Slam’s huge 2007 track ‘Azure’ with its idiosyncratic patch and pumping rhythm seems the perfect material for some unique remixing. These efforts by Carl Craig and Kink certainly don’t disappoint bringing both ideological and musical reshaping of the track to create two very different and equally powerful tracks.
Carl Craig’s C2 remix takes on the ever-popular track in his legendary, inimitable style. Craig merges the melody and speeds it up making it a central part of the dynamic of the track. Fluidity and the hint of velocity give good movement to the track. This balanced setting is interrupted as the bass and heavy rhythmic shift emerge out of nowhere and the impact of the bass drum here is even greater than that of the original as the track builds in this extended version. The strings and effects interact differently and all aspects help to sculpt a formidable variation.
The effect of Kink’s remix is one of a rougher, darker power. The pounding beat hits from the outset and the whole sound becomes more intense. Industrial effects almost tear through the track helping to concentrate a raw energy within all aspects of the sound. Again the progression speeds up dramatically with heavy bass kicking in just after the halfway point and powering through the track as the almost robotic samples add ideological adhesion to the track. The intricacy of samples and effects balances perfectly the dark power of this great remix.
