Mike Paradinas is having quite the year. After a successful collaboration with Mrs. Jynx, Paradinas, aka µ-Ziq, dove back into his solo career head first on his Planet Mu label. His Goodbye EP was basically a beefed-up single for a song from his forthcoming album Magic Pony Ride. The song “Goodbye” was backed by three surprisingly sturdy album tracks, “Giddy All Over, “Moise”, and “Rave Whistle”. “Rave Whistle” also came with two extra remixes to round out the whole thing.
Paradinas is filling the gap between Goodbye and Magic Pony Ride with another EP named Goodbye Remixes. This time, the title track gets three makeovers while “Giddy All Over” and “Rave Whistle” receive one extra remix apiece from other Planet Mu artists. Overall, it’s not as satisfying a product as the Goodbye EP, but it’s hard to judge Goodbye Remixes too harshly when the rest of Paradinas’ 2022 is shaping up so well.
One thing that prompted the jungle sounds of “Goodbye” and its B-side brethren was Paradinas’ discovery of older recordings while he was assembling a deluxe 25th-anniversary package for his landmark 1997 album Lunatic Harness. That’s another milestone being celebrated for the artist in 2022. The song blends overlapping sampled voices dipped in echo, creating a strange atmosphere to go with the busy beats. Though not all in uniform ways, that rhythmic identity remains intact through these five tracks.
For instance, Jlin applies the halting and chopping technique that she’s so well-known for to “Giddy All Over”, an otherwise ambient piece of IDM from the Goodbye EP. In Jlin’s hands, it has a groove but labors for it noticeably. RP Boo’s remix of “Rave Whistle” doesn’t change the track’s identity that much but does opt out of having too many sounds to go with the skittering beats. If you’re worried that the blood-curdling scream from the previous EP wasn’t going to make it, it’s still there. Just not as frequent.
Paradinas begins the EP himself with a VIP remix of “Goodbye”. Unsurprisingly, his version doesn’t stray too far from the original while freeing the background of extra sounds – or clutter, depending on your opinion. Of everyone involved, Xylitol plays up the rhythmic angle the most while supplying additional interweaving synth lines that weren’t there before. But aside from Xylitol, everyone who touched “Goodbye” thought well enough of the padded vocal sample-led melody lines to leave them be.
This December, when µ-Ziq fans will invariably look back on Paradinas’ productive year with great contentment, they will probably overlook or completely forget about the Goodbye Remixes EP. It’s not bad or disappointing; it’s just that these 20 minutes of “new” music come up short compared to everything else Paradinas has been up to lately. Some of the remixes add perks that the originals did not have, but it all tends to blur into a jungly mush if you spend too much time with it. Taken bit by bit, these remixes offer a few intriguing insights. Holistically speaking, you’re free to take a pass.