Tom Scholefield a.k.a Konx-om-Pax follows up on last year’s successful Caramel album with two new songs and a couple of remixes to refresh the warm rave memories and get the blood pumping.
“Cascada” opens with warped, backward vocal samples before dropping the flag on a thumping, dancefloor ready beat. All of which is interlaced with a light and airy modulating riff that becomes more distorted and squelchy as the song progresses. It’s a light and bouncy track that acts as an invitation to let go in the sunshine. “Species with Amnesia” begins like the first murmurs of dawn with twinkling sounds and the airy chatter of loops before a wall of syncopated synths and an Italo disco bassline propels the track along with a real sense of urgency. Pax intersperses the track with wondrous shimmering sounds which add an almost organic layer to the track. On the one hand, it is a very machine driven piece while, on the other, it sounds like he is aping the sounds of nature as if trying to strike a balance between the natural world and machines.
The other two songs on the EP are remixes of songs from the Caramel album. The take on the title track by English, IDM pioneer, µ-Ziq, puts a more ’80s influenced spin on the piece with its use of widescreen, cinematic synths. However, he takes it somewhere more mysterious as the loose synths contract to masterfully create tension. Finally, Huerco S’s take on “Beatrice’s Visit” concludes the EP with an extended dose of yawning, wide-screen ambiance. As if the listener needs something more soothing. A blissful balm after the intensity of what has preceded it.
Refresher is the perfect EP for those looking to keep the fires of summer burning before the nights draw in.