New York, NY (Top40 Charts) There have previously been a couple of occasions at which Los Angeles-based artist Ken Rangkuty (Keenhouse) contributed genius-like moments for Emerald & Doreen Records. Most prominently his re-working of go nogo's „Things Ain't Right" produced an athmosphere full of suspense with skewed vocal tunage, minimalistic, impressionistic piano motifs and sparse drum-programming. This interpretation is a fine example of how Keenhouse successfully marries the worlds of traditional instrumentation and electronica.
Having released his third full length record „A
Future Past" in January, Keenhouse propelled his approach to style in a series of songs that feature brass- and lush string-arrangements, live-drumming plus vocalistic traits of colloborators. This enriched formula has produced an album that more than ever introduces compositional talents of someone who can weld pop, classical romanticism and electronic playfulness together.
Having established an artist-roster which constantly exchanges talents in the guise of remix swaps,
Emerald & Doreen pays a tribute to the talented „Mr. Keenhouse" in having some label-greats remixing „A
Future Past" almost entirely.
Netherlandish disco don Auxiliary Tha Masterfader is keeping the original dreamy and balladesque quality of „Time" intact, though adding an extra-amount of synth-nostalgia. This is kitsch in the best sense, like driving with an open canopy into the sunset, reminiscing of a long-forgotten teenage love affair.
Go Satta's British Amtrack Version of "Evening Return" reveals a stellar song-interpretation of the ethno-ambient-tinged instrumental you hear from Keenhouse. Moriah Nixon's pop-lyrics add up to the band's charming indie-pop vibe which they have become associated with. The euphony is highlighted with ethereal pad sounds and lean guitar arpeggios that conserve a shimmering character.
The West Coast-ish easy living streak of „Into Silence" turned Rubberlips on to create a string-laden, funked-up nu-disco bounce. As the track is indulging in layers of synth- and violin-sweeps, the whole affair turns into a vivid jamming. It seems like there's an endless sky of vibrant red and orange.
The first track released from „A
Future Past" stirred label-associates go nogo to have a „go" on the remix-project. They eliminated almost every aspect of the celli-driven, rhythmic complex original „Argon Decibel" and hooked-up the chopped vocal-line with some broad sleazy bassmotif. There are streaks of psychedelic guitar-licks, shades of percussion-delays and pulsating sine waves all over the place, so that you cannot really pigeonhole the stylistic approach, but that's the way these Krauts artistically work.
Haioka picked the introspective, wonderfully mastered piano-piece „Gravity" from the tracklist and bathed the melancholic chords in quirky rhythms, vapour-like filtersounds and faint rewind-noises. Known for his tasteful balance of experimental and yet very tuneful compositions, the Japanese border crosser has delivered another Zen-like masterpiece.
The second interpretation of „Argon Decibel" is delivered with straight-laced disco beat and a lot of appreciation for the original, since Keenhouse's Sunlinxx records labelmate p e a c e Fire features all central elements of the playful original. This subtle funkiness combined with the strings, brass and empyrean vocals is a celestial event in the cathedral of slo disco.
The Elektromekanik Remix of „Into Silence" is breaking the silence with a beefed-up Disco-House vibe which is basic for a track to lure the ladies on the dancefloor. The breezy track is keeping the easy-going feelgood vibe of the original alive, but shifting the attention from the chill of the melody-centered to the thrill of the groove.
Chilean's prodigious Statickman, who has become the busiest man in the E& D Remix-canon, breaks his habbit of trimming the original with punchy synthpatterns. Instead, he extensively features the bold chello-theme, prooducing an eerie, yet slightly experimental touch, which gains in clarity by having a stripped-down backbone. Due to the dusky colour of the classical instrument, this interpretation of „Look Up To The Sky" is watching the clouds go by.
Last but not least, the most solitaire piece of Keenhouse music is showcased in „Slowtime Parallel", an introspective solo piano piece, a style which the composer has been prone of for the majority of his career. 69North's remix is eqally trademark-ish and contemplative in execution. Devoid of whatever could resemble a piano, the dazzling dub techno track rather puts you in a comatose state of mind in which memory and reality becomes one.
https://soundcloud.com/emerald-and-doreen-rec/sets/keenhouse-a-future-past
https://soundcloud.com/keenhouse
https://emerald-and-doreen.com
