balmorhea / jacaszek / peter broderick / various

All Is Wild, All Is Silent Remixes

All Is Wild, All Is Silent might be one of this year's most eloquent and convinvcing neo-classical influenced records. The band's sound inevitably wins them comparisons to Rachel's, Clogs and other such string-laden ensembles. This remix album hands the tracklist over to an all-start line-up of artists operating both within and without the field of modern composition: The Fun Years. Jacaszek, Rafael Anton Irisarri, Helios, Bexar, Bexar, Machinefabriek, Library Tapes, Peter Broderick, Tiny Vipers and Xela are all on hand to contribute to this project, with Eluvium kicking the selection off via a seventeen minute dismantling of 'Settler', featuring a swirling ambient palette that escalates to the point where it starts to sound like an orchestra being pulverised by some philharmonic threshing device. From here on the Balmorhea sound is transformed in a variety of different ways, and from the post-digital reinterpretations of Machinefabriek and Helios to the threadbare minimalism of Tiny Vipers the spirit of the originals is preserved while their format is radically altered. Emphasising the malleability of the source material, Xela casts a gauze of noise and fizzy distortion to 'November 1, 1832', while Peter Broderick takes the same track and presents it as a rousing composition for strings, piano and choral vocals. A suitably excellent and diverse range of reinterpretations from a seriously impressive roster of contributors, this album is a great point of entry into Balmorhea's universe if you've yet to introduce yourself to this band's music. Highly recommended.