Trauermusik Partial Arts

Ewan Pearson and Al Usher have been working together since they recorded their first single "Canopy" as Partial Arts for Hamish Anderson's Out of the Loop label in 2002. In January 2006 they released a second single, "Cruising", on Paris' Dialect label. Together they have remixed Jaymz Nylon, Blake, Midnight Star, Swag, Feist and Shapemod. In the past 12 months Ewan has produced 8 tracks of the Rapture's "Pieces of the People We Love" LP and 6 tracks for Tracey Thorn's forthcoming solo album "Out of the Woods", as well as remixing Goldfrapp, Fields, Pet Shop Boys and Cortney Tidwell. Al has remixed Grandad Bob, Zero7 and Kelis and has completed a new single "Gnanfou" for Misericord in early 2007. It's only natural that Kompakt and these lads roads would finally cross - Michael Mayer's (co-head of Kompakt) longtime admiration for Ewan's production work publicly stretches back to 2002 with the inclusion of Ewan's remix for Stargazer on that cherished mix CD Immer. Now with Al as Parial Arts,'Trauermusik' could be heralded the definitive emo-techno/house track of our time. Never melancholic but sublimely sophisticated and (overused but so true in this case) 'deep', Partial Arts keep it slow and sexy throughout this massively produced, pop-bred ditty. And who else would they enlist to bring it to the mainline, than techno's acid drill team Alter Ego, who turn "Trauermusik" inside out. Reshaping a ragga-esque rhythm into a tearing 4/4 bass line, then nodding their hats to the original with a sweep of glorious synths, Alter Ego blow back to that rip-roar beat that set us off screaming in the first place.