Without much warning, the fantastic industrial hip hop group clipping. dropped a new EP, the first of five REMXNG EPs to be delivered over the next five weeks. This first one features two new tracks, and five remixed tracks from the trio’s previous two horror-core albums There Existed an Addiction to Blood, and Visions of Bodies Being Burned. So if you haven’t listened to those two albums, what are you even doing, go listen to them.
Given clipping.’s propensity for harsh industrial production, I was surprised with the diversity of production on this EP. The first two tracks, the two new ones, explore the spectrum of electronic music. The first track Part of Dust is more akin to an ambient forest soundscape that only transitions to more industrial production within the last couple minutes of the 7 minute track. The next song Bastards is more in line with a loud, bassy, and glitchy rave rager. Though, you’ll only be raging for about two minutes.
Clipping.’s signature industrial production begins to ramp up as you get to the remixed tracks on the EP. And like every good remix, the remixed version takes the original song’s production and flips it on its head. The stripped down percussion bare production of the original He Dead is given new layers of synth and an unrelenting 808. 96 Neve Campbell’s creepy door knocks and syncopated shakers are replaced with an overpowering drum machine that sounds like Outkast’s The Way You Move. She Bad, now renamed to Sheba, has eschewed the creaking door hinges and its hollow xylophone notes (if that’s what those are in the original) for something much darker. Sheba is an unholy auditory pummelling with every industrial sound you can think stacked on top of each other, with audio so distorted and chopped up that you can barely hear the lyrics at all. It’s also one of the best tracks on the album quite easily, though your enjoyment will depend on how much you enjoy having your eardrums attacked. Your ears are given some relief with the remix of Nothing is Safe, now sounding more akin to a trap banger instead of a creepy synthy track like the original. But the real come down is in the final track, where the remix of Say the Name is not even really a hip hop track, but a choral arrangement with a beautiful synthy organ playing quietly behind the singers.
Overall I really enjoyed this. Every remix is its own unique song and doesn’t feel derivative of anything else the group has done before. And the new songs are very promising, showing clipping.’s versatility once again. I am very excited to hear the rest of these EPs as they come out, as this was a very pleasant surprise. If you liked clipping.’s last two albums, I would highly recommend you check this EP out. It’s only 30 minutes, and every remix is incredibly interesting in how much they deviate from the original songs.
Album: REMXNG 2.1
Artist: clipping.
Genre: #HipHop, #Industrial, #Ambient, #Electronic
Sub-Genres: #GlitchHop, #IndustrialHipHop
Label: Sub Pop Records
Non-Airable Tracks: None!
Sounds Like:
Death Grips
Weyes Blood (in production only)
Swans, specifically the album Filth (in production only)
Recommended Tracks:
He Dead (Oil Thief Remix)
Bastards
Sheba
Reviewer’s Name: Liam Larkin-Smith
Date of Review: 9/24/22