RQ – Memory Fields

My second post on an Auxiliary release in the same week, and considering i’m not one for reviews, that’s quite a rarity. But, not only is this a great debut release for Ryan Quinlivan, he’s also enlisted some of my favourite remixers for added star quality. Namely, bvdub, Anders Peterson, Sam KDC and ASC, under his own name, and his Mindspan project.

So, four tracks from RQ, which to be honest could stand alone as a quality album. As we’re getting to know with Auxiliary’s more ambient releases, there’s always a slight punch or two, and RQ’s is wrapped in dense percussion and detailed noises rattling off far distant walls. ‘Hounds’ is my favourite track from the four originals, with it’s distant rain, shimmering pads and creeping bass. The perfect recipe you could say, for Sam KDC and Mindspan to build upon.

Mindspan (ASC) takes the opportunity to add the Auxiliary charm to the track, extending the roll, upping the tempo but keeping the ambient textures intact beautifully. But it’s Sam KDC’s remix which quite literally blew me away. Taking the opposite approach, Sam tackles it a slower pace, emphasizing the repetitive alien drum sound and combining it with the rich bass – when this first kicked in on my headphones I felt my entire head vibrate.

On to ‘Glowing Beyond’, and this track was born to be remixed by Anders Peterson’s Ghost Sound guise. For those that have downloaded his ASIP Places Series release ‘Tegelbacken Nightlights‘, you’ll be fully aware Anders had the ability to retract the crunching, imploding and haunting sounds of a track and multiple the intensity. The original is a masterclass in ambient, but Anders has finely tuned the distant clattering echoes, and channelled them to within metres of your face. You’re already flinching, and then he’s dropping snare-drums in like sharp knives.

And finally, bvdub. Brock’s remix is one of the furthest removed from the original but with it, he’s created one of most progressive journeys yet. Text-book Brock with shimmering ambient textures, combined with a superb piano-line, followed by an unreal female vocal. And then… well. Bass. You’re going to have buy the album to get the full 18-minute version as the clip below is only the first six, and trust me… it goes some-place else.

You can buy RQ’s Memory Fields from the Auxiliary store. Below is the full album promo and previews of the Sam KDC and bvdub remixes.

Follow @asip