Flight Facilities took up residency at Australia’s Triple J last October and the simply incredible result was four, separate, decade-spanning mixes that required an immense amount of research and curation. They’ve finally released the first of those mixes which spans the 10-year period of 1972-1982. The mix is flush with seminal works, sound bytes from historical figures, and, most serendipitously, new, albeit slight, takes on old classics.
The one that really stood out to me was Rocco Raimundo‘s over 9 minute long edit of Lou Reed‘s epic “Walk On the Wild Side.” By stripping down the vocals, and then expanding upon the original, infusing it with hypnotic and mind-altering piano and percussion work, Raimundo clearly strikes a magical chord throughout this piece of art.
The most refreshing part about this edit–and the entire mix–is how deeply seeped into history and the respect with which it treats music that simply cannot and will not ever be duplicated by synthetic instruments. It’s rare that you make it through 3 minutes, let alone 9 minutes of a song these days, but this is a throwback and a ballad in every sense of those words. With much thanks to Flight Facilities and Rocco Raimundo, that whacky crew of Holly, Candy, Little Joe, theSugar Plum Fairy, and Jackie have taken on a completely new meaning.
Lou Reed – Walk On The Wilde Side (Rocco Raimundo Extended Edit)