Fast And Cheap Mixes

HK119 vs. Bit-Phalanx

Bit-Phalanx

2009-12-14

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• (Reviewer)

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• (Member — 0 votes)

Finnish multi-media artist Heidi Kilpelainen, aka HK119, is an electro-pop bitch with issues, apparently not from this planet. Her crazy live shows have to be seen to be believed: once dressed in slinky black catsuits and booming-out brittle, DIY electro ditties about consumerism, radiation scares and censorship, she delivered her message in style with her tongue firmly in her cheek. As Bit-Phalanx re-launches itself as a new independent electronic net label for 2009, HK119 has teamed up with its artists to remix tracks from her more glossy offering  Fast, Cheap And Out Of Control to show what they have to offer. 

Eclectic tastes here indicate exciting times ahead for Bit-Phalanx.

Given HK119 has been known for her crazy side, it’s fitting Bit-Phalanx’s artists have found a way to twist her music further. Martin Phone’s remix of “Mind” has a soothing piano introduction which coupled with HK119’s vocals seems innocuous enough, then the electronic beats and distrotion come to an aggressive, rocky end.    Mr O’s mix of “Night” has a similarly bad-ass style, a fuzzy trip through a pummelling beat, while IJO gives a robotic glitch and bass revamp to “Space Pt 1” fuelled by acid before Tulin Fee takes “Space Pt 2” and builds an ambient acid track. These are the highlights from a selection where each remixer has done their utmost to put their stamp on the track, and they prove themselves more than capable of pushing their sound forward.

There are a couple of drab moments, but they tend to be elements which don’t quite work on individual tracks rather than any tune in particular: T-toe’s addition of a Trombone-tooting to “Tropikalia” on the way to converting the track into a dub-step seems lifted straight from a deranged funfair band, then ends with a rare limp last minute. Yet, with a name like Fast and Cheap Mixes, possibly in reference to Aphex Twin’s album 26 Mixes for Cash, you might expect there to be too many of these moments — as it is, there is no suggestion this was done too fast or cheap given the quality of the tracks. “Super Bug” is a sultry minimal affair and Niggle’s “Clone”, a pounding ode to Warp Records’ Battles is toe-tappingly joyous, as is Portmandeu’s funky disco on “What Am I”. As a manifesto of sorts for the launch of Bit-Phalanx as a net label, the work with HK119’s material here suggests a lot should be expected from these emerging electronic artists when left to their own devices rather than working with pre-existing tunes. Their eclectic tastes here indicates exciting times ahead for the label, HK119 should be very pleased with the hard graft that has gone into   Fast and Cheap Mixes to retain her wacky side and taking it on an eclectic journey down electronic music’s many avenues.