Rabbit in the Moon Remixes, Vol. 1

AMG Review of Rabbit in the Moon Remixes, Vol. 1

Keir Langley
All Music Guide

Admittedly, it takes more than a small leap of the imagination to expect good electronic music to come out of a place like Tampa, FL. After all, it's an ocean away from England, where so much of the work typically thrives. All the more exciting to stumble across this satisfying and versatile collection from Rabbit in the Moon, featuring the duo of David Christophere and DJ Monk, who easily rival the likes of Underworld and Orbital with a similarly clean and aggressive sound. Here, RITM put their spin on an unusually wide range of acts, from White Zombie to Sarah McLachlan to Garbage to Goldie. It's particularly fitting to have them remix a track from Orbital themselves (again, such a clear influence) and to do it so well (fans of the Hartnol brothers should further find their CD single to Are We Here for three more match-made-in-heaven mixes). As for others here, the dynamic duo can turn anything mildly danceable to absolutely tranceable. With a great deal of fun and care, Astral Pilot (featuring Sven Väth) gets its acid thrown in a blender with theremin, ring modulators, and other mad-scientist effects that sound both humorous and distinctively perfect. Without trying the listener's patience, they make an epic mix for TDF's "Ripstop," unfolding with Orb-like exploration and at the five-minute mark, turn everything on its side for drum'n'bass East Indian blues. This sort of pleasant surprise runs rampant throughout the disc, perfectly justifying the existence of volume two and rightfully putting Florida on the electronica map.