I received a copy of the System 7 _Alpha Wave_ CD5 in the mail last
week from Compact Disc Europe and I thought I'd do a quick review
of it, since I haven't seen any mention of it up to now.
::System 7 - _Alpha Wave_ CD5 (Big Life, BFLD 25)
1. Alpha Wave - Plastikman Acid House Mix 19:35
2. Alpha Wave - Alpha Mix 6:02
3. Alpha Wave - That Sound Mix 6:51
1 remix and additional production by Richie Hawtin
2 & 3 mixed by Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy
Hawtin starts his rather long mix with a stripped down, floor-oriented
909 groove that shifts the filter-heavy bass sequence from the original
version (the "Gliss Mix," on _Point 3: Fire_) by a half-beat, slowly piling
on the percussion over the next six minutes or so. The trademark
Plastikman 303 makes its appearance at just after 6:30 with an
irregular rhythmic portamento part (I still can't figure this out -- maybe
it's in 5/8? or something else?) that goes in and out of phase
with everything else. At about the 11-minute mark Hawtin cools
things down a bit, closing down a custom filter of his (according
to a Hillage comment at the System 7 home page) while boosting
resonance to achieve a whining interlude before launching back
into the track. It's a great floor-pounding mix, even if it does go on
and on and on ( I like stuff like that...).
The Hillage/Giraudy remixes are supposedly versions from a live
sound check in the UK sometime last year (again according to
their home page). Both tracks sound a lot like the "Gliss Mix,"
but more sparse and with the song structure re-arranged somewhat.
The "Alpha Mix" has some different strummed guitar parts, and
several sections of drums-only live mixing, while the "That Sound
Mix" is perhaps slightly more mellow and features a delay-
processed sample of some guy saying "that sound" (surprise...)
in the first minutes of the track. These are good mixes, but I
still like the album version better....
All in all perhaps not quite as fantastic as their _Sinbad/Quest_
single (one of my faves), but very good all the same.
Neil Hetrick
nh6957@wcuvax1.wcu.edu