<p><span><span>- Is tampering with a masterpiece something sacrilegious, tantamount to cultural vandalism? When <strong>Marcel Duchamp</strong> put a moustache on the <em>Mona Lisa</em> (well, not exactly literally) the response created both a new “masterpiece” and an ongoing discussion of whether a singular work of art is static or fluid and always evolving. <strong>Mike Hadreas</strong> aka Perfume Genius is a musician who is equally an artist –both sonically and visually– and 2020’s much acclaimed <em>Set My Heart on Fire Immediately</em> was lauded as his best work to date. Handing the thirteen songs on that release to thirteen different musicians/producers to remix as they saw fit must have been crazy/brave and a project that could have turned messy like so many other remix projects have done.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Hadreas is crazy/brave and throughout his career has combined poignant lyrics about his personal journey as a queer artist and confronting the unpleasantness of the world, with his almost fragile vocals clinging like a spider in a rainstorm to the gossamer web of synth and electronica effects that weave some of the most delicately beautiful pop songs of the previous decade. Hadreas has invited a stellar cast to undertake the remixes and rather than place them in some random order, <em>IMMEDIATELY Remixes</em> follows the same track listing as its genetic parent album. Curiously this hasn’t upset the sequence, which, no doubt, Hadreas and producer <strong>Blake Mills</strong> had carefully crafted for that album. It gives a sense of familiarity as you listen, but it's rather like hearing a distant echo in a dream – something you know, but different.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The collection commences with the breathy opening to <em>Whole Life</em> which at first doesn’t sound as if it has been remixed, and carries an almost <strong>Roy Orbison </strong>tone to Hadreas’s vocals and the carousel-like time signature. However, <strong>Jaakko Eino Kalevi</strong> turns up the beat just enough to make it kick on with a freshness that is – breathtaking. <strong>Charli XCX </strong>creative director <strong>A.G. Cook</strong> is next with <em>Describe</em> which strips back an already stripped back track, layers some dubstep breakbeat beats under the vocals and drops some tinkling notes, dripping like diamonds, across the top line. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The diversity of talent Hadreas has brought together is almost a guide to queer, genderfluid and non-binary artists making music this century. <strong>Planningtorock</strong>’s take on <em>Jason</em> is club-worthy in a smooth and seductive way and handles Hadreas’s high & breathy vocal line from the original dreamy ballad with consummate skill. The remix version heightens the story the lyrics tell of a boy who can’t come to terms with the passionate and erotic emotions he has for another. Norwegian class act <strong>Jenny Hval </strong>takes <em>Leave</em> apart completely and puts it back together in a form that is nearly unrecognisable from the already deconstructed track that featured on <em>Set My Heart on Fire Immediately</em> and even Hval has a bit to say about it, with a spoken piece toward the end directed to Hadreas (and the listener) chatting about her use of reverb effects in her early work as a musician and how she applied it to this track. It’s mesmerising and replete with layers of sonic playing that could keep the listener occupied for ages. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>So many other tracks could be equally unpacked, however space precludes getting into that depth of analysis. Briefly, <strong>Danny L Harle</strong> (an associate of A.G. Cook’s <strong>PC Music </strong>label) takes <em>Just a Touch</em> and throws the full acid-club treatment at it, which pulses with energy; <strong>Nidia</strong>’s remix of <em>Moonbend</em> goes into all sorts of time signatures and ambient rhythms and <em>One More Try</em> is all tech-distorted jazz as if played in a late night club designed by <strong>Salvador Dali</strong>, though the remix has been handled by <strong>Darren J Cunningham</strong> better known by his producer pseudonym <strong>Actress</strong>. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The overall result is a triumph of creativity without being captive to the original material or carelessly diffident and is a perfect companion piece to one of the standout albums of 2020.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- Blair Martin.</span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3162930460/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="https://perfumegenius.bandcamp.com/album/immediately-remixes">IMMEDIATE… Remixes by Perfume Genius</a></iframe>