Collected Animals

Sorry dude, I'm at work otherwise I'd rip it for you! Am writing a bit of a reaction if you're interested. Maybe will post and spoiler for anyone who wants to go in totally fresh.

yeah it's a much more aggressive/assertive listen than i expected. reset seems like a rich framework for remixes / versions — i think i was imagining it as a more static point of reference but the dubs aren't afraid to jump off

Reaction/write up/review (fair bit of detail so spoilered for those who want to know nothing!):

TL;DR - its fucking great.

Spoiler: show

This is quite possibly the only remix album I have immediately loved. What Adrian Sherwood nails here is keeping the playful and joyful elements of the original record intact. In fact, this interpretation is often even more buoyant and light hearted than the original Reset. Sherwood manages the hazy, lysergic power of classic dub while also injecting plenty of sprightly horns and other overdubs that give the record more of a bright, party feeling despite the slow, thick dub tempos and low end.

Gettin’ to the Point Dub:
Packed with classic spacey siren synths, a dank AF dub bassline and beat, playful party time horns and flutes. This sets the scene perfectly. Its fun, has a deep groove and touches on everything that makes a classic dub record without desecrating the source material!

Go on Dub:
Love that Sherwood empahsised the 'eh' at the start. This one is much more ethereal and uses more of Panda's original vocal. Blue sky synths float by mimicking the main vocal melody while stabs of guitar scatter into the air and bongos keep some connection with the earth below. Classic dub elements like heaps of echo and reverb on the vocal snippets.

Everyday Dub:
Centres around a few key elements like Sonic Boom's cool, detached montone vocal, lots of spacey synth blasts and a wonky little robotic (vocal or guitar? hard to tell) sample. Each element has heaps of room to breathe.

Edge of the Edge Dub:
One of the most melodically engaging tracks on Reset - Sherwood knows this and keeps more of the original vocals and melodies here than on any other track. Some awesome tremolo and reverb gives the guitar a woozy, lazy, sun kissed feeling. Panda's vocal is almost untouched and sounds great over the top of a nice juicy dub beat and bassline. When the second half starts playing with the vocal line with lots of echo and phasing the song starts to spiral into a trippy wonderland. Sparkling and open hearted. Its simple kaleidoscopic feeling is childlike and beautiful. A wonderous reinterpretation.

In My Body Dub:
Opens with the title lyrics just like the original but places them gently onto a shifting and swaying waterbed of roots reggae rhythm and subtle dub effects. This one has an almost new age, 80s city pop soothing kind of feeling with its retro-futurist synths and the smooth trumpet and piano figures littered throughout.

Whirlpool Dub:
The beat here, though emphasising the offbeat like most reggae/dub has a slightly more bouncing electronic feeling. The effects are here in droves though. Panda's vocal picked apart and sent flying in all kinds of directions. The cello is a really unique addition here, grounding things and giving a certain wistful gravitas to the swirling and chirping effects.

Danger Dub:
One of the most exciting and adventurous tracks here. The first half has a faster tempo than most other tracks. It positively bounces along with the shameless, naïve cheerfulness of a toddler on sunny Sunday morning. Sprightly dancehall style beat, exuberant horns and lots of vocal dubbing. Then halfway through the whole thing just sudden melts like an ice cream in the sun. The track pools on the pavement and then resurrects itself as a mangled, grotesque mess of warped vocals. Like the rainbow swirls of the ice cream merging into a lurid purplish mass. The track does pick itself back up (with the horns helping it along) but maintains this awkward psychedelic feeling until the end. Which is obviously fantastic.

Livin’ in the After Dub:
This one does a wonderful job of keeping things fresh with its use of melodica and cello. The feeling here is clean and pastoral. Bright and packed with the joy of a drive in the French countryside on a brilliant day. Sherwood's arrangement here somehow heightens the smile inducing brilliance of Lennox's original melody.

Everything’s Been Leading to This Dub:
Firstly, how awesome that the collection ends with a song now labelled 'Everything’s Been Leading to This Dub'... gold. Sonic Boom's deep powerful voice dominates the first part. A great contrast to the choir-boy sweetness of Panda's vocal in the 'Livin' In The After'. The jubilant horns and cello here are just straight up good-natured, open hearted fun. The Spanish style guitar mirroring Panda's 'hear it comes, hear it comes' melody are wonderful. The wild manipulation of Sonic Boom's vocals towards the end send us swirling in a final ecstatic moment of dubby bliss.

I rarely listen to remixes and even rarer still will I indulge in entire remix albums. This is a massive exception and an absolute gem. The fact that the entire album is tackled by one artist (Adrian Sherwood) lends consistency and thematic coherency to the project. Sherwood does a fantastic job on multiple accounts. He keeps plenty of what made Reset great - this will appeal to anyone who enjoyed that album. He keeps lots of the original vocals yet also has plenty of fun with them at the same time. He employs lots of classic dub techniques but also delivers something fresh and new. He uses some organic instruments as tasteful overdubs (the horns and cello in particular) but never attempts to 'rewrite' the songs.

It is 100% gold in my opinion. A rich, smile inducing playground of sound that is both familiar and novel. Dive in and bathe. Good times are here.

Man the more I listen to this the more natural it feels. Like the songs were meant to be this way. Everything's Been Leading To This Dub.

is it possible for someone to rip that patreon pbear interview? Heaps keen to watch tbh all g if not