Esoteric electronic artist Arswain (born Freddy Avis) is ready to unveil Repartitioned, a lush five-track remix of his 2020 debut release, Partitioning.
Avis is widely known for his work as a composer for film & TV and brings his unique perspective on composition with him to his latest release—an EP so full of sweeping moments that it wouldn’t feel out of place on the big screen.
Falling somewhere between cinematic electronica, darkwave and synth-drenched experimental music, this new version of Partitioning material features reimagined tracks from the minds of Viewfinder, Sam Van Horn, Tape Ghost Deforestation, and more.
We’re excited to share this track-by-track examination from the mind of the artist himself—exclusively here at New Noise Magazine!
“Parts”
I originally intended “Parts” to be the opening track on Partitioning. But as the album took a more pensive [and] sombre direction, “Parts” seemed sonically out of place. It is, however, very conceptually in line with Partitioning—I sampled coins and kitchen machinery (mainly my dishwasher) to create an industrial sound world, similar to the titular track, “Partitioning.” The resulting product became what I consider one of my more ambitious production efforts.
“Water” (Viewfinder Remix)”
I hesitate to even call Anna’s piece a remix. It’s a sound collage; a total reimagining of “Water.” With meticulous restraint, she deftly conducts and manipulates my vocals. Listen on headphones because it’s a wondrous sonic experience. I should have known she’d push the envelope in such a way—after all, she’s an engineer at Ableton and has worked directly alongside the likes of Robert Henke.
“Catechism” (Tape Ghost Deforestation Remix)
David’s a beat wizard, as demonstrated in his electronic duo Night Sea (with Johan Ishmael) and his solo project Tape Ghost. But he’s also a seasoned guitarist and ambient sound designer, so he weaves space and well-rounded instrumentation to his productions. Unsurprisingly, his remix of “Catechism” is all the above. It’s beautiful, it rocks, and it develops as a “song’ would. I feel particularly lucky to have David on this record—he’s a tough guy to track down these days because he has so many projects running at any given moment.
“Catechism” (Sam von Horn Remix)
What I love about his “Catechism” remix is how patient it is. Sam lets the listener bathe in his ambience for over two minutes, to the point where you don’t want it to end. Sam and I first met in the film scoring scene in Los Angeles. Immediately he and I connected over shared music tastes and I always had him in the back of my mind as a collaborator in case the opportunity for a remix EP ever arose.
“Pleasure” (Gifford Remix)
Who’s Gifford? He’s my older brother, Charlie. He doesn’t produce music often, but when he does, he does what outsiders do best: he subverts norms. Segments of his “Pleasure” remix, for instance, are in mixed meter. Some of Charlie’s influences include Blanck Mass, Justice, and Andy Stott. When he sent me the first draft of his remix two years ago, I immediately loved it. We workshopped it together when he visited me one weekend in L.A., and we finished it in one studio session because he had already gotten the remix so far in his first pass.
Stream and download Repartitioned here.
Follow Arswain through his official website here.
