Electronic Ambient Remixes Volume 3

Originally released in 2000, the third volume of CTIs Electronic Ambient Remixes series consists of Chris Carters reworks of material from his former group Throbbing Gristles catalog, rendered as creeping ambient dub. A bit more beat-forward than the first volume, these tracks also retain a little more of the source material, even if its stripped of its more confrontational qualities. Convicting People has the jagged pulse of Convincing People, but its closer to a trickle than a thump, and the vocals appear as whispering echoes rather than Genesis P-Orridges menacing snarl. Likewise, Indisciplined turns the abrasive march of Discipline into a steady shuffle with fluid textures wooshing around the beat. Not on the Heels of Love sounds like TGs sleazy club classic after its been tossed into a pond, and Someone Came Over Here manages to pluck an unexpectedly tender piano melody out of the remains of Something Came Over Me. Hamburger Man manages to take the seasick lurch of Hamburger Lady and make it even slower and sicklier, even if its not nearly as grotesque or imposing. Dread Head (presumably based on Beachy Head, but its hard to tell) sprinkles some exotica-style vibraphone into a giant pit with slugs crawling across the bottom. These reinterpretations dont quite match the messy, shock-out thrills of the TG originals, but it proves that the material can both soothe and repulse when translated into ominous Muzak. ~ Paul Simpson