This isn't new. However, over the past 3-4 months BlackPlastic has become increasingly enraptured with Ben Gibbard's (of Death Cab For Cutie) electronic side project. Their album Give Up, released in 2003, pretty much sounds like being in love and that's no mean feat - recommendations don't come much higher.
BlackPlastic was surprised to find within the iTunes music store a Matthew Dear remix of one of of the tracks from Give Up, 'We Will Become Silhouettes'. Now feel free to disagree, but BlackPlastic has long had a lot of respect for Matthew Dear in any guise, but has never heard anything with enough emotional resonance to crow bar itself into your head and not let go.
On his mix of 'We Will Become Silhouettes' Dear demonstrates a deft touch. The vocals are left in place, the electronics stripped back and a subtle glitch-y backing added. The result maintains the sweetness of the original, something that anyone familiar with Gibbard's work will realise is important, and truly shows off a side of Matthew Dear BlackPlastic hadn't heard before. This man could produce pop music...
Also worth checking out is The Postal Service's remix of Feist's 'Mushaboom' if you can dig it up (try Good Weather for Airstrikes brilliant post on remixes). The addition of the uplifting sound of The Postal Service's electronics and Ben Gibbard's superb vocals really lift this to somewhere fantastic...
And I've not even mentioned some of the best bits from Give Up, check out 'Such Great Heights' if nothing else. Preferably play it loud in the car.
Watching the fire as we grow...