Emeralds - Does It Look Like I'm Here?

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5...according to our Business Lady on Thu 22 Mar, 2012.

Dan Smith a.k.a Caribou a.k.a Daphni is the first artist to ever have a stab at remixing neu-kosmische synth pioneers Emeralds. Smith is so enthusiastic about the trio he's only gone a remixed the same tune twice! The resulting 12” features the club-friendly reworkings of the title track from Emeralds 2010 masterpiece 'Does It Look Like I'm Here?' Part one takes the principle elements of the original, cutting and looping the highlights and forging them into a cosmic club-banger that at first has a driving Goblin/Carpenter-esque momentum before corroding in on itself to become a sort of twisted acid house jam which is then further stripped back leaving just the beats to do their thang. The ongoing evolution of the mix is totally impressive stuff and the excellent use of space echo has not gone un-noted. Flip it and mix 2 begins from the same point of reference - that being the killer motif that leads 'Does It Look Like I'm Here'. Here it's given the dry treatment with accompanying blasts of white noise and skeletal beats guiding the heavily sequenced melody before the accompanying synths drift nonchalantly into the mix to great dramatic effect. Two excellent reworkings that reinforce the strength of the original whilst impressing as stand-alone tunes. Very tastefully executed if you ask me.

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Emeralds are John Elliott, Steve Hauschildt and Mark McGuire. "Does It Look Like I'm Here?" is the third official album by Emeralds (after "Solar Bridge" on Hanson, and the self-titled LP on their own Wagon and Gneiss Things imprints, as well as countless small edition tapes and CDRs on a host of labels) and once again it presents another radical new direction for this Cleveland trio.

It sees the group moving from playing single oscillator analog synthesizers to really complex analog and analog/digital hybrid as well a great deal of guitar synthesizers, not to mention fine tuning their skills as brilliant tunesmiths. Simply put, the results are outstanding. Comprising of a number of tracks from their recent ultra limited 7" vinyl series on Wagon, as well new compositions exclusive to this release. This fine selection of tunes surpass anything they have achieved in their 5 year career. Perfect melodies intertwined with ripping sequences and a guitar sound that floats perfectly throughout. Although most tracks cover new ground in that they follow a shortened 'pop format', more long form cuts such as the towering "Genetic" and the title track will give fans of their earlier work something to grab onto, or totally let themselves go depending on the state of mind.

Having spent all their lives in the relative isolation of Cleveland means their music has developed into a vital, stunning unique hybrid that may have not been able to blossom in more active urban centres. "Does It Look Like I'm Here?" heralds a turning point for all those involved and is perfect vivid soundtrack to emerge out of the recent harsh grey winter. Fresh, shiny and totally essential.

Recorded July - August 2009 and January - March 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Mastered by James Plotikin.

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