Elektra / Wea
1997
Hyper-Ballad
About This Album
Björk put out a dizzying array of remix EPs from her largely successful album Post, and this is a generous domestic pressing of what was originally available on two separate singles. "Hyperballad" is a beautiful driving pseudo love song, with wonderful arrangements and great production value. The mixes are varied enough for the listener to enjoy, even if it's technically the same song six times in a row. The CD starts with an all-too-brief "Radio Edit" that seems only to give a taste of the original song, like a point of reference before listeners are up and running in remix land. Howie B. (also a producer for her full-length album) has the distinct pleasure of working with an alternate vocal take from the Icelandic pixie, as he spikes a hip-hop down-tempo vibraphone groove over the net with noodly keyboards. Next, Björk's longtime collaborator and producer Mark Bell from LFO (no, not the boy band) gives listeners a rather rigid series of thumps and synthesizer stabs that seem barely associated with the imported vocal track. Bell's mix seems to work more for the EP than it would on its own. A nice slow-motion groove comes next from Fluke, incorporating more of the sweetness from the original song through strings and frequent chord changes.
Track List (try tracks 2 and 3)

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