[Ostgut Ton]

It may seem like a long time to allow six months to pass since the release of your album before issuing a remix package, but given the strength of the three remixes here I would imagine OstGut Ton and Ben Klock knew exactly what they were doing. For “Remixes” he enlists the expertise of an older generation of producers to interpret his tracks (admittedly the identity of Sandwell District, who appears here as an artist rather than the label, is presently still debatable) and that wealth of knowledge shines through.

Robert Hood keeps to his signature style for his take on “Goodly Sin,” rewiring the vocals into incoherent swatches of sound, laying on punchy, tribal percussion and his usual inimitable expert chord arrangements. The whooshing of what sounds like a dentist’s drill may be off-putting for some but otherwise it’s top quality fare from the minimal master. Sandwell District turn out a typically cool and knowing example of frosty techno that actually manages to put a slight thaw on the original of Klock’s “Subzero,” which first appeared on his “Before One” teaser EP. Where Klock’s original mix sounded like it was rough-hewn from blocks of ice, Sandwell District add some polish, gleaning a subtle, restrained radiance from the checked melodies.

Kenny Larkin straps on a winding portamento bass line to “OK!” and fires up some suspense-filled Detroit strings, playing with the barest fragments of Elif Bicer’s vocals in what turn out one of the remixes of his career. The end-of-bar snares sound off like the exclamation point in the title of the track, while alien sounding squeals give the track an extra-terrestrial feeling. Larkin gradually admits a virtuoso piano solo to add a distinctive house vibe and complete the incredible sense of groove created by the other elements. If Ben Klock decides to grace us with further re-rubs from his recent work potential remixers would be well warned the bar has been set exceedingly high.