Ilkae – one of Merck Record’s flagship artists – gets his own remix album (based off his Pistachio Island). The high-profile list of remixers here is just nuts: Secede, Daedelus, Kettel, Isan, Lackluster, Machinedrum, O9, Proem, Helios, Tim Koch… and more. You pack that many good artists onto one CD, and you know that shit is going to be legit.

Expect strange electronic washes, retro videogame aesthetics, and messy mash-ups – all on an experimental glitch/IDM tip. All the artists tend to stick to their signature styles, so check the back for the full list of remixers. It’s somewhat hit and miss, but some of the experiments/grooves here are fascinating. I just wish some of these musical ideas were elaborated even more.

Favorite tracks: Tracks 16, 18 impressed me the most. Also try: 1, 4, 6, 17, 20.

- Captain Dee, April 2005


**1. Jarring videogame noises over Ilkae’s gorgeous “Luminette.” Then dramatic, retro videogame melody over bangin’ IDM beat and warmly pulsing ambience. Tight! (4:58)
2. Messy vibe. Stuttering/drilling noises, off-kilter ambience, cut-up speech sample, thin marching beat, muted sustained horns. (3:21)
*3. Soft washes of ambience, trippy steel drums, cute electronic melodies. (2:55)
**4. Thin beats scattered everywhere, ominous background tones. Busy/silly strings riffs play over tight head-nodding beat. Experimental, but incredibly infectious. This one has Daedelus smeared all over it. (3:03)
*5. Thick start-and-stop melody over uptempo beat and funky/distorted electronic grooves. Playful and catchy. Reminds me of the new Lemon Jelly release. (5:08)
**6. Crunchy, muddled vibe. Weird/quiet sampled chant, videogame noises, complex glitch-hop beat. Given how messy this is, it’s surprisingly tranquil. (4:18)
*7. Mashed-up videogame melodies over quickly changing tempos/beats. Attention deficit disorder madness! Some of the mini-grooves are dope. (2:02)
*8. Crystalline melody and ambience, splattery mechanical glitch-hop beat. (2:26)
*9. Wobbling, slightly eerie ambience. Skittering beat/sounds, as if there were little electronic creatures everywhere. (3:36)
10. Space-y, cute electronic melody. Chill. Very quiet, whispered counting. (3:20)
11. Robotic piano fragments, splashes of fuzz/drone beat, electronic noise. (2:35)
12. Unsettling collage of skittering noises, ambience, samples, beeps/drones, disjointed beat. (3:01)
13. Deep ambience, blippy glitch-hop beat. Intensifies over time. (4:12)
*14. Bounce-y head-nodding beat, metallic crunches/vibe, layers of fuzz and ethereal ambience. Beat picks up, gains complexity. Cool. (3:30)
*15. Grumpy piano riff, deep bass juxtaposed with tight IDM beat and happy electronic melodies. (4:52)
**16. Slow glitch-hop beat, organic mix of synth wash melodies, blips, and other air-y ambient sounds. Kind of like a thicker, jungle-y Boards of Canada. Gorgeous! (3:46)
**17. Deep frozen ambience (this is definitely Helios!) with a crisp, slow beat (like a heartbeat?) and scattered glitchy noises. Grows darker over time. Wow, beautiful. (5:31)
**18. Tight combination of hard-hitting glitch-hop beat and tabla-esque drum over deep ambience and ethereal melody. Dope shit! (4:00)
*19. Slow, thick, forest-y mix of pulsing ambience, timid beat, buzzes, cinematic synth melody. Lovely stuff. (5:31)
**20. Synthesized choral ambience, chime melody, head-nodding beat. Sublime stuff. A lullaby for friendly aliens...? (3:12)