The Test Drive: Sounds of Sputnik – New Born Remixed

How many times can you remix a track or two and keep it fresh? Well, Sounds of Sputnik can prove that every good song has unlimited possibilities as long as you keep the hook intact. And that is exactly what they do with the help of some well choiced friends, including Ummagma!

About Sounds of Sputnik
Moscow’s Sounds of Sputnik has announced they will release their new ‘New Born Remixed’ EP via Emerald & Doreen Recordings. Surrounding tracks co-written, produced, and recorded by Canadian-Ukrainian dreampop duo Ummagma, these tracks also feature stellar vocals from Ummagma’s Shauna McLarnon and Alexander Kretov.

Rooted in a shared love of melodic dream pop and shoegaze with a taste of the 80s-90s, Sounds of Sputnik has teamed up with the German label to bring the bands’ influences – from Lush, Curve, Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine, Jesus & Mary Chain – into familiar Emerald & Doreen disco & synth wave territory. The result is an unlikely, unfathomable but always brilliant “dream house disco noise experience” for the more adventurous listener.

Earlier this year, Sounds of Sputnik re-released their debut LP ‘New Born’ feat. Ummagma through hallmark U.S. shoegaze label Moon Sounds Records. Showcasing a palette of ethereal guitar, powerful drums, lush bass, and clever guitars, topped off with gossamer female vocals, it also featured Graham Bonnar (Swervedriver/ Brian Jonestown Massacre), psych rock producer Fran Ashcroft (Damon Albarn, Lords of Acid), Russian producers Morozov and Oleg Mezherovsky, and Brazil’s Mind Movies. The band has just released two new videos in relation to this – ‘Light Scheme (Sputnik Remix)’, which was filmed in Barcelona, and ‘Blizzard’, produced by British videographer, Jason Sheppard.

Sounds of Sputnik

Sounds of Sputnik

Sounds of Sputnik

Sounds of Sputnik

Sounds of Sputnik

Sounds of Sputnik

Sounds of Sputnik – New Born Remixed

On ‘New Born Remixed’, apart from the original versions of ‘New Born’ and ‘Light Scheme’, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s own Malcolm Holmes contributes a highly emotional New Romantics-infused version of ‘New Born’. His remix spirals into an eternal night sky crescendo of noisy guitars and Shauna’s stunning voice.

The EP kicks off with highly acclaimed Red Bull Academy laureate and Tokyo producer Haioka with an intelligent and catchy masterpiece, where Japanese electronica meets a wall of sound. This is followed by Headpocket’s relaxed deep house interpretation.

Irregular Disco Workers contribute a series of remixes to the release, turning two original tracks ‘Light Scheme’ and “New Born’ into a funkier soulful experience with another deeper into 80s melodic house territory. After Dim Zach’s journey into Nu Disco, we once more return to the more guitar heavy trademark drone pop of David Garcet.

Fronted by Roman Kalitkin, Sounds of Sputnik now includes Oleg Mezherovsky, Oleg Luzhetsky, Dmitriy Bobrinev, Anastasia Berezovskaya, and Almaz Gaifutdinov. Now based in Canada, Ummagma collaborated with Kalitkin while living in Moscow circa 2004 and reunited with him after a decade of living in Ukraine. Their collaborative project went into overtime when military conflicts began between the two countries, as a decisive and loud symbolic act of cross-border comradeship.

In 2014, Sounds of Sputnik received a Jagermeister Indie Music Award in the ‘Young Blood’ category and the award for Best East European Video at the 2014 Independent Music Video Awards in Australia. ‘New Born’ also remained in CMJ’s American College Radio Charts for a massive 7 weeks, the first time this has been achieved by a Russian indie artist.

LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/soundsofsputnik
http://soundsofsputnik.bandcamp.com/
http://www.youtube.com/kalitkindoors/videos
http://www.soundcloud.com/soundsofsputnik
http://www.reverbnation.com/soundsofsputnik
http://twitter.com/sosputnik