Rhythm & Views

THE ART OF remixology has traveled a long way from the days of Jamaican dub plates and disco 12"ers, and while the dance deejay mix remains the medium of higher profile, the rock-remix interface continues to gain ground these days as well. (Credit due to Tortoise.) Slicker, a.k.a. ex-Bill Ding avant-popster John Hughes, has lined up a stellar grouping here to reinterpret his electronica; the bulk of this material has its origins in the '98 album Confidence In Duber, and in the hands of these eggheads, that material takes on a parallel life of its own. The two standout tracks: Mice Parade (Adam Pierce of the Dylan Group) turns in a vibraphone-centric "Confidence In Scoober" mix that's equal parts ambient dub and sleekly atmospheric free jazz, offering a flowing, organic vibe that caresses your most bruised synapses; while Super ESP (Casey Rice and Damon Locks) tackles "Been There, Done Dusky" with the crunching aplomb of rhythm farmers set aloft among an as-yet-untidied Stomp production set, the ticks, tocks, thumps, pings and whungs as mesmerizing as they are propulsive.

Worth noting, too, is the packaging, six CD-box sized cards that thematically and playfully--the one for Matmos appears to be a clump of animal fur upon a sheet of graph paper--represent each of the remixers' contributions.