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While the previous two volumes of Sydney label Groovescooter’s ‘Re-Fashioned’ series have focused upon Australian electronic artists reinterpreting classic Australian and UK rock / indie / pop tracks respectively, for this third volume, as the loaded title suggests, the spotlight falls upon Bond. James Bond. It’s certainly an extremely rich and diverse oeuvre to draw from; especially when you consider the number of classic Bond themes in the canon, as well as the number of big names who’ve graced the hallowed ‘opening theme’ stool; from chanteuse Shirley Bassey through to contemporary big draws such as Garbage and Madonna. Thankfully, the Groovescooter crew have done their bit to aid in excising Ms. Ciccone’s rather flat contribution to the Bond series, as it’s astutely not included here amongst the tracks covered, which are certainly drawn from all points along the Bond timeline, ranging from the classic ‘Goldfinger’, right through to ‘The World Is Not Enough.’ The cast of Australian artists here is certainly an extremely impressive one as well, with the likes of Ollo, Gotye, Velure and Fatt Dex making appearances alongside vocalists Peta Morris, Chrystal Lynch and Inga Liljestrom, to name but a few. There’s also a perceptible dubcentric theme flowing through several of the tracks here, a focus explained in the liner notes by the compilers as being a tribute to Bond creator Ian Fleming’s deep love of Jamaica (heck, he even retired there in a huge house called ‘Goldeneye.’)
There’s certainly a deep dub presence from the very beginning with Junglehammer’s spliffed-out reworking of the classic Bond theme, the familiar swirling strings and keys of the original swirling into view, only to be taken for a slow, blunted wander through lazy one-drop ragga drums, wandering clavinets and bottomless dub bass, some majestic horns tracing the familiar soaring riff against the hypnotic rhythms, before Velure turn Sheryl Crow and David Arnold’s ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ into stripped-down territory that certainly magnifies the sense of yearning packed into the original lyric, delicate acoustic guitar chords chiming their way beneath Lynette Moran’s torchsong vocal, while subtle digital processing adds some interesting textural elements beneath the slowly clicking rhythms. Fatt Dex makes a welcome reappearance alongside Gotye, reshaping KD Lang’s ‘Surrender’ (originally ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’s closing theme) into a desert-strewn slice of hiphop-infused downbeat pop that beautifully merges bluesy slide guitars, Wally De Backer’s weary-sounding vocals and clicking loops in one of this compilation’s biggest highlights, while Inga Liljestrom’s haunting re-reading of ‘From Russia With Love’ transports the original track to considerably more ominous territory, blurred-out droning orchestral swells rising up beneath Liljestrom’s icy vocals and the delicate plucking of a harp – you can almost feel the freezing Moscow winter closing in.
Former Skunkhour keyboardist Snorkel (real name Paul Searles) and vocalist Tina Harrod (known for frequent outings alongside local legend Jackie Orszaczky) take on perhaps the most daunting number amongst the Bond backcatalogue; Shirley Bassey’s signature ‘Goldfinger’ and emerge more than successfully, Harrod capably matching Bassey’s powerful lungs (even if the original lyrics are still hilariously crap) as Searles scatters swirling synth-strings and a vague hiphop centred beat pulse amongst the loping bass and rippling cymbals. Junglehammer meanwhile offers up a ragga reworking of Paul McCartney’s ‘Live And Let Die’ that certainly takes the most liberties with the original track out of all the covers assembled here, with vocalist Paul Snatch laying down his falsetto ragga croon over a skanking backdrop of drums and guitars, cavernous dub-delays crashing into the mix as ragga horns trace out the original’s signature hook; I know of at least one Bond diehard who was bemused by it, but personally I found it to be amongst the highlight moments here. Ollo certainly manage to unleash one of the most spectral and cinematic moments here with their imaginative re-interpretation of Duran Duran’s ‘View To A Kill’, Alex Crowfoot’s haunting vocals duetting with Peta Morris’ as deep swelling electronic bass tones wandering in a vaguely doomy fashion beneath glitchy, stuttering rhythms and eerie sampled orchestration – in fact, it manages to drag the original right away from Duran’s catchy eighties Top 40 into goth-tinged territory that heightens the spookiness of the original chorus hook – ‘Dance into the fire’, indeed.
For my money, ‘Re-Fashioned 007’ easily represents the most consistently strong volume in Groovescooter’s ongoing covers series so far, with the diverse and extremely astutely selected cast of artists and producers pressed into service here certainly bringing a wide range of different reinterpretations to the table. It also represents the perfect jumping-off point for anyone interested in further exploring any of the Australian artists featured here – all of whom certainly come highly recommended; grab your martini and prepare to emerge stirred, not shaken.
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