Having loved the heavenly progressive pop of her 2023 single, Right Now, I’m excited to have another jam from Vitesse X to feed my ears.
In the piece linked above, I mentioned how Right Now reminded me of the stuttering emotional electronics of BT. A group in a similar vein, who I haven’t thought about in years, are Swansea progressive breakbeat outfit Hybrid. Their orchestral breakbeat track Finished Symphony, and its accompanying album Wide Angle, sounded like the future when I was in my late-teens. In 2000, the group released a mixed album of Hybrid remixes, Entitled Remix and Additional Production by…, and on it was a remix of the rock band Filter’s Take A Picture. It was a crunchy piece that blended fractured beats with (ex-Nine Inch Nails guitarist) Richard Patrick’s surprisingly laid back and blissed out vocal.
It therefore feels like completing the circle to hear New York producer, vocalist, and DJ Vitesse X take on that same Filter track. She plots a journey that is much closer to Patrick’s original than Hybrid’s, her vocals imbuing the music with a similarly cracked performance, so close to Patrick’s delivery that it feels slightly uncanny. Where the original was all sunny grungy guitars and looping baggy drums, however, Vitesse X employs broken beats and soaring new age melodies, all whilst retaining a feeling of relaxed looseness.
When I asked, Vitesse X confirmed she wasn’t previously aware of the Hybrid remix of Take A Picture, and she only discovered track’s late 90s club remix history after recording her cover. The track has long sat on the edge of Filter’s catalogue, a little different to everything else Patrick released under that moniker. And Vitesse feels she was responding to the same elements that lead to others creating remixes — an underlying psychedelic atmosphere. She notes the way the song struck a chord with her, leading to the cover:
‘I was listening to Take a Picture in the car in the winter, deep in some heavy emotions. I was feeling really detached from the current state of music and exhausted by the demands of the modern world. When the song came on, I was immediately transported back to a feeling I had completely forgotten existed. A time where life felt tangible and simple and pure. It was honestly transcendental. I opened up my phone notes to remind myself to make a cover, and a month later it came to fruition.’
Check out Take a Picture below.
In addition to listening in the post, you can find almost all the music BlackPlastic covers on the music player of your choice. Add the dedicated playlist below: