Beat Pharmacy - 'Wikkid Times Remixes'

Beat Pharmacy - ‘Wikkid Times Remixes’
[Deep Space Media / Wave Music]
7/10

Late last year, Beat Pharmacy released one of the down tempo LPs of the year. Joining the dots between dub, reggae and techno, Wicked Times explored bass heavy soundscapes and spread as laterally as it did vertically, forming beds of beats in which you could rest your weary mind. Although, great as they are, they scream out to be beefed up, plumped out and made into something a little more. Thankfully, someone else thought so, too, and so arrives this tasty remix package.

Intrusion, for his part, turns 'Sunshine' into a sea of ambient swirls, gently propelled by a dubby kick and overlaid with a breathy vocal slur which does nothing but drag you into the edgeless, shimmering sounds, where John Daly's re-rub of 'Time' does little more to the original than speed it up and add some thump to the kick.

And so to the standout tracks of the package... Canadian minimalist, Deadbeat, turns in the first by edging up the kineticism and peppering 'Ghostship' with micro-clicks and clacks and, in doing so, converts the track into the sort of warm-up bomb that'll transform any gently swaying floor into a positively bouncing cauldron. The highlight, though, comes from Appleblim & Komonazmuk. Retaining the deep dub depths of the original, the pair add scattered percussion and lashings of echo and reverb to create an altogether darker cut perfect for post club party time.  The faintest fluttering hi-line which floats in the middle of the track is what keeps the track from getting lost in a sub-bass quagmire, and is also what keeps you coming back for more.