Erich Lesovsky returns to Univack for the followup to his lovely ‘Clouds are Made of Tears’ EP on the label last year. Remixes come courtesy of Cumiks and One Million Toys.

‘Virgin Essence’ is richly atmospheric and melodic from the off, with the bleepy sounds becoming increasing textured and the bassline playing a very complementary chord sequence. The haunting central synth line comes to the fore in the breakdown, setting up more bleepy/funky fun, building to a busy climax.

Cumiks toughen the track up, with heavier percussion and a pulsing bassline driving things forward, while playful, Eastern-flavouring interlocking synth lines lead us into the breakdown. There the familiar key changes from Erich Lesovsky’s original emerge, giving the remix its first clearly recognizable nod in that direction. The original appeals to me more, of the two, but this is a really creative and distinctive interpretation of the track from Cumiks.

Erich Lesovsky’s second original here is ‘Hymn to X’, which starts with some glassy ripples gradually being subsumed by a monster bass, before the kick drums and some beautifully crisp handclaps get proceedings underway. The track’s retro-yet-poignant melody soon arrives, dominating the breakdown and gradually emerging once more for the track’s euphoric finale. This is very sweet stuff indeed.

One Million Toys has made quite a stir of late, and it’s not hard to see why here. He doesn’t waste a beat, immediately hitting the listening with a bubbling acid line that spikes in intensity as Erich Lesovksy’s melodic ideas begin to pour in. This is a terrific remix, which keeps all of those wonderful themes from ‘Hymn to X’ intact, while ramping up the excitement levels with its trippy, distorted organ breakdown and wicked 303 work.

Erich Lesovsky’s originals are my picks here, with ‘Hymn to X’ striking me as the stronger of the pair, but both remixers have brought some great new ideas to the table too. Great stuff! 8/10