Label: Kram RecordsScore: 7/10
Enigmatic Spanish producer Kramnik earned a reputation as a distinctive and non-conformist artist with the release of his debut album, Dark Matters at the end of last year. His forward thinking approach has continued since, nowhere least when he turned to his label’s international community of fans and aspiring producers to form Kram Record’s last outing, ‘DropIt’ (named after the Drop Box submissions that formed it.) After the burning success of that release, the Spanish born but now Berlin based producer now returns to some of the artists discovered on it for a brand new remix EP of “Flex” one of the most critically acclaimed track from the Dark Matters LP.
The remixes kick off with a new version from Kramnik himself. His first new production since the album, the dub remix has all the signature dark energy and toughness that we have come to associate with Kramnik, but given extra clout by thicker layers of sub-bass and hardened beats. The eerie atmosphere creeps up on you like a menacing monster emanating from a densely layered bottom end out into a sprawling landscape of underground textures and sonics.
After the original album version of “Flex” we get three new remixes from the label newcomers as discovered in the previous release Flug, Soundprism and Bart Stellingwerf.
German Bart Stellingwerf’s rework has a hard exterior, embracing the tough edged atmosphere of the original by implementing industrial FX, crunching drums and deep basslines into the mix. He does however; manage to introduce an interesting melody and subtle groove into the atmosphere, which creates the perfect counterbalance to the driving foundation of the track.
Flug’s remix is the hardest and most intense track on the EP. There is an unnerving atmosphere building throughout as firing synth work blasts through the pounding bass to create a sense of panic and urgency. Full of energy and attitude, this is peak time techno at its most devastating.
Puerto Rican producer Soundprism treads a totally different path with his ‘Defunked‘ remix. Fusing 2-step rhythms, punchy beats and an almost garage inspired bassline, the young seeds a funky aesthetic into the strange and otherworldly soundscape that makes “Flex” so unmistakably part of Kram Records back catalogue.