Battersea Ep [Import]

Liesje Sadonius is vocals throughout, with the exception of Geike Arnaert on "Battersea", which is the album version from the later "Blue Wonder Power Milk". In saying that, one can expect the originally smooth, darker, chilled variations of their unique trip-hop, lounge electronica sound.

The versions here are excerpts from the single releases of "2Wicky" and "Inhaler", which are, unfortunately, quite rare... (I'd like to get my hands on these...)

As far as the edits go, "2Wicky (video edit)" and "Inhaler (radio edit)" are basically that, edits of the original album tracks, rather self explanatory.

I might go so far as to say that the four re-"mixes" are different versions of the album tracks, rather than remixes. Especially as these tracks are not merely rehashing samples from the originals, but are "live" recordings, with fresh nuances and very different ideas in both vocals and sound.

"2Wicky (DJ Pulse remix)" is a smooth, chilled, ambient, drum-and-bass mix, while "2Wicky (Not so extended Hoovering mix)" is a hard (as hard as Hooverphonic gets), Hooverphonic-meets-industrial sound, with distortion, heavy beats and vocal effects.

"Inhaler (drum 'n orch remix)" is my personal favourite and some of Hooverphonic's best. A track seeping with sound and colour, being largely instrumental with the perfect mix of vocal, acoustic and electronic sounds. And last and certainly not least, "Inhaler (Mr Brown remix)" again is a contrast version from the previous remix, with a metallic tone, beefier sound, and bizarre vocal effects. Truly an experimental version.

The only reason I give this CD a 4 star rating, is because "Battersea" and the two edits are very similar to the album versions, which some may see as a detriment to its value factor. But... The remixes on Hooverphonic's "Battersea EP", very difficult to get a hold of, are a must have for friends of the very smooth, positively-charged, yet dark-chilled, sound of Liesje Sadonius' vocals and the audio treat of Hooverphonic's first album.