Pev & Asusu / Pev & Kowton – Surge (MMM Remix) / Vapours (Pangaea Remix)
Times are surely changing in the Livity camp what with the dazzling colours of the artwork on this new release, not to mention the induction of remixes into the label repertoire after a strict policy of only releasing the music of Pev, Asusu and Kowton (Ytivil Dnuos sublabel notwithstanding). Where the strictest curatorial control had been exercised, this invitation to MMM and Pangaea could be seen as throwing open any number of possibilities for the path the label could get nudged down. Of course the trio behind the label have always stipulated there’s no grand scheme at work, and that they release what feels right at the time, but there’s no escaping the cohesive aesthetic which has given Livity Sound such weight in a crowded space.
Pev/Asusu/Kowton
Surge (MMM Remix) / Vapours (Pangaea Remix)
Livity Sound
12"
Well, it doesn’t take long listening to either remix on this latest missive to realise that the fundamentals of the label are intact, with two versions that clearly doff their cap in respect to the auteurs behind the source material. First up Berlin’s mischevious double act Errorsmith and Fiedel bring their MMM stamp out to play all over “Surge”, which was already one of the most sonically abrasive tracks to emerge on Livity thus far. MMM have always had a taste for the more distorted things in life and so it makes for a smart meeting of minds, with the pair capitalising on the searing drones of the original and making an ever-rising club burner par excellence out of the sonic mayhem.
Where this approach deviates from the Livity style is in the plain and simple kick n’ snare rhythm, ensuring the ranging elements always find their way back to a danceable end. It’s a digestibility that has not always been the prime concern of the label, but in this context it doesn’t serve to distract from the grinding textural malice that embodied the original. In many ways it will serve as a more subversive act in that the beat will guarantee a shed load more genuinely scary dancefloor moments that the original would have evaded.
Pangaea meanwhile comes from a lineage not too distant from the Livity crew. After all, Pev & Kowton were on Hessle Audio last year with their devastating “Raw Code” release, while Pangaea has a similar story in leftfield dubstep roots mutating towards bass-laden techno abstractions. Here though, Kevin McAuley is clearly feeling indulgent, channeling the icy tendrils of “Vapours” into the most taut, muscular techno track he’s ever produced. His self-released Hadal 12” hinted towards this ever-growing love of the form, but never has it been so explicit or so direct. On the lead in it could go any number of ways, and one almost expects a more typical kind of Pangaea off-beat drop to come bounding in, but instead the thrust of 4/4 fist-shaking takes hold with an iron grip.
Compared to the surprising and unique nature of so much of McAuley’s output, a harsh critique could label this remix unremarkable, in that it operates with tried and tested moves of many deadly techno cuts, but it hardly matters. The source material is re-applied in tangible strokes, with the icy pads sounding particularly effective as they chime out over the insistent percussion, while the conga hooks add a smart syncopation to the rigid core beat. Whether it’s innovative or not is besides the point; the track kicks with a perfect balance of brute force and balletic dexterity.
In that sense it too carries on the ethos of Livity Sound with aplomb, undoubtedly fashioned as soundsystem music in the truest body-quaking sense of the word. It will be interesting to see who else may be snapped up to continue this new line of investigation for the label, and just what impact it will have on the sonic identity of one of the most identifiable labels in operation at this point in time.
Oli Warwick
Tracklisting:
A. Pev & Asusu – Surge (MMM Remix)
B. Pev & Kowton – Vapours (Pangaea Remix)