Let's get business out of the way first. The new Niels van Gogh and
Thomas Gold remix of Delerium's now-perennial "Silence" (purchase/download) sounds very
good. By adding minimalist minor keys, an occasional electro-hued
flourish and various vocal effects to accent Sarah McLachlan's main
passages, the duo have brought the song full circle to its deeply
meditative but quietly uplifting roots. ("Silence" was first
popularized in its original downtempo version, as well as the sultry
Fade house mix.)
But like another recent revival, "Toca's Miracle" by
Fragma, "Silence" cemented its legacy in its second run, that time as
a high-octane anthem in the hands of DJ Tiesto and Airscape. What is
striking about the two tracks resurfacing just months apart (after
they became global smashes together at the turn of the millennium) is
that you would be hard pressed to tell that the new remixes were
birthed by different producers. They sound unusually identical—not
only to each other, but to the work of the biggest rising star of the
past 18 months.
The success and subsequent influence of Deadmau5
cannot be underestimated, in terms of changing the sonic direction of
clubland and also for the odd bedfellows it has united (DJs spanning
the realms of trance to deep house to electro have embraced the
Canadian's work). My worry, however, is that the blatant copycat
ideas at play in the new "Toca's Miracle" and "Silence" re-rubs are
going to mushroom in the coming weeks and months, and by summer's end
I will be fed up with any new release that sounds remotely like
either, regardless of its dancefloor-engaging merit. (The In Petto
remix of "Toca's Miracle" so eerily resembled Deadmau5 that online
leaks mistakenly credited it to him, and I won't be surprised if
"Silence" piles up on file-sharing sites incorrectly attributed as
well.)
So, a word of caution: there can be too much of a good thing.
Due to its origins, "Silence" works very well in this low-key hypnotic
groove, but any producers and labels trying to board this particular
train should proceed with extreme caution from here. Hopefully it's
just a tribute on the part of Gold, who has crafted his share of very
different-sounding winners over the past several years.
