Search - Dogon :: Redunjusta

A Bold Effort of Making an Outstanding Remix Album

02/28/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"During the 1990's, remixing songs and even albums, and putting together the new versions and rare cuts (also known as B-sides) has been a common practice. Be a fashion statement, or a new strategy of marketing, the truth is that here have appeared lots of maxi-singles, 7inches versions, 12 inches versions, and lately compilations of remixes, also called remix-albums. However, the remix is not something new, nor a pure or original practice of this decade. A lot of phenomena has occurred in developing the remix-practice as it's known today. We should return to the late 60's, when British groups such as The Beatles and Pink Floyd discovered the use of the recording studio as a musical instrument, and the development of the use of this useful resource by artists and groups such as Can, Conny Plank and Mike Oldfield, the following decade. Of course, commercial or not, we should not forget the DJ's in the discotheque. Also, we should give credits to the new versions that many groups made for radio and/or EP's, both in `70's and 80's. Nonetheless, is in this decade when remix has became a statement. Both artists and the industry use them as an instrument to their interest (additional experimentation and new method to -as usual- make money, respectively). The fact is that tributes to bands such as Can; and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Michael Brook, were made as remixes instead of covers. And artists such as Bjork, Nine -Inch Nails, Chemical Brothers, David Bowie and Massive Attack, among others, have one or more remix-albums in their discography, sometimes including one or more B-sides. Nevertheless, aside of the marketing strategies of the record industry, there is a problem with remix-albums. Most of them tend to be an equal sibling of the remixed album, when not a version of the themes of the album that looses part (or all) of their original quality (the same problem of many live albums). One of the last bands in making a release of this kind is Dogon, duo formed by New Yorker Paul Godwin and Venezuelan Miguel Noya, which recently released a remix-album called Redunjusta. This is a double CD. One of the two discs contains the original version of their critically acclaimed 1996 debut Notdunjusta. The other contains the remixes (made by a varied sort of artists of the San Franciscan techno scene) and b-sides themselves. Notdunjusta is a less varied and daring work than their magnificent 1997 album The Sirius Expeditions, yet more enigmatic and sometimes more complex. The record contains a mixture of ambient, progressive techno and pre-Columbian elements that made it highly regarded by prestigious publications such as Alternative Press, Wired, and even Billboard. Outstanding cuts in this work are the atmospheric Lleno, the fascinating Marriages Between Two Zones ( Both the Zone 3 and the Zone 4&5 versions), the exotic Beedee, and the disturbing 23Ohm. On the other hand, Redunjusta is a bold effort of stand out of the rest, but it has not enough strength in some areas. The drum n' bass treatment that Paul Godwin's Newdog Records' artist Jhno made to 23Ohm (23Jhnom) may have made the theme less ominous , but never less awesome. However, the other Jhno-Dogon piece, Departures on a Sacred Hymn of the Sirius, does not reach those levels of magnificence. Increado, One of the first Dogon themes back in 1989, does not conjure the dynamism of Dogon's proceeding work. The remix for Beedee (Unit 33 Smokes a Beedee) and a Sci-Fi-like for Feathers (Playing at Random {Voyeurs With Wings}) are as interesting as they get. But probably the best tracks of Redunjusta are the solo cuts made by Paul Godwin (Flesh Frogs) and Miguel Noya (Desarrollo V). All in all, an excellent record."

Brilliance

12/23/1998

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If Miguel Noya (The Venezuelan part of Dogon) and Los Amigos Invisibles are opening a door to the international knowledgement of a movement of Venezuelan new artists, God bless them! Because they are proving that Venezuelan music can rule as much as other countries' music. But now, we are talking about Dogon. The "Redunjusta" edition I recently purchased is a double CD that contains their first record "Notdunjusta". I found "Notdunjusta" darker and sometimes more complex. Nevertheless, "The Sirius Expeditions" remains my favorite; I find it more dinamic, variated and daring than this one. Anyway, "Notdunjusta" is a very risky good job. The second Cd, "Redunjusta", is not limited to remixes (like many other remix albums). It also lets us know the sides of Noya and Godwin separately, and a rare song of the first Dogon cassette. Will those guys get better? Will they reach a privileged place in music history? It's uncertain. But in the meantime, let's enjoy the original combo of USA and Venezuela."