Mandela Effect
is a companion piece to
Gonjasufi
's bleak, confrontational 2016 full-length,
Callus
, containing remixes of several tracks from that album, in addition to new recordings and collaborations. The release ventures further down the dark, winding path set by previous
efforts, with several fellow travelers aligning themselves with his unique vision. Here, it seems like the vocalist/producer (named
Sumach Ecks
) is paying homage to trip-hop at its darkest and most claustrophobic. A cover of "Show" by
Beth Gibbons
of
Portishead
(from her 2002 album with
Rustin Man
,
Out of Season
) appears early on, with
Ecks
' whispered vocals covered by a sparse, booming beat and shadowy, distorted guitar. After this,
Daddy G
from
Massive Attack
takes on "Your Maker," matching its paranoid lyrics with swift, galloping drums and shimmering delay.
seems to have inspired several of the remixers (particularly ones affiliated with underground hip-hop) to come up with some of their weirdest, most experimental work.
Shabazz Palaces
fill "Afrikan Spaceship" with revving motorcycle sounds and layers of collapsing, cartoon-like voices.
Ras G
's version of the same song never settles on a proper beat, instead building up a cacophony of gongs, chimes, and nightmarish sound design. Yet another take on the song, this time by
King Britt
, has a slow yet jittery beat, buckets of distorted echo, and a sample of African chanting that creeps in slowly toward the end, and really ties it together.
IMD
's mix of the bittersweet ode to death "When I Die" is one of the album's highlights, combining pounding drums with vintage-sounding synthesizers, sounding more like
Broadcast
than
.
Santiro Romeri
's mix of "The Conspiracy" starts out with dramatic neo-folk guitar strumming, later acquiring percussion, melodica, and
' familiar weary croak. Somehow this dark folk-rock rework makes more sense than it seems like it should, and it's one of the most refreshing tracks on the album. The album's final song is a collaboration with legendary Afro-beat drummer
Tony Allen
. Instead of trying to channel
Fela
, however,
recalls
(coming full circle with the
Gibbons
cover near the start of the album), but more warped and sinister, twisting
Allen
's drums backwards and sideways, and covering them with blown-out guitar. A few
BBC Radiophonic Workshop
-like tape experiment interludes provide thematic bridges at the beginning, middle, and end of the album.
is certainly more varied than
(which, like all
releases, is a heady mix of styles itself), and while it isn't exactly lighter or more listener-friendly, it often seems to get its messages across in more intriguing ways. ~ Paul Simpson