Neveready: Rejections - The Remixes EP 1
NexGen Music

It's fitting that the remixes of Neveready's 2012 album Rejections are so diverse, given that Finnish producer-DJ Petteri Arpiainen himself grew up absorbing an eclectic mix of early jungle, drum'n'bass, and trip-hop. You'll hear that and a whole lot more on this generous thirty-nine-minute digital EP featuring makeovers by L-Wiz, Jonny Wanha, Puisto Osasto, Stene & Dullatron, Faible & Konfusion, Bob Citrus, and Vesa Matti.

Despite having some seventeen years of experience behind him, Arpiainen had never asked people to do remixes of his work prior to the EP's creation and so found the experience of curating remixes especially exciting; not surprisingly, some versions hew to the spirit of the originals whereas others are radical reinventions. Swedish dubstep producers L-Wiz bring out the sweet spot of “Capone” in a smooth'n'mellow treatment that sees silken synths draped across a subtly funky downtempo pulse. Perpetuating L-Wiz's late-night vibe, Stene & Dullatron's “Consumption & Lies” digs deeply into a jazzy, low-riding funk groove whilst making room for synth flourishes in amongst its electric piano sprinklings.

An inventory of the other tracks reveals how much stylistic ground is covered on the EP. Osasto slathers the soulful dub-funk pulse of “O' Death” with ripples of vinyl crackle to bolster its old school vibe, while Wanha takes “Smokers Delay” for a scenic tour through both headnod and drum'n'bass territories. On an uptempo tip, Citrus boosts “Haarlem Joint” with a deliciously slinky garage-styled treatment whose infectious shuffle's more than a little easy to warm up to. Coming at Neveready's material from an altogether different angle are Matti, who transforms “Old Photos” into a thudding deep techno exercise, and Austrian producers Faible and Konfusion, who recast “Ruychaver Straat” as a prototypically charging drum'n'bass anthem.

June 2015