Alice Rose, the voice of one of Selador’s calling cards, returns to the label with Malbetrieb for ‘Creatures of the Night’, backed by remixes from Quivver and Steve Parry.
Alice Rose & Malbetrieb’s original pitches Rose’s beautiful, lullaby-like vocals over richly atmospheric pads, a catchy hook, and a low-key bassline. The track wisely doesn’t deviate too far from that winning recipe across its running time, though the breakdowns add very welcome touches of additional emotion, and the hook intensifies into an acidic squelch at key junctures to give the track some real peaks. But for the most part it’s low-key and absolutely lovely, with all of the elements of Malbetrieb’s production complementing Alice Rose’s vocals perfectly.
First up on remix duties we have the man responsible for several of Selador’s best moments so far, Quivver. His vocal mix gives the track a sleezier and spookier feel, with eerie pads and nervously stuttering synths meeting two low-slung basslines, before beautiful key changes introduce more delicately melodic sequences, including a cinematic breakdown – with Alice Rose’s vocals kept as the centerpiece throughout, until the final bass-heavy finale.
In contrast, Quivver’s dub is yet another one of his monumental, foundation-shaking grooves, with elements of his vocal mix and some seriously chopped up and processed slices of Alice Rose’s voice sparring with stinging percussion and heavy bass manoeuvres (see what I did there?). Quivver is the master of this kind of sound, and every second of the track has been tuned for maximum impact – the result is brutal.
Steve Parry’s last remix for Selador was well over a year ago, though he’s not exactly been quiet since then. He provides my favourite of the vocal versions of the track, floating Alice Rose over gentle pads, a wonderfully biting acidic take on the original’s hook, and a sparse, flexing bassline, and creating something truly haunting as the record heads into the dreamy but dramatic breakdown. The sequence after the breakdown is another highlight, with Alice Rose’s vocals strobe-lighting over the beat as it re-engages before the 303 is allowed briefly off the chain.
Another winner from Selador here, with Alice Rose & Malbetrieb’s fantastic original inspiring some even better remixes. Steve Parry’s version gets the balance of beauty and beast most on the money for me, while it’s Quivver’s dub you’ll want to reach for when you want to throw your body around in no particular direction. As is your right.
