Meet the Producers Behind Pompeya's Remix Album

Mention Russian dance pop to someone and what will they say? Chances are they'll mention something like t.A.T.u making out during a performance and not a lot about their music. Were or weren't they lesbians? Either way, time has told that they're probably better off forgotten. Flash forward a decade—it's 2014,and it's time to sit back, relax, and allow Pompeya to Eternal Sunshine those memories away with their bright, breezy beats.

These Ruskies got the blogosphere buzzing last year with their US debut, Tropical, a nine-track LP that was the culmination of efforts dating back to their formation in 2006. The Moscow quartet has since put together a remix album featuring both established and young producers, from the revered party smasher Felix Da Housecat to the acid-infused Jimmy Edgar and the so-French-it-hurts house head Fred Falke. A suprising highlight, however, comes from the relatively unknown remixer Dominic Pierce.

This handsome Canadian takes the high-speed track "Power" and slows the whole joint down—serving up thick, soulful vocals that ride over a leisurely funk beat. I'm picturing the band from The Muppet Show… with more psychedelics.

Anyways, you can download that jawn exclusively from THUMP. Plus, we caught up with some of the Pompeya's chosen remixers to talk about their current projects and their thoughts on who might win in a fight: Putin riding a bear, or a mummified Lenin?

DOMINIC PIERCE

THUMP: Who are some of your influences?
Dominic Pierce: Huerco S., Sakamoto, Afta-1, Thelonious Monk, Marcellus Pittman, Xavier de Rosnay, Kubrick, Truffaut.

What's your approach to producing your own work, as opposed to doing a remix?
With my own work I tend to chase after these ethereal themes or concepts to make myself happy. Sometimes I get lost in the art devices. With remixes, I think more about the listeners, the audiences. I try and take what I'm remixing and take it to some sort of bliss point.

Describe your own work with a Russian stereotype.
With my remix, I wanted the bass to drone a bit and sludge a bit.

Who would win in a fight, Putin on a bear or mummified Lenin? Why?
I'm an idealist—a mummified Lenin. I feel on some level Putin is a shattered man on the inside, and is constantly overcompensating.

What are you working on currently?
An EP is in the works with the vocalist Muhsinah, as well as a another under my alias Horoscope Mood.

Who are you listening to these days?
Oh—see above. Plus, the stuff on my label project, Close To Modern.

PSYCHEMAGIK

THUMP: Hey guys—what are some of your influences?
Psychemagik: Balinese margharitas, Greek dancing.

What's your approach to producing your own work, as opposed to doing a remix?
We agonise for aeons about it.

Describe your own work with a Russian stereotype, and why.
It's like a borscht-eating prostitute.

Who would win in a fight, Putin on a bear or a mummified Lenin?
The bear.

What are you working on currently?
We've got a 40 Thieves remix, and we're looking forward to our upcoming single "Black Noir Schwarz" on Crosstown Rebels.

Who are you listening to these days?
The voices inside our heads.

MIND FAIR

THUMP: What are some of your influences?
Mind Fair: The artists we look to for inspiration are the likes of krautrockers Guru Guru and Can, psych bands like Brain Ticket, as well as Russian and Bulgarian library music from the 80s and Turkish folk funk. Arthur Russell is also a constant source of inspiration as are heavyweight producers like Jean Pierre Massiera, Dennis Bovell, Wally Badarou and Tom Moulton. Influence for us can derive from almost anywhere, although we tend to steer clear of modern music—maybe just because we don't want to run the risk of sounding like other contemporary music.

What's your approach to producing your own work, as opposed to doing a remix?
We pretty much  take the same approach in both instances, when remixing other peoples work we try to make it sound like our original work—usually taking the elements we like best of the other artist's song, then playing over what's left and generally bastardizing it.

Describe your own work with a Russian stereotype, and why.
Our music could be considered to be akin of the average Russian man: stumbling drunk, sometimes quite serious and with very little regard for women. In other words—wobbly, unpredictable, meandering and with a tinge of "music to stroke your beard to."

Who would win in a fight, Putin on a bear or mummified Lenin? Why?
Whilst a mummified Lenin probably wouldn't put up much of a fight, Putin on a bear may throw in the towel early and hand a token victory to mummified Lenin to help boost public opinion as he's shown a softer side early this year with the release of Pussy Riot and arch nemesis Mikhail Khordorsky. This isn't to say that the bear won't do some damage!

What are you working on currently?
We've actually started work on our second LP, which may seem a bit strange as our first one hasn't seen the light of day yet. Our self titled debut is out later this year on Gatefold via Golf Channel after a slew of 12"s, edits and a special disco DJ mix. Mind Fair is a whacked-out fairly organic psychedelic disco folk rock affair whereas the follow up will explore our more electronic tendencies. We're also working on a few hush-hush projects under different pseudonyms that we're staying tight-lipped about at the moment and we've got some exciting new stuff to surface on our Rogue Cat Sounds imprint.

Who are you listening to these days?
In terms of what we're listening to at the minute—loads of Afrobeat really, taking in vibes for the next No Stress Express single for Rogue Cat. So everything from The Unknown Cases, to William Onyeabor, to rare Nigerian disco nuggets like The Barraxe, to UB40 B-sides, oh and like every man, woman, and their dog…the new Moodymann LP!

Purchase the Tropical Remix LP on iTunes here.