sommeil remixes
outputmessage

The latest release from Outputmessage – aka New York-born Bernard Emmanuel Farley - is an intriguing prospect: five unique remixes of Sommeil, a highlight of his 2006 album Nebulae. A celebrated remixer himself, Outputmessage has enlisted a few friends to give their own slant on the Kraftwerk-inspired original. It’s a royal treatment for a track that almost didn’t make the final cut. “It’s one of my favourite tracks on the album and could have been lost,” says Bernard. .“I thought it was too simple but I’m glad I recorded it now.”

The resultant EP is a tour de force of the art of the remix, and an interesting twist on Outputmessage’s origins. “The idea behind Outputmessage is to project a message to the listener,” Bernard says. “It could be an emotion, a colour, a place. Every song has meaning to me, so the message I’m outputting is a piece of myself.”

First up is Bernard’s own reworking of the track. “My intention was to take Sommeil and make it more upbeat and bright,” he says. “I like all the off-beats that I added to the original melody.” Next, labelmates Working For A Nuclear Free City add their warped, space-rock stylings to Bernard’s electronic original. “It sounds like Sommeil if it were made by an indie rock band,” says Bernard. “The bass guitar is a great addition to the song.”

Scissor Sisters-approved electro pop artist My Robot Friend collaborated with Outputmessage to make a remix that strays far from the original track, adding dreamy effects and fairytale lyrics to create a brand new song. “My Robot Friend took elements from Sommeil and made a song with it, then he sent it to me. I mixed the sounds together and added some subtle elements,” says Bernard. “I love the end result. It sounds like My Robot Friend and Outputmessage at the same time.  My favorite part is the climactic ending, where the original main synth line is turned into this epic, ambient explosion. It sounds like a nebula forming.”

On the flipside, the enigmatic American Pop Band (their identity is shrouded in mystery) add a pulsing remix to the collection. “Somehow, it sounds both electro and psychedelic,” says Bernard. Lastly, Person does the decent thing for DJs, supplying a club-friendly final cut. “I could definitely see people on the dancefloor loving this remix,” says Bernard, who confesses he never writes with the club arena in mind. Instead, his music tends to be of a more cerebral variety, which explains why he’s found a fan in scientific superchef Heston Blumenthal.

You might say that he and Blumenthal, who requested a copy of Nebulae after Observer Music Monthly’s Record Doctor burned an Outputmessage track for him, are kindred spirits. Where Blumenthal has applied science to cooking, Bernard’s mathematical background inspires his beguiling music. And the results are equally tasty.

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