jacket shows some wear from the stacks but VINYL IS MINT & UNPLAYED - "The first installment compiling Plaid's remixes harbours many gems from the prolific work of Ed and Andy. They have produced a deluge of material over the last decade, their unique melodic take on electronic music placing them high up in the IDM echelons, taking in remixes of such luminaries as Grandmaster Flash, Nicolette, Bjork and Photek to name but a few. The Bjork remix opens the fray, 'All is Full of Love' is a seminal Bjork track and is given an epic reworking here, heavy on the sparkling melodies and harmonics, adding a touch of fairytale stardust to the lady's distinctive crooning as well as giving Plaid an orchestral touch to their sound, a beaut. From there straight into Tao's remake of Ryuchi Sakamoto's seminal 'Riot in Lagos' track, Plaid give it their funky workover with melodies reminiscent of Autechre joining in with breakbeats and the Eastern synth line that is the backbone of the original. Plaid can craft a remix with what sounds like ease, but is probably the product of extremely hard work, even on the more obscure early remixes like the blissed out jazz of Gregory Fleckner Quintets 'Juicy Jazz Girls' which was released on the short lived but incredible Clear label in the mid 90's, a lush remix worthy of high praise, and still more, crossing over to Latin sounds, the floor friendly remix of Koolaking's 'One Latin' reminds me of their classic 'Scoobs in Columbia' track off their first album 'Mbuki Mvuki', all jangly piano and latin percussion and a solid groove to boot. And, there is a lot more on the album, their remix of Photek's Studio Pressure project, another remix taken from the Clear label of Reflection's 'Spiral Bits', plus the aforementioned Grandmaster Flash and Nicolette remixes. A sure fire compilation of some of Plaid's finest moments.
