Single Review: Phèdre – Aphrodite (Beta Frontiers Remix)

Whenever a press release lands in front of me describing music as ‘lo-
fi electro’, I find myself overwhelmed by nausea. That’s not to say there’s
anything wrong with being lo-fi, or with being electro for that matter; it’s just
that in our current musical climate, the last thing the world needs is another
bedroom producer filling the blogosphere with more chillwave, witch house,
skweee, etc, etc.

From the off, Toronto’s Beta Frontiers’ remix of Phèdre’s ‘Aphrodite’ does
little to eschew any notions of such skepticism. Decrepitly creeping to life on
a wave of static hiss and skewed Salem-esque vocals, it quickly becomes
apparent what a ghostly reworking this will be, prompting one thought; is it
2010 again? Beta Frontiers have managed to produce something so lifeless
and devoid of talking points – outside of what made the Phèdre original a
great tune in the first place – that it finally makes sense why ‘witch house’ was
sometimes known as drag, and boy is this one.

Putting aside any issues with Beta Frontiers’ re-appropriation of the source
material, the original’s beguiling baritone vocal leads are still present in
abundance and a few ear-catching synth turns do salvage the mix slightly.
The issue here though is that the Toronto producer has done little to warrant
return listens. It’s as uninteresting and nostalgic a remix as they come, doing
little to step out of Phèdre’s shadow and milking hackneyed musical concepts;
all ready then, for a one-week lifespan on the blog hype tightrope.

By Alex Cull
@AlexMorning

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