Derek Piotr – AGORA Regathered 7.9

                Derek’s spent quite a bit of time culling all these separate remixes together. The time was well spent. While some of these take a mellower approach to his album ‘AGORA’ they all share that dark unease that made his album so interesting in the first place. Basically they are all dedicated to keeping some of that eerie mood intact.

                A few of the songs off the original album get remixed a couple of times (‘Remain’ and ‘Overtaker’). Some don’t even get any of that sweet remix treatment. Fans of ‘Belief’ or ‘Scape’ may be a bit disappointed. My personal favorite remixes would probably be the extended Scanner 90 mix. Steinbrüchel also comes out with a beautiful, shimmering piece. While it appears to be smooth and calm on the surface, there’s unease underneath which makes it so interesting. There are even a couple of near-dance like remixes on here, focusing more on the hard beats that Derek employed so well on the original. 

                Many of these employ a great deal of distortion. Considering how much distortion existed in the original, this is no mean feat. Blevin’s mix is near-disturbing in how it treats the disembodied vocals. The closing remix by Pitkänen's Kohti is by far the most effecting. It is pure vocals, nothing else added. Listening to the vocals come in and out of focus, creating a disturbing sense of silence, is truly amazing. 

                I can tell Derek carefully considered the selection of songs on here. Each one has its own unique personality while maintaining Derek’s original intention. AGORA Regathered is a solidly strange remix album.