Six months ago Beacon released their second full length album, Escapements, as a sonic mediation of sorts on the nature of time. Sounds speed and slow, come together and decay, are born and die, all within the span of a track. Now that Beacon are headed through Europe on tour, they've also released a remixed version of the album that expands, reworks and uncovers fascinating new elements of the original.
When I spoke to Tom and Jacob they were outside their Brooklyn studio and frankly seemed just as fascinated with the remixes as fans hearing them today, perhaps more so. It's both a frightening and beautiful thing to let others take control of your work, even those other artists you trust and admire, but as they insist, seeing another's lens put in front of your vision can be enlightening.
“It’s an opportunity for us to let go of the tracks for a little bit. After sitting with them for so long, it’s nice to be able to see what other artists do with the music.
It’s interesting to see what was the most inspiring or interesting part of the sound. That’s the real interesting feedback to get. Someone built their remix around a glitch type sound at the end of an arpeggiated synth, that’s the kind of thing that would have been almost forgotten. It’s about people highlighting these things in the original, so they just don’t disappear. ”
While the duo are careful not to place their music inside, or outside, any particular genre label, they do say that remixes can be powerful in their ability to cross lines and reach new ears that might not have been possible based on the original alone, an affect Tom calls, "A huge benefit."
For example, a remix might land deep in the dance world that the original could only lightly touch - case in point, Nitemoves' reworking of their "IM U" original.
Being on a label like Ghostly has given Beacon access to a world of powerful electronic producers, and now they get to take that world on the road. The duo say they are heavily influenced by a lot of the European scene, and just like it was interesting to see what pieces of a track different producers gravitated towards on a remix, they're excited to see what sounds and songs European crowds may latch onto in different ways than a U.S. audience.
“Markets like London and Berlin, that’s where a lot of our sound has been influenced from.
The U.S. tour gave us a very real picture of what our sound means in this country, and now we’re excited to learn what it means in Europe as well.” ”
For your fill of escapement, stream and download the Escapement Remixes bundle Now, featuring new music from Tomas Barfod, Thomas Mullarney, Logan Takashi and more. And be sure to check out Beacon in their European tour, happening now and running into Europe.
TOUR DATES:
09.23 London, UK @ Birthdays
09.24 Copenhagen, DK @ Ideal Bar
09.25 Berlin, DE @ Kantine Berghain
09.28 Prague, CZ@ Lucerna
09.30 Trondheim, NO @ Blaest
10.01 Stavanger, NO @ Folken w/ Kenton Slash Demon
10.04 Lille, FR @ La Cabve Aux Poetes
10.05 Paris, FR @ Le Point Ephemere
10.07 Barcelona, ES @ Sidecar
10.08 Madrid, ES @ Costello Club
Visit www.beaconband.nyc for tickets and info.