Hot off the heels of the release of his debut LP, The Arsonist, Boston synth-popper and producer André Obin is gearing up to share The Arsonist Remixes EP on November 12th via Sky Council Recordings. And with the announcement that his sophomore record is due sometime early next year, you could be forgiven for assuming that this EP only exists to keep the artist firmly in the minds of his fans. But far from simply being a quick cash grab or contrivance, this collection of reworkings and re-imaginings takes the languid chromaticism of the original tracks and runs them through a few dozen extra filters, modulators, and effects processors and still manages to keep the original’s oddly inviting synthetic heart firmly in place.
A handful of his contemporaries have lined up to tackle each song — from K-X-P’s clanging, floor-rattling version of “Anthem” to Artisan Loyalist’s 80’s-soaked “Gazelle,” and others by Steve Bug, T.H. White, and Black Asteroid; the results are as vibrant and unconventionally kinetic as you might expect. Sped up, slowed down, these songs crackle with an innate energy that seems drawn from some collective pool of creativity — as if each of these artists are simply siphoning off a small portion of something far larger and giving us a brief glimpse into some remarkably communal fountain of inspiration.
Beats Per Minute is pleased to premiere the stream of André Obin’s upcoming EP, The Arsonist Remixes.
