Arto Lindsay: Hyper Civilizado: Arto Lindsay Remixes

Arto Lindsay’s quirky muse suits the electronic age perfectly; both he and modern sound technicians share the# same thirst for far flung aural references. Hyper Civilizado: Arto Lindsay Remixes (Gramavision GCD 79519, 40:29) cuts loose some of the better ones-DJ Spooky, DJ Olive, DJ Mutamassik-on material culled from Lindsay’s Bar/None release, Mundo Civilizado. The results range from interesting to arresting, from SPIT’s “Complicity Lyrical Mix”-with it’s gnashing short-circuit noise-to Mutamassik and SPIT’s reconstructive “Complicity M28 Mix,” with disjointed Brazilian surdo drum careening against drum’n bass locksteps and errant turntable scratches. A lot of this stuff isn’t meant for the dance floor, unless you’re the kind that enjoys destroying your own connective tissue. It’s mainly an example of the recontextualizing prowess that lurks behind the samplers and mixers, reaffirming the fact that, no matter how esoteric the means, the human element still provides the way.

Originally Published January 1, 1998