DJ Shadow.ru & DJ Mishakov – Walking Mind [Swordtail Records]
Posted by Andre on February 12, 2009 under Releases | 
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Now into it’s 25th release, Swordtail Records lays down a hot little number in ‘Walking Mind’. Produced by DJ Shadow.ru and DJ Mishakov, this release combines smooth progressive with a danceable house groove to create a sound that is simply infectious. This Australian label is quite possibly one of the net’s best kept secrets, as evidenced by this latest effort.
On remix duties are Audiophox and Lacandon, each providing different approaches to the original, but infusing it with a tech-house (Audiophox) and a deep house (Lancandon) sound. The entire release is well rounded and everything feels right.
Read on for high quality samples and keep your ears to the speakers, this release lands in stores on March 9th 2009.
DJ Shadow.ru & DJ Mishakov – Walking Mind (Original Mix)
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The track starts off with a solid kick and high hat combo that is reminiscent of old school funk. It quickly moves past the deep house genre and settles somewhere between progressive house and progressive trance (Only because the track seems to be a tad too fast to be purely house). The melody isn’t mesmerizing, but its beefy synth is certain attention grabbing and conveys an air of class and aging. This tune is certainly grown up, and don’t be surprised if it takes more than 1 listen to finally ‘get it’. A wonderful little progressive number that would work perfectly as a bridge between styles late at night.
DJ Shadow.ru & DJ Mishakov – Walking Mind (Lacandon Remix)
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The original had a well balanced sound to it, but Lacandon felt he needed to beef up the low end in order to properly convey his message: Deep Dark Dirty Delights. It’s tough to really categorize this remix, it’s managed to toss in a multitude of genres into one (techno, tech house, deep house, electro). For ease of discussion, we’ll call this deeptechelectrohouse. Yeah, that works. There’s an aura of brewing anger in the song. Almost like a struggle between the good (percussions, melodies, hats) and the bad (deep kicks, bassline). Some might argue this is present in all songs, but Lacandon has managed to structure it in such a way that it’s very apparent. Though well structured, it’s message is a little more confusing than the original mix, and this might hurt it’s chance to be adopted as a stellar club staple.
DJ Shadow.ru & DJ Mishakov – Walking Mind (Audiophox Dubbed Mind Remix)
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Closer to the original than Lacandon’s version, Audiophox delivers a tripped out tech-houser that will definitely find its way into some of Ibiza’s superclubs (I’d imagine DC-10 perhaps…). Roomy, airy and spacey, this track is an absolute mind-f**k. The alternating panning of the percussive drums plays a number on the brain, and it’s like I’m running around in circles trying to chase a bunny.
Overall, I’ll have to stick with the original, though props to both remixers for providing versions that can easily compete. It’s amazing how much variety you can obtain while remaining in the same ‘genre/style’.
Score: 8/10
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Max Calgary - Playing Angel [Swordtail Records] | MusiCritics said,
[...] We’ve been covering Swordtail Records‘ releases for some time now (most recently Walking Mind), and this latest effort from down under provides a truly eclectic and broad appeal for [...]
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