Most of the time, the original material from twin brothers Klive and Nigel Humberstone (with the occasional help of Dolores C. on vocals) is as close to perfection as possible: dream-like neo-romanticism with classical elements, passionate and sometimes even a bit too ethereal for the 'real world'. It's the kind of music to cherish for special moments which come less frequently as this music deserves. I was curious when I first heard about this remix project. Remix participants were all invited by ITN, themselves. Most of the artists are of a younger generation (Flesh Field, Assemblage 23, Ivan Lusco, Haujobb, Seize, Faith & The Muse, Chandeen, Steve Bennet, Electronicum, and A_Robot) while only two are fellow contemporaries (And Also The Trees and Attrition). These aren't very obvious choices at first glance but all of them treated the original songs in a very careful and respectful manner. The beats are most obviously reworked in almost all cases. Flesh Field's Ian Ross lays a driving beat under "A Rebours (Against Nature)" as does Ivan Lusco on "El Secreto (It)," while Assemblage 23 get a bit housey. Justin Jones from AATT replaces haunting electronic sequences with his own trademark guitar style on "Corruption (Sister And Brother)." A_Robot and Faith & The Muse add their own voices to their contributions but keep conservatively close to the original In The Nursery style. Attrition's pick of the secret hymn, "To The Faithful," is characteristic for their dramatic style and with their version, "To The Faithful (In Remembrance)," they nearly take the greatest side-step from remix to re-interpretation, only outmatched by the final drum and bass dancefloor mix of "Caprice (Levity)" by Seize.
Nearly all of the tracks (with only one exception, "And Your Eyes") were selected from recent albums, from 1990's 'L'Esprit' through last years 'Engel,' thus excluding their 1980s work. As bonus, however (and maybe a reference to their own starting point), ITN include their interpretation of "Love Will Tear Us Apart," produced with a similar aesthetic as the rest of the disc's remixes and featuring a live drummer and professional oboe player.
The fact that 'Cause + Effect' can stand up to the beautiful standards of nearly all ITN output makes this remix project a great success.
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