Music (or any art-form really) can only be abstracted so far in a certain direction before it loses coherence. It is those that amble around the periphery that are deemed avant-garde. Battles’ progressive-electronic-math-rock (for lack of a better classification) may initially sound like a jumbled mess, but soon it becomes clear how finely tuned the chaos is. These guys have probably found the equation for the curve of the periphery or something. On last year’s album, Gloss Drop, Battles was still catching its breath after their dynamic Mirrored. After Mirrored, Battles also lost Tyondai Braxton, the vocalist responsible for the tweaked and distorted lyrics. It was good, but lacked Mirrored‘s break-neck pace and robot noises. In other words, Gloss Drop was a collection of progressive instrumentals ready for remixing.

Accordingly, Battles is releasing a four-part 12” remix series of EPs. The first part, Drop Gloss 1, has remixes by The Field and Gui Boratto. Drop Gloss 2 will be released February 21st, and features remixes by Kode9, The Alchemist, and Shabazz Palaces. Seattle’s Shabazz Palaces is an experimental rap group led by  Ishmael Butler (aka ‘Palaceer Lazaro’ aka former Digable Planets’ member ‘Butterfly’) and Tendai Maraire, the son of kalimba extrordinare  Dumisani Maraire. Palaceer Lazaro has a wry, mercurial flow, and together the two create a sound which is a little dark and strikingly distinct. They honor rap’s roots in jazz and poetry. Somehow, the combination of Shabazz Palaces’ verses and beat with Battles’ calculatedly erratic “White Electric” manages to be  catchy without any predictable hook. Why does that have to be so rare?

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Battles – White Electric (Shabazz Palaces Remix)

Guest post by Tarin F.