Franz Ferdinand - Blood & The Tonight: Dub Versions Digital Download Card | Electronic Dance Music for Parties & DJ Sets

I like remixes and I have heard and bought plenty of them. These dub remixes of songs from Franz Ferdinand's 2009 album "Tonight", labeled as "Blood: Franz Ferdinand", are different from most others I have heard. They are pretty darkish in mood, which is not that different; but I find the production to be rather stark in comparison. The bass and varied percussion are all-important, along with the electronica. They dominate these tracks. Vocals have far less importance. On most of the tracks the vocals are weaved into the mix, but not emphasized. Most of the time there are few of them, or even none, and the ones that are there tend to fade in and out, or exist as echoes, rather than being placed in the forefront of the tracks. Also I find that in most cases the pop melodies that made up the original tracks are not really emphasized either.The tracks don't lack novel electronic sound effects and other details which differentiate them from each other, however."Feel The Pressure" launches the project with a prominent "bubbling up" effect."Die On The Floor" has space-inspired fx and electronically altered vocals. Also there is much repetition of a few words."The Vaguest Of Feeling" is livened up by glittery, twinkling fx.There is a lot of dramatic and startling percussion on "If I Can't Have You Then Nobody Can"."Katherine Hit Me" has a strong stabbing beat, provided by the bass and percussion, and repeating echoing vocals."Backwards On My Face" retains the Russian-sounding music from the original track, and it alternates with a talking electronic musical line."Feeling Kind Of Anxious" is pretty minimal musically, but filled with a profusion of percussion and piercing laser-like fx. Near the end, there are some sung lines from the original song, and the whole thing ends in a crashing explosion."Feel The Envy" opens with reggae which is given a demented trippy treatment with fx. Also I think that this track and the opening track, "Feel The Pressure", contain the most vocals pulled relatively intact from the originals."Be Afraid" is slower and quieter than the others, but like "If I Can't Have You" it features dramatic, startling percussion.I have never listened to any classical electronica, but it occurred to me that these remixes are closer to how I imagine classical electronica would sound than they are to most mainstream pop or dance remixes. More abstract, less like conventional music, which generally follows a fixed melodic line. Maybe "dub" is the key word, tagging the tracks as electronic music rather than "techno" or "club". The album as whole is rather somber for a remix collection, but I have to give it 5 stars for sheer strangeness and originality.