Surkin - Next of Kin Mark II (Institubes)
3/5
By: Dickon Stone
Mark these words - this lad is growing to be one of The Big Boys of this genre. French electro hero Surkin and the Institubes label in general are leading the way (along with labels such as 'IHeartComix!') for 90's influenced catchy house tunes, such as Next of Kin I standout 'White Knight' itself - it was a banger the first time round, but now it's been re-realised in several ways, some more interesting than others.
The first re-offering titled 'Chrome Knight' is a cheesy over the top rendition with lyrics and vocals from Dave 1 off'a Chromeo which grates a little on the soul, simply because it feels like an unimaginative Wiley cut and paste job. However, the Laid Back Luke remix is an absolute hit - if I was reviewing this alone, you'd certainly see top marks at the bottom of the page. I've been playing it out for a while now, and still can't get enough of what is basically, yeah, little more than a contemporised version of the original. But it's totally necessary - 'White Knight' has already passed its use-by date, what with the electro scene moving a million miles an hour at the moment.
Another chap climbing to the top rung of the Institubes ladder is Bobmo, who features on this EP in what is actually a rather bland remix of 'Kid Gloves' that you may as well only listen to 30 seconds of. It's a bit of a let down from Bobmo, who gets from A to B but fails to go anywhere apart from back to A... then back to B...and so on. Come on, Bombo, do something interesting, mix it up - I have a short attention span, and so do the kids.
The Blaqstarr remix is another slight disappointment - it's just the original with a few extra bleeps and a pretty basic alteration of kick drum rhythms and a horrid, HORRID vocal addition. Why oh why bother? Still, despite its premature ageing, the original track remains pretty legendary and is a great tune both at home, at parties and in the club, but if you want a big hitter; the big boy remix on this EP really proves why Laidback Luke is such electro royalty.
So the EP sadly as a whole is hit and miss...but check out the original and the Laidback Luke remix for sure-fire enjoyment.
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