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Nordic Music Central Viking Hero

Aves (Finland) – Gem of the Ocean (Rony Rex remix, ft. JFDR) (single)

Anyone who has been reading my scribblings for the last nine years or so will know I’m not the biggest fan of remixes.

Several artists have seriously fallen out with me because I criticised them for spoiling their original song with remixes that added nothing to the original and on occasion even took the song out of context.

I hope the Finnish synth pop band Aves won’t be one of them but this is a case in point.

I listened to this Rony Rex remix first (released on 21st July) and then the original, which dates back to 2019. Rony “has established himself as one of Finland’s top dance music tastemakers with his eccentric performances, off-the-wall releases and collaborations.”

The remix is club/house-oriented, with the sort of synth effects that have become de rigueur, so that the opening passage sounds like it might be playing on the His Masters Voice label at 33rpm instead of 45. Throw in a breathless Iselin Solheim-like vocal and a contribution from Icelandic electronic experimentalist Jófríður Ákadóttir, who was in NMC in May and we’re away.

It’s pleasant enough that I could easily listen to it two or three times in a row even though it belongs in Ibiza rather than my living room.

But the acid test is; how does it compare with the original (which also featured JFDR)? The first observation I’d make is that I can hear the vocals on it. Whatever had been done to them on the remix made them unintelligible at times.

It’s a moody piece which builds and layers its atmosphere in a way the remix can’t do. It’s like a novel with a distinct beginning, middle and end rather than a snatched act from a play. It’s something I want to put on loop.

So there you are. Let’s say 7/10 compared to 9/10. But you, dear reader, will make your own mind up, as ever.

And because this is NMR you get both the original and the remix. We don’t do things by half.

The remix first:

And the original:

Find then on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/avestheofficialmusic

Twitter: https://twitter.com/aves__music

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