Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A remix album that lives up to the original, 22 Nov 2003
Charles Webster might not be a household name, but he has nevertheless released an impressive amount of music under a variety of monikers over the last few years. Born in Matlock, UK, Charles started playing in electronic bands at the age of fifteen, eventually ending up doing some production work in his early twenties. As he worked in a studio in Nottingham, he also started recording his own music, and released a series of EPs under the name of Sine. After moving to the US, he got the chance to work with such luminaries as Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson, and founded his own record label, Love San Francisco, before releasing music again under his Presence persona. After a series of EPs, he published the All Systems Gone album in 1999, in which he collaborated with a variety of vocalists, including Shara Nelson, better known for being one of the singers on Massive Attack’s Blue Lines, Steve Edwards and Sara Jay.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Webster claims to write music in a radically traditional fashion, basing his songs around chords rather than relying on machines and sounds to find inspiration. This resulted in his first album released under his own name, Born On The 24th Of July, being a beautifully crafted piece of work, with proper songs influencing its general mood. Taking the soulful ambiences of All Systems Gone to a new, more laidback level, Webster worked once again with an impressive number of vocalists, including Edwards, Jay, Terra Deva, Del St Joseph and Mark Sheridan.
Over a year and a half later comes this remix album. Very rare occurrence, and definitely a fruit of Webster’s clear vision, Remixed On The 24th Of July manages to sound as brilliant and fresh as the original. A respected remixer himself, Webster handpicked people he liked to give them the chance to interpret his work. Featuring the likes of Detroit Escalator Company, Pépé Bradock, Ian O’Brien, United Future Organization, Jimpster and Matthew Herbert, this album is an interesting extension of the original recordings. Building on the lush deep house vibe of Born…, this new album proves to be a fascinating piece of work in its own right, establishing a clever link between dance floor and lounge music in its most noble definition. It is actually difficult to isolate one single track on here as each artist brings their vision and sound while respecting the mood of the original album. The Hispanic and eastern influences of Ian O’Brien’s remix of I Understand You give the song an interesting ethnic twist, with lush guitars swirling around stunning percussions, while Bennan Green and Daniel Wang emphasise the groove of the beautiful Forget The Past. Detroit Escalator Company’s Neil Ollivierra turns Put Your Hurt Aside into a monster electro-dub, perfectly suited to late night sessions. Later on, Matthew Herbert revisits Ready and deconstructs the original, isolating Terra Deva voice and layering it over a broken background of electric pianos and drums.
Interestingly, the ten tracks of the original album have been arranged in the exact reverse order of the original album. This doesn’t affect in any way the integrity of this album, and the attention to details of each of the remixers simply emphasise the excellent musical quality of Charles Webster original work. This remix album superbly complements Born On The 24th Of July.
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~ Charles Webster
~ Naked Music
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