DK7: Frame of Mind
Process Recordings

“Frame of Mind,” an unreleased track by DK7 (Stockholm-based producers Mark O'Sullivan and Jesper Dahlbäck) may be more New Wave than techno or house but that hasn't stopped a handful of choice remixers from getting their hands all over it. The EP includes the original, naturally, but supplements it with versions by John Dahlbäck, Corrugated Tunnel, Dan Cat, and Tommy Four Seven. Though there are subtle differences between them, the remixes' common thread is the vocal refrain (“So much more than this / Oooh, what's the frame of mind?”) that surfaces repeatedly.

Remix number one's a bleepy electro-house take by John Dahlbäck (Jesper's cousin) that brings the funk and surging house chords (plus some choice voice edits) to the original (a radio edit of John's makeover is also included that's about half the length of his remix). Corrugated Tunnel's treatment gets funky too, especially once it leaves the vocals behind and barrels on into a driving house episode ornamented by claps and swinging percussive touches; the cherry on top comes when, having reached a broil, the track re-introduces the vocal refrain one final time. Londoner Dan Cat recasts the track as a strutting raver that twists and turns through various instrumental and vocal climes, after which Berlin resident Tommy Four Seven brings a primal feel to a jacking techno treatment that alternately simmers and rages for ten combustible minutes, and O'Sullivan hammers out a vibrant and radio-friendly electro-house version. Not surprisingly, though, the remakes have a hard time topping DK7's concise original when its anthemic New Wave presentation packs a hefty wallop in little more than just three minutes.

February 2010