John Talabot “Without You (Oskar Offermann’s Without Her Remix)”
As the world waits with baited breath for a follow-up to ƒin – a record that looks more and more like a modern classic by the day – we get a clutch of remixes trailing Talabot’s DJ-Kicks release instead; a holdover from the holdover, if you will. Thankfully “Without You” was a mighty fine standalone when teased out in late 2013, demonstrating Talabot’s gradual crossfade from nu disco into more shiver-inducing and (whisper it) trance-like territory, and the track is gifted a fresh lease of life on this !K7 12”.
Minimal maestro Thomas Melchior, riding high off his superb recent Perlon EP, spins the original out for nearly 10 minutes, but it’s Oskar Offermann who does the real business here. Abetted by sonar blips and rolling drums that form a techy counterpoint to the emotional nakedness of the original, Offerman sinks the original’s glistening guitar and softtone pads, allowing mere fragments to bubble to the surface now and again. A remix of surprising heft and replayability.