December 22nd, 2008 | London
Christmas is only a few days away and Hot Chip celebrates the holidays with an early present. As one of the best crossover groups to have emerged of late, the London electro pop outfit is known for worthy surprises, but none as refreshing as their latest output. Hot Chip's February album, Made In The Dark, was revamped by legendary musician Robert Wyatt as well as electronic duo Geese—aka Emma and Vince of the Elysian Quartet—and the result is pleasantly reinvigorating.
The EP comes towards the end of a characteristically busy Hot Chip year—in addition to the band's full-length album of the same name, main man Alexis Taylor's solo album Rubbed Out, the usual dance floor busting remixes and relentless touring, the five-piece remained characteristically unstoppable. Wyatt and Geese were roped in to distort four Hot Chip tunes of their choice.
Though none of the famous singles—"Ready For The Floor" and "Shake A Fist"—were tinkered with, songs such as the less notorious but equally good "Whistle For Will" got the treatment, with Wyatt—wait for it—whistling away. Made In The Dark features the ex-Soft Machine frontman singing along through a vocoder, adding a beautiful space dimension to the ballad, while "We're Looking For A Lot Of Love," another slow and amorous serenade, received a combined beating by both Wyatt and Geese, making it more upbeat than the original. Geese take sole control of "One Pure Thought," remixing the dance floor stomper into a soundtrack of dreams.
For a band as adaptable and unpredictable as Hot Cip, this is one holiday treat we're happy to find in our stocking.
For more information, see www.hotchip.co.uk.
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