RichVomDorf Beat & Remixes (MP3s)

Perhaps it’s the simplest tracks that lend themselves best to remixing. Take “Momento A” by RichVomDorf. It’s a single song that serves as the cornerstone of a six-track release on the broque.de netlabel. It’s pretty much just horns and percussion — and, at first, just percussion: a subtle, minimal-techno beat played out on what at each stage reveals itself more and more to have been acoustic instruments (MP3). (It also, toward the end, veers gently toward chaos.) The horns, layered on top like icing, are an electronically addled bunch, soft, wispy, slightly slurred. Once upon a time, this might have been called acid jazz.

Then come the remixes. George Neufeld literalizes the beat (MP3), turning it into a more standardized 4/4, and seemingly running the whole thing through a flanging effect that softens it into a lounge-ready track. Versions by Håkan Lidbo (MP3) and Pseudónimo (MP3) — as well as what appears to be a group effort, credited to Tampopo Noodleking, Granlab & Tend (MP3) — likewise emphasize the downbeat, though the Tampopo edit approaches some of the light chaos of the original.

The EP closes with a sort of sequel, “Momento B,” also by RichVomDorf, which follows the more standard techno sounds of the remix, but comes close to returning to the sparseness that got the whole thing started, especially with a horn line that could have been ripped from a second-line parade for a beloved robot (MP3).

The originating track and, for contrast, the Pseudónimo mix are streaming above. Visit broque.de to check out the full set.