[International Records Recordings]

Well-known but worth repeating: DJ Koze gets to be as weird as he wants. As a solo artist, he might have made his first mark with the solemn chimes of “Brutalga Square” but it’s been a long journey from there. Like his work with International Pony, Koze flourishes when he’s been willfully playful. Witness the demented remix of Atlas’ “Battles,” the Joe Meek-worthy vocal tweaks of “Smornin” and the chipmunk choir of his remix of Matthew Dear’s “Elementary Lovers.” 2008 has been a banner year for bizarro-Koze – the shimmer-funk remake of Matias Aguayo’s “Minimal” to the messy-dystopia mashed from Sascha Funke’s “Mango.” Then there’s “Zouzou” on Total 9, which might be first worthy follow-up to Matt John’s “Soulkaramba” and a track so perverse it led hyperbole-resistant Hardwax to describe the annual compilation as “Euro dance pop and one exceptional track by DJ Koze.”

Koze usually releases one lone single a year, which is often obscured by the heft and weight of his remix work. “Let’s Love” takes the same model as last year’s excellent “All the Time” –- a solid front-side that sets up the bombshell on the flip. “Let’s Love” might squeak and croon “you come into my heart” as a friendly introduction, but the sighs of sun-burned synths and Doppler chimes make for a nice evocation of late summer nights. The track is subtle, timbres from every sound slide around and swirl out of the ether. And it doesn’t prepare you for “I Want to Sleep,” which, slowed to a throb, follows down the rabbit-hole house revival. But there’s no sunny vibes or tasteful chord stabs for “I Want to Sleep,” instead finding a groove that compresses the low-end like a trampoline –- at first bounce it’s a little uneasy but quickly becomes mesmerizing. As grasshoppers and frogs set up the humid scene, a women talks, inhales, enunciating every phrase. The tone of her voice is sensual, words race forward only to end lackadaisically, tiptoeing around the groove. Given the foreign language, it’s impossible to understand most of what she says, but the unfamiliar speech leaves you lulled by the grain and texture of her voice. And when she finally says “I want to sleep,” which might be the weirdest coup of the track, it hits like a slingshot.