DFA - 'The DFA Remixes: Chapter One'

In 'Chapter One', the first instalment in a remix adventure, the DFA (Tim Goldsworthy and James Murphy) funkify and coolize a selection of tracks from Le Tigre, The Chemical Brothers, Soulwax, Gorillaz, and Hot Chip among others. The sheer length of the tracks stands out first: only Fischerspooner's Emerge, given a flirty and effective makeover turning it from flamboyant electro to a stripped down and slowed down groove, is kept under the five-minute mark. The 12 minute long Optimo-friendly remix of the Gorillaz' Dare sounds like a build-up to no particular destination, whereas the original was rather concise. However, The DFA manipulate the tracks, adding rather than chopping, taking the time to deconstruct songs and rebuild them in their image e.g the strutting electro-funk bestowed on Le Tigre's Deceptacon. It's worth listening to just for the chunks of DFA original work that shine through. [Alex Burden]