Koop - Waltz for Koop - Alternative Takes

I've become a remix album skeptic, particularly when the album being remixed is unquestionably outstanding in toto. What's the point of remixes when the album is damn near perfect, right? Well. . .

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.

Markus Enochson's jazz-house retouch of "Summer Sun", retains the light airy feeling of the original, working in gorgeous touches of guitar for a listening experience that transplants you to an early evening, laid-back beach party. Rima (aka Domu and Volcov) takes "Bright Nights", another one of Koop's sultry 6/8 grooves, and swings it into peaktime, weaving the swirling synths and vocals from the original into a broken house track.

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.

I'm happy to say that "Alternative Takes" will have me waltzing for Koop well into another year.