- The Observer, Sunday January 20 2008
There's no denying that Radiohead pulled off a classic publicity stunt with the release of In Rainbows. So for all DJ Amplive's noble talk of 'supporting' the band, this album of his unofficial remixes of that record - available as a free zip file to anyone who can prove purchase of the original download or makes a donation to Thom Yorke's favoured charity, Friends of the Earth - is also a skilful piece of piggybacking for a producer little known outside the world of backpack hip hop.
As one half of Bay Area duo Zion I, Amplive has long demonstrated a dilettantish love of foreign waters, experimenting with drum'n'bass and even trance. Accordingly, Rainydaze Remixes is most effective when it is at its boldest, accelerating the dreary original of 'All I Need' into hard-nosed trip hop punctuated by stabbing brass, or transforming 'Weird Fishes' into a gentle drift downstream.
Less impressive are 'Video Tapez', which adds to the original little more than a sparkly rap from Ice Cube's cousin, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, and 'Reckonerz', which strips back the pleasing dub sonics, leaving Chali 2na, late of Jurassic 5, stranded on a beat that sounds like Autechre on a grumpy day.
Rainydaze Remixes is unlikely to be the short cut to stardom that Danger Mouse's Grey Album was. But as a reminder that artists now don't have total ownership of even their own marketing ideas, it's invaluable.
Download: 'All I Need'; 'Weird Fishes'
