievous, a glorious dark body of work.
Why did you decide to remix 'Answers Revealing'?
Because I could hear a dark pop song in there and wanted to bring that to life, it was either that or 'Oncoming Dark' that I wanted to twist up.
How did you manage to turn 'Answers Revealing' into a Mothboy song?
Adding a basic "dark electro" feel to it and re-ordering some of the parts (such as the vocals) to give it a different structure . I added a false intro and a long ending to send it into space a bit more, dragging it further into the darkness.
Which artist would you love to have you do a remix for her?
There are many artists I would love to remix, but most of all I would like to remix Talk Talk, The Human League, John Foxx or The The.
Which 5 albums are you listening to lately?
Head Of David - LP
Wire - Pink Flag
My Bloody Valentine - MBV
Stellarium - Stellarium
Boredoms - Super Ae
