Pitchfork

Sweden's Johan Agebjörn is best known as the producer behind Sally Shapiro's Disco Romance, Pitchfork's #32 album of 2007, but now he's taking a turn at the remixer's desk. Unfortunately, his hands are tied by the fact that Norway's Don Juan Dracula haven't exactly written the next "I'll Be By Your Side" here. The Oslo-based group's original "Take Me Home", from 2005's Young Debutantes II, sounds like New Order's "Blue Monday" meeting Orgy's 1990s nu-metal cover; you can hear what might've appealed to Agebjörn in the lo-fi drum beats and occasional bell-like synths, if not the adenoidal vocals and massively compressed guitars. Agebjörn's remix keeps the beats while stripping out (most of) the hormonal angst, instating a graceful eighth-note bass line and airy Italo-disco synth arpeggios. Shapiro's soft, sighing backing vocals, a light contrast to Henrik Lysell's moody lead, might attract some listeners. Agebjörn also adds his beloved vocoder, but he can't turn this into a sensual seduction-- maybe a T-Pain remix next time?

MP3:> Don Juan Dracula: "Take Me Home (Johan Agebjörn Remix")
[original track from Young Debutantes II; out now on Switch Off]