Still Dancing - Freeform

One of the quirkier and fresher albums of 2001, Emou’s Still Pretty Good Year was a grower. At the time we described him as a Germanic psychedelic Moby, fusing a sensitive introspection with innovative and sharp music production. And on this remix package, a selection of tunes from the album get a re-spin for a nice semi-dancefloor vibe. Space Safari’s mix of The Summer Is Old takes the introverted intricacies from the original and turfs out a smooth piece of progressive lushness. Emou’s own rework of You is alright, though the Cher / Stephen Hawking vocoder is a little unnecessary (and indeed embarrassing). Bitmonx’s remix of But It’s Better could do with being nudged up a couple on the old pitch control, but it’s cute melodies and – again – wicked production make for a pretty special tune for those morning and prog sets. Voltaxx’s take on The Summer Is Old is downtempo again, and even with the cute melodies and tight rhythm sections, the vocals still make it sound a little like Depeche Mode (either a good or bad thing, depending on your preference.) The over-presence of vocals on Noyce’s remix of You is a little too much into the euro-trance territory and, closing the album, Emou’s remix of Multitronic Love is smooth, different, but instantly forgettable. All in all then, it’s alright: the remixes are a nice, but by no means essential, accompaniment to the original album. A better name might be Still Pretty Okay Remixes.