Matrixxman's recent LP for Ghostly International, Homesick, is noticeably conceptual for a techno album, partly due to its track titles – names like "Red Light District," and "Dejected" capture the exhilarating – and at times exhausting – experience of world travel. Now Matrixxman, born Charles M. Duff, is set to release Homesick Remixes, and Mike Parker's version of "Opium Den" is leading the charge.
The original "Opium Den" combines a chest-throttling kick drum, metallic shimmering, and jumpy, paranoid synths for an effect that is equal parts danceable and alienating. Parker reworks things considerably, turning the synths past paranoid to full-blown panic, like the soundtrack to a frantic getaway scene is a neo-noir crime thriller. Homesick Remixes is out January 29, and also features Vin Sol, Instance, and three different "Augmented" remixes from Gherkin Jerks.
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