The Free Design: The Now Sound Redesigned

iTunes Review

In the late 1960s, the New York-based vocal group the Free Design served up jazzy harmonies, plush lounge music arrangements, and unusual rhythms. Like their California-based contemporaries, the Mamas and the Papas and the Beach Boys, the Free Design could evoke joy and sadness at the same time. The Now Sound Redesigned offers inventive reworkings of Free Design originals by recording artists like Peanut Butter Wolf, Super Furry Animals, Danger Mouse, and Kid Koala. Madlib brings a touch of rowdiness to “Where Do I Go,” adding rough and tumble beats and a variety of just-right wrinkles. Stereolab & the High Llamas, who owe the Free Design a big debt, mash up several cuts for “Harve Daley Hix.” Los Angeles-based producer Nobody contributed “Girls Alone (Nobody Muzak Mix),” which rides a jagged groove as sweet voices and woodwinds weave a dreamy atmosphere. Caribou’s “Dorian Benediction,” one of the more ethereal tracks here, features churchy organ, fluttering harp, and vocal chants before things head East as ritualistic bells and Asian flute samples create a psych-folk vibe. It’s a perfect ending to a great tribute.