[3024]

Let’s face it: there aren’t many well-loved tracks from years past that merit an update in 2014. There are even fewer producers who can successfully navigate the musical and emotional minefield that is remixing a beloved single. But as affirmed by a seemingly infinite list of one-off aliases and releases that send Hard Wax employees into a flurry of mailing activity, Rene Pawlowitz is a unique quantity himself. “Vancouver,” Martyn’s sublime stepper from 2008, still feels vital today, even if its halftime bounce and upper 130s tempo limit who reaches for it now. Having crossed paths previously in remix form when Martyn remixed Shed’s “Another Wedged Chicken” to great effect, Pawlowitz is perfectly positioned to return the favor under his bone crunching Head High alias on a new single released by 3024.

The sumptuous dub chords at the center of “Vancouver” still rattle in Pawlowitz’s hands, but they arrive as concise stabs that fit into the spaces of an utterly addictive stop-start percussion pattern. Reducing the range of tones only emphasizes this stunning groove, as if every brief empty beat in the clenching hi-hat/snare pattern was a precious breath keeping listeners from drowning in their own sweat. And while the chords do occasionally ring out in full, wordless vocals sliding between the bars and the occasional chuckle — all from the original — are what keep the mood lighthearted, letting a little skin show between the fearsome spiky percussion. Whenever it was made, Pawlowitz’s remix opens a door between 2008 and 2014, allowing a new crop of admirers and long-time “Vancouver” enthusiasts alike to celebrate Martyn’s excellent tune in a more contemporarily accessible form.