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Charles Atlas, "fabricate: worsted weight remixed"
Charles Wyatt is no stranger to collaboration. Before forming Charles Atlas, he played guitar for groups both in the USA and the UK. The fifth Charles Atlas release ironically slightly mirrors the debut Two More Hours as it contains remixes/reinterpretations of Charles Atlas music, however, this time there is nothing exclusively by Charles Atlas and the sources all come from the fourth release, last year's Worsted Weight on Ochre.Audraglint
For those familiar with Charles Atlas and the bulk of the contributors, there are no surprises: Fabricate is a fantastic collection of excellent music, each with a different new twist added. Sybarite's take on "Sun With Teeth" opens the collection with the high pitched shimmering sounds of a crisp morning dew before going right into the original trumpet melody, backed by artificially modified broken beats and a shuffling drum. It's direct, to-the-point, and sets the stage for the rest of the album. Many of these versions often feel like 7" remixes of the original songs as some of them are approximately half the length of the original tunes. Eric Kowalski's reinvention of "The Deadest Hour" as Casino vs. Japan doesn't even bother to try and attack the multi-movement 12 minute original, but this longtime friend and former Charles Atlas member opens with the sounds and vocal samples of the original before moving into a languid new movement with a new tune, steady beats, echoed guitar, and bubbling bass that could easily make any Ulrich Schnauss fan flip. Other contributions include a minimally changed "Strategies for Success Boxes" from Pram, one remix each from future Kranky superstars and Portland-based Audraglint family members Nudge and Strategy (retouching "Stone[d] in Brackish Pool" and "One Foot Under," respectively), and two from old friends Isan, who appeared on the first release, Two More Hours. One of my favorite bits would have to be from Signaldrift, as "Strategies for Success Boxes" is adapted into a more beefy techno-ish track, while it doesn't lose its ground For the most part, the remixes don't stretch or reinvent the music in any way, and this is a good thing. Charles Atlas music is calm and delicate but intricate and never dull, and at most this collection re-emphasizes how great the music is to begin with. It's too bad, however, that most people missed the boat and the earlier albums are deleted now. 
Pit er Pat
Starting in 2004, the trio of Pit er Pat—Rob Doran, Fay Davis-Jeffers and Butchy Fuego—have been releasing music on a number of different labels, including their latest full-length on Chicago's Thrill Jockey. Their brand of music has drawn comparisons to Blonde Redhead, Soft Machine and Slapp Happy, among others.
