Caravan’s dependable Julian Smith follows last year’s dark, bumpy “Say Again” with a second package for Perspectiv. Don’t let the title’s “Tool” cool your interest, though. While this may well be a brilliant record for brokering transitions in your next set, “My Left Tool” is also an autonomous pleasure and evocative journey of a record in itself. Sexy and hypnotic, October’s noirish, dubstep-flecked techno is a seamless pairing of steam-engine mechanics and animal growl. Dark, warm, and insular, the track nevertheless marches at a restless pace through an impressive range of territory over its twelve minutes. Probably the best testament to this track’s potency, though, is that October more than holds his own against his ferocious remixer.
I refer, of course, to Tobias Freund who, it must be said, has really let the dogs out these past six months. Treating us with a slew of remixes, he’s reinterpreted tracks from Nhar (Mobilee), Alex Under (Apnea), Franco Cinelli (Traut Muzik), D’Julz (Circus Company), Los Updates (Cadenza), and Russ Gabriel (Pariter). It’s a sturdy list, but his rework of “My Left Tool” is surely a contender for the best of this bunch. A complete overhaul of October’s original, riddled with ear-splitting power electronics bursts and acid squelches, this is more of an adrenaline rush. It’s similar to his own “Beat Study” tracks from last year, but this one’s a genuine chase-scene of a track. The pressure builds and builds, but release comes intermittently and gloriously with the ol’ train-speeding-past gimmick, channeling Kraftwerk by way of “Deer in the Headlights.” Just as he did on last year’s “Balance,” Tobias. calibrates this remix for raw, jagged snarl, crafting an undeniable banger.
Love it