Review: Benjamin's Plague – 'Elated'

BENJAMIN'S PLAGUE
'Elated'
BLIND MICE PRODUCTIONS

Dutch electro artist Benjamin's Plague, AKA Benjamin Schoone, returns in style with a new single in the form of 'Elated'. Featuring a collaboration with Shiv-r on the title track, as well as a formidable b-side in the form of 'Devour', 'Elated' looks set to make a big impression.

Known for his great use of melancholic melody and club-friendly construction, the single delivers on all fronts as the title track sees the vocalists trading blows as haunting piano frames harsh beats and bass in a slow and methodical assault on the ears. 'Devour' then picks up from the lead track quite nicely as it ramps up the club appeal with it's steady dance tempo, memorable leads and harsh ebm edge.

The single is completed by three remixes courtesy of Massive Ego, Simon Carter and Schoone's own project Noire Antidote. Massive Ego reconstruct the title track into a thumping club anthem with euphoric leads and a harder dance structure. Simon Carter takes on 'Devour' and infuses it with a mix of old school ebm and house. While Noire Antidote treat the title track to another makeover with a mix rooted in much darker territory to round of the track list with something a bit more understated.

The production on the single is great. It checks all the boxes for what a good club track should be. Even where the final remix goes into more experimental territory it maintains it's composure and stays grounded in dance territory.

'Elated' is a great single that should see all five tracks find favour with club-going audiences. It is a solid blend of intelligent melodies and strong dance beats that is perfect for the Summer. Hopefully more of the same will only be around the corner.  

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Review: Shiv-r – 'Eye Of The Needle'

SHIV-R
'Eye Of The Needle'
BLIND MICE PRODUCTIONS

Following on from last year's album 'Wax Wings Will Burn', Shiv-r released a surprisingly strong remix EP as a follow-up. Now remix albums can be a mixed bag as we all know, but 'On Blackened Wings' was a nice and diverse offering that put a different slant on what were already hefty songs. Fast-forward and the band are back with another remix release, this time in the form of 'Eye Of The Needle'.

The EP is a result of a remix contest and despite featuring only one song as the source material, the artists involved have thrown out a wide variety of sounds, in some cases creating majorly radical overhauls.

The snuff remix takes us into a brief and beautifully haunting acoustic introduction that immediately sets out the manifesto for the album. The likes of Basszilla’s with their anthemic electro-house mix, Nigen with their trap flavoured offering, Restriction 9’ with their ebm-leaning take, and the hard psy-trance of Valkrye X provide a nice core of club-friendly offerings. While the likes of Cold Therapy, Snuff and Cursed Earth Corporation veer into more left-field territory.

The additional remixes of 'Pharmaceutical Grade', and 'Lingerie' keep that left-field feel running with their imaginative reworking of the songs that sound both esoteric and accessible.

The production is solid and the more club-friendly tracks could easily stand-up to the band's previous output, while the more interesting versions lend themselves well to more intimate listening effectively.

Despite the majority of the EP featuring remixes of the same track, it is a great and varied showing of talents. The remixers create a rich palette of sounds and draw on styles both old and new to hold your attention with ease from one track to another. It may be a remix EP, but it is definitely home to a few gems and worth checking out in its own right.

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