Everything But The Girl Take A Lesson From Darwin ADAPT OR DIE Available March 15 From Sire/Atlantic January 31 2005
LOS ANGELES --
The dinosaurs didn't learn the lesson fast enough, but Everything But The Girl sure did. On March 15, Sire/Atlantic releases ADAPT OR DIE: TEN YEARS OF REMIXES, the first-ever full-length Everything But The Girl remix CD. Overseen by EBTG's Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn, the CD includes reworkings of some of the band's best-loved songs and is full of rare and previously unreleased material."Reinterpretation is at the heart of all great music," says Watt. "For me
, the modern remix is part of that tradition. We began our career mixing cover versions (reinterpretations in themselves) of other people's songs with our own, and 15 years later welcomed the chance to see our work dismantled and rebuilt."
Gathered on ADAPT OR DIE are 14 reinventions of previously well-known EBTG classics. Four of them are brand-new cuts commissioned especially for the project: DJ Jazzy Jeff's shimmering piano cascade rework of "Mirrorball," King Britt's percolating deep Detroit take on "Rollercoaster," Kenny Dope's hard-beats version of "Downhill Racer" and Jay Sealee's modern house remix of "Lullaby Of Clubland." The rest are Thorn and Watt's favorites from the past ten years, including three previously unreleased takes. All are fascinating companion pieces to EBTG's own landmark interpretations of mid-'90s electronica (the albums Walking Wounded and Temperamental) and their personally chosen retrospective of anthems, ballads, hits and B-sides, Like The Deserts Miss The Rain (2002).
Tracey Thorn's voice transcends eras, from the early acoustic ballads and latin grooves of the '80s EBTG through to these recordings, crackling with future beats and dance-floor urgency. Her simple, direct, tender-tough deliveries articulate these soundtracks of the time and bring to mind her celebrated collaborations with other key pioneers from the period: her pivotal role on the seminal Protection album and the gothic rendition of "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game" (Batman Forever soundtrack) both with Massive Attack, and "The Future Of The Future (Stay Gold)" with Deep Dish.
If this two-decade body of work has cemented Thorn's reputation as a singer and writer, it has acted as a springboard for Watt's jump from writer-producer-guitarist to international DJ-remixer. In 1998 he established the seminal London deep house Sunday club and compilation series, Lazy Dog, with Jay Hannan. Moving from EBTG's mainstream eclecticism to club-oriented dance music production, he has recently issued a string of acclaimed dancefloor remixes including five-star re-rubs for Sade, Sunshine Anderson, Zero 7, Maxwell, Me'Shell NdegeOcello and Sandy Rivera. In May 2003 Lazy Dog folded at the top after five untouchable years of sell-out shows around the world.
Though Tracey has largely abandoned the media glare to focus on family life (she and Ben have three children), a return to studio work is not out of the question at some stage. She also DJs occasionally with Ben in local west London bars for fun and is currently in the early stages of writing a book about her journey from her late-'70s indie roots to the present day. Ben remains a music impresario, helming an independent record label and club night, Buzzin' Fly. Issuing a cluster of revered underground hits including his own "Lone Cat" and a best-selling mix CD, Buzzin' Fly Volume One, the imprint won Best Breakthrough Label at the House Music Awards 2004. Committed to new talent the label has already unearthed San Francisco boy-wonder Justin Martin and Lyon's serene Manoo and Francois A.
On March 22, Astralwerks releases Buzzin' Fly Volume Two, a concept DJ mix album. Ben Watt returns with this new set from his award-winning imprint, Buzzin' Fly, and presents a deeply evocative 75-minute journey in modern house. Part story, part groove, the album tracks a mood from post-9/11 New York City angst through to a moving and redemptive conclusion, and is shot through with spoken word stories, some written by Watt himself.
The imperative is to ADAPT OR DIE. Evolve with Everything But The Girl.
Track List:
- Mirrorball (DJ Jazzy Jeff Sole Full Remix) (BRAND NEW)
- Before Today (Adam F Remix)
- Missing (CL McSpadden Unreleased Powerhouse Mix) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
- Corcovado (Knee Deep Remix / Ben Watt Vocal Re-Edit) (PREVIOUSLY PROMO ONLY, NEW EDIT)
- Rollercoaster (King Britt Scuba Mix) (BRAND NEW)
- Downhill Racer (Kenny Dope Remix) (BRAND NEW)
- Single (Brad Wood Memphis Remix)
- Walking Wounded (Dave Wallace Remix)
- Five Fathoms (Kevin Yost Unreleased Groove Mix / Ben Watt Edit) (PREVIOUSLY PROMO ONLY, NEW EDIT)
- Lullaby Of Clubland (Jay 'Sinister' Sealee Remix) (BRAND NEW)
- Temperamental (Pull Timewarp Remix) (PREVIOUSLY AVAILABLE ONLY ON THE DVD OF LIKE THE DESERTS MISS THE RAIN)
- Blame (Fabio Remix)
- Wrong (Todd Terry Unreleased Freeze Mix) (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
- Driving (Acoustic Mix) (RARE B-SIDE)
