Jel + Awol One + Serengeti + I Heart Lung “Interoceans II” [mp3]

“With its whispered intro and backwards hum, it might be hard to believe that the original “Interoceans II (Overturning)” is even more sleepy. But the track, by jazz/noise improvisers Chris Schlarb and drummer Tom Steck, finds its determined groove late in its 12 minutes. The Jel remix doesn’t have that kind of time: Awol One immediately starts with the chorus (“You built yourself a monster/Out of spare parts/And all kinds of pig hearts”) over the track’s lumbering beat and lapping ocean waves. The stereo-panned drumbeat and backwards synth line make the song a little queasy and uncomfortable, simmering under Awol’s accusations. As Awol One’s raspy and exhausted, Serengeti’s unrelenting and quick. Serengeti’s unrelenting delivery balances out Awol’s raspy talk-rap. He’s got a dozen similes for each of Awol’s metaphors, though his are inscrutable and scattershot while Awol One stays focused on an ex. Serengeti’s cut-up couplets take Awol’s chorus as a guiding principle—he sews his verse together out of spare lines, though what he builds isn’t quite as monstrous as you hope. – JESSICA SUAREZ”