Pitchfork

In the 10 years since their inception, the Berlin-based dance music production sextet Jazzanova have put forth a prolific catalogue of not only their own music, but their special treatment of other artists' tracks. And on December 6, Alexander Barck, Jurgen von Knoblauch, Roskow Kretschmann, Stefan Leisering, Axel Reinemer, and Claas Brieler will release a sparkling new collection of the latter: Jazzanova: The Remixes 2002-2005 on their Sonar Kollektiv label/collective.

The album is a thoughtful collection of well-produced pieces that gently vacillate between different genres, and, not surprisingly, both jazz and electronic textures. Whereas their last remix collection, The Remixes: 1997-2000 featured the likes of fellow German Ian Pooley, Truby Trio, Incognito, and other newer acts, the new compilation turns to more classic sounds, including house institution Masters at Work, Brazilian master Marcos Valles, old school boogie act Status IV, and, um, Calexico. Hey, why not?

Tracklist:

01 Heavy - Wonderlove (Jazzanova Remix)
02 Free Design - Lullaby (J-Nova Remix)
03 Marcos Valle - Besteiras do Amor (Jazzanova Remix)
04 Shawn Escoffery - Let It Go (Jazzanova Remix)
05 Eddie Gale - Song of Will (Jazzanova Rhythm Happening)
06 Calexico - Black Heart (Jazzanova's White Soul Dub)
07 Status IV - You Ain't Really Down (Jazzanova's Hey Baby Remix)
08 Masters at Work feat. Roy Ayers - Our Time Is Coming (Jazzanova's Guestlist Mix)

The album comes with a blank CD-R, which you can use to burn the album for a friend, attach to your rearview mirror, or throw out the window. However, Team Jazzanova encourages you to use it to burn a DJ mix available for download from the Sonar Kollektiv website. Not strikingly different from the remixes collection, it does contain a few surprises, such as New Zealand reggae-soul outfit, Fat Freddy's Drop.

Burn baby burn:

01 Heavy - Wonderlove (for Minnie) (Jazzanova Remix)
02 Masters at Work feat. Roy Ayers - Our Time Is Coming (Jazzanova's Guestlist Mix)
03 Status IV - You Ain't Really Down (Jazzanova's Hey Baby Remix)
04 Shawn Escoffery - Let It Go (Jazzanova Remix)
05 Eddie Gale - Song of Will (Jazzanova Rhythm Happening)
06 Marcos Valle - Besteiras do Amor (Jazzanova Remix)
07 Calexico - Black Heart (Jazzanova's White Soul Dub)
08 NuSpirit Helsinki - Honest (Jazzanova Remix)
09 Free Design - Lullaby (J-Nova Remix)
10 Fat Freddy's Drop - Flashback (Jazzanova Remix)
J-Nova also put out a 500-copy limited edition 12" release for "Hey Baby!" at the end of October, and Status IV's "You Ain't Really Down" will come out on vinyl December 5.

Jazzanova will bring their remixing skills, and their live show, to Europe in December, and our fair shores in January. You might notice that they're scheduled for several different cities on the same day-- well, you can do that kind of thing when there's six people in your band. Looks like they're playing quite a few sets at the popular TBA chain of venues, so be on the lookout for updates:

12-02 Manchester, England - Eyes Down
12-02 Bristol, England - Seen
12-02 Edinburgh, Scotland - Trouble
12-02 Vilnius, Lithuania - TBA
12-03 Dundee, Scotland - Homeless
12-03 Liverpool, England - Chibuku
12-03 Tallinn, Estonia - Club Prive
12-07 London, England - Plastic People
12-08 Florence, Italy - TBA
12-09 Hamburg, Germany- Release Party at Click
12-10 Berlin, Germany - Weekend
12-12 London, England - Worldwide Awards
12-14 Glasgow, Scotland - Subclub
12-15 Madeira, Portugal - TBA
12-15 Porto, Portugal - TBA
12-16 Poznan, Poland - TBA
12-17 Lisbon, Portugal - TBA
12-17 Warsaw, Poland - TBA
12-18 Belfast, Northern Ireland - TBA
12-18 Berlin, Germany - Stadtbad Prenzlauer Berg
01-13 Chicago, IL - Metro
01-14 Washington, DC - The DC Loft
01-15 New York, NY - Cielo
01-17 Orlando, FL - The Social
01-18 Atlanta, GA - TBA
01-19 Los Angeles, CA - TBA
01-20 San Francisco, CA - Pink
01-21 Seattle, WA - Baltic Room
01-22 Vancouver, British Columbia - TBA