So here it is Sasha’s remix of Maribou State‘s ‘Rituals’ taken from their debut 2015 LP ‘Portraits’. As long time Sasha fans and newly won Maribou State admirers we’ve been waiting a while to hear this one. Admittedly we were initially surprised when we first heard of this artistic collaboration as it was not a combination of minds that we would have instinctively predicted. That being said our anticipation was not curbed, and in fact got the better of us, as we tweeted both artists in search of an upfront preview. Naturally the response to our tweet was a little muted! Next time.
Anyway, is it any good? Well in a word, yes. Naturally like most electronic releases its unlikely to be remembered in ten years time as an all time classic, having said that it is very much a record we can hear ourselves and many other DJ’s playing. Like previous Sasha remixes he doesn’t excessively wander off into the often fraught wilderness of re-interpretation but rather, like many of the greatest remixes written, he takes the song’s core sonic themes and simply moulds them to his vision whilst maintaining their original charm. What was a swinging headphone jam has now become a tighter 9 minute head down groover, with ‘Rituals’ thoughtful demeanor transposed into a more club friendly format as live instrumentation is replaced with electronic basses, soothing pads and shimmering arpeggiations. Which to some extent may suggest a hollow simplification of a far superior original work, but to reach that conclusion is to not understand the dance floor. Something Sasha understands better than most.
Exclusive stream via I-D Magazine: Preview below…