Despite being together for seven years and releasing an impressive array of singles, Parisian duo Black Strobe (individually known as Ivan Smagghe and Arnaud Rebotini) are yet to release their debut album. 2007 should see the release of the promised album from the pair who are adept at bringing out a more twisted side to the dance floor. However, for now an album of their remixes has been released.

A Remix Selection is a limited edition compilation of nine of Black Strobe’s finest remixes to date, along with a remix of their current single Shining Bright Star (courtesy of Paul Epworth, who will also be responsible for producing their debut album). Ivan admits, “a remix is by essence a track done ‘for the moment’, you do not think of it as something to last as much as your own things,” so it may seem strange that this collection has been released. But as Ivan deftly points out, the sincerity behind a remix can change this.

The remixes that Black Strobe have done, or at least the ones chosen for this collection, aren’t big money remixes done for pop acts. Many of the acts that Black Strobe have remixed are acts that influenced the pair in their formative years, such as Depeche Mode and Dominatrix. Depeche Mode’s Something To Do is found on the album, remixed against a clanging electronic soundscape, while Dominatrix’s Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight is suitable dirty.

Not surprisingly, the duo’s underground club smash remix of Caretta, Hacker and Millimetric’s Moscow Reisen is included, alongside the unreleased, doom disco version of Bloc Party’s Like Eating Glass. The remix of Tiefschwarz’s Ghost Track stands out with its big bleep techno sound, along with the darkness of their remix of Rammstein’s Keine Lust.

Surprisingly, despite being a collection of remixes, this album still has a cohesiveness to it, which means that it is actually enjoyable to be listened to as a whole. So, rather than being a release only for fans wanting copies of the individual remixes, I also recommend A Remix Selection to anyone into the twisted and dark style of music that Black Strobe create.