Altered Evidence: Late Night Remixes

Album Review

Arguably, remix albums are to urban contemporary, dance-pop, and electronica aficionados what albums of alternate takes are to jazz aficionados; they offer a combination of the familiar and the unfamiliar, and they tend to appeal to the really hardcore fans rather than those who have a more casual interest in an artist's work. If someone is genuinely excited about hearing three or four different takes of Charlie Parker performing "Donna Lee" in 1947, you know that person is a serious collector; similarly, no electronica fan who is willing to spend money on an album of remixes has the attitude that he/she can take the artist or leave the artist. So bearing all that in mind, it is clear what type of Karmacoda fan would be interested in the 71 minutes worth of remixes found on this CD: a truly die-hard Karmacoda fan. On Altered Evidence: Late Night Remixes, Karmacoda offer remixes of songs from their 2003 release Evidence — and all of the remixes have a decidedly club-minded perspective. On Evidence, songs like "Whatwithall," "Where You Sleep," and "Reckless" have both club appeal and at-home appeal; they are songs that work well in a club setting but are equally effective if one prefers to sit down and listen to them at home. On Altered Evidence: Late Night Remixes, however, the tunes are remixed in ways that are specifically designed for the club experience — and from a club standpoint, these remixes do the trick. Nonetheless, Altered Evidence: Late Night Remixes is not among Karmacoda's essential releases. Casual listeners would be better off starting out with either Evidence or 2007's Illuminate; this 2004 release is strictly for the group's most devoted fans.