• Search
• Subscribe

Simply Huge. It's been a while since a set of pre-releases remixes have been quite so over-hyped but 'praise the lord!' it sounds like it was all worth it.

2020Soundsystem or at least 2020Vision and the various guises of its crew have been around, oh,  forever, and Johnny D is electronica's latest wunderkind,  so its a fine old match, and a shrewd move on the part of whomever put them together. Gradually emerging over the past 2 years from a sound-system set-up into an (almost) fully fledged live band experience Ralph Lawson's 4 piece combo is working on album two for release later this month, so a much publicised remix like this won't go amiss in garnering the attention it deserves and needs.

Having said that, 'Sliding Away' is still probably Johnny D's finest moment yet; the signature staccato grooving for which he is famously known finally gets a vocal line to do it justice and the result is a fully rounded song overflowing with profound warmth. If the words don't reach deep into your gut with raw emotion  upon listening then quite frankly you need sliding away and quite possibly locking up.

In fact, this remix is so perfectly tuned, that its no wonder the original is being saved for the album release, it's the subtlest of tempo reworkings and the jazzy touches of a breakdown that make this track so 'now' that it actually hurts.

The 'dub' will serve to cover all the corners of the dance-floors where they don't play vocals. Slightly edgier and with more leftfield wonky moments to accommodate those related fans, the core baseline is essentially the same, which will only leave those listening to sing along in their heads when the speakers don't deliver. The more cynical amongst us will wonder if the rest of the album can follow up such a strong start, the less so will just sit back and enjoy the slide (sic).

Artist: 2020Soundsystem Title: Sliding Away (Johnny D mixes) Label: 2020 Vision Recordings Tracklist: Sliding Away - Johnny D Vocal Mix Sliding Away - Johnny D Dub Mix     www.2020recordings.com www.myspace.com/johnnydjohnny Our rating 8/10