Koop's 2002 "Waltz for Koop" received worldwide critical acclaim from jazz-heads and electronica buffs alike, making numerous Top Ten lists for that year. Saluted for its brevity (9 songs/35 minutes) and expertly crafted tunes, "Waltz for Koop" gave a new rebirth to cool. The Swedish duo, breezed onto the nujazz scene with their sophomore collection of songs, this time setting 60s and 70s Brit-pop and Latin-influenced spare tunes to quirky time-signatures, with haunting keys, and resplendent vocals by Cecelia Stalin, Mikael Sundin, Terry Callier, and then 15 year-old Yukimi Nagano. "Waltz for Koop" was simply beautiful from start to finish.
To my delight the remixes on "Waltz for Koop--Alternative Takes" are no less disappointing. A few of them have been previously released as singles, and will sound familiar to some.
As stellar as the released remixes are, the super-gems are found among those that debut on this CD. Nicola Conte flips the script on "Tonight", taking the original mellow Latin-esque groove (which falls right in line with Conte's usual bossa jazz compositions) up a few notches to a drum and bass tempo, all the while keeping with the cool modal mood of the album. Brilliantly done is the 2 (we-can-do-no-wrong) Banks of 4 remix of "Modal Mile". Out is the Brit-jazz smokey track and beat-poet Earl Zinger's dusky delivery. In is a Chic-ish female vocal almost chanting the lyrics over a house-tempo track with a DEEP bassline, a'la piano.
In the end, a good remix album is one that inspires the listener to seek out the original, and give it another spin.
