Fans of techno everywhere, if you haven’t heard of Halocyan Records yet, then listen up. Halocyan is not afraid to reach out and test the limits of techno and electronic music. In July we heard from Chrissy Murderbot in the form of his Friendship EP; an EP which is another fine release from the folks over at Halocyan.
Now, we’re given the German duo Arne Schaffhausen and Wayan Rabe who have established themselves under the moniker Extrawelt. They are on deck to release two remixes of Paul Woolford’s title track “Pursuit” (from the Pursuit EP, also from Halocyan – see a trend here?). Keeping this all in house they’ve maintained a constant eye on the two tracks, but with a talented pair like Extrawelt, their natural abilities do all the work.
“Pursuit (Extrawelt’s Griddle Remix)” and “Pursuit (Extrawelt’s Skew-Angle Version)” are the same song, but couldn’t be further apart. There is a very real very important difference between them. If you don’t get it at first, you need headphones. If you still don’t get it, you need better headphones. If you’re still lost, fine…I’ll tell you.
Extrawelt doesn’t craft in-your-face throbbing beats that will shake your eyes out of your head. Instead they do something I’ve found to be really rather rare. The moment you hit play on either of the two tracks you instantly forget they’re on. This should not be misconstrued for forgettable; quite the contrary. They have this strange ability to simply become a part of you for just over six minutes (Griddle Remix) and just under six (Skew-Angle Version). They easily become backing tracks to your life without becoming abrasive or monotonous. “Pursuit (Extrawelt’s Griddle Remix)” is “Pursuit” light. There is a constant backing air about it that quite latterly adds to the floating, flowing feeling the track delivers. Deeply rooted in an optimistic sensation, the track will linger on your pulse as it drives you without dominating your thoughts. “Pursuit (Extrawelt’s Skew-Angle Version)” is the sharper, more driving of the two remixes. It has the ability to get your feet moving as it connects to your inner rhythm with a more club-worthy finesse.
Of the two, “Griddle Remix” wins out over “Skew-Angle” in my book. Though both are major winners, I find it easy to gravitate to the first with its clean lines and crisp beats. As we’re quickly learning with Halocyan, this kind of quality is standard. Extrawelt owns “Pursuit” and masters the remixes. They will be released October 9th, be sure to check them out!