An unexpected surprise showed up in my inbox a few weeks ago: what appeared to be an album of electronic music by my friend, composer/bassoonist Brad Balliett. Brad’s one of the more unique musical figures in New York; I’ve known him, and his identical twin, Doug, since high school. The contradiction inherent in that last sentence should tell you something. They were the guys who knew how to make a bong out of an apple, and did so. MATA and Metropolis Ensemble are presenting their “hip-hop retelling” of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in May.

So I downloaded Brad’s album into iTunes. 10 tracks (thought I), that’s a nice round number. E flat minor, that’s a nice key to start something in. OH HEY, this sounds familiar. Yes, Brad had indeed remixed all of Shy and Mighty. I got a huge kick out of listening to his take on it; the first track, Antennoid, makes a rather convincing case:

Brad Balliett/Timothy Andres: Antennoid

I guess every Steve Reich “tribute” deserves its own Reich (Remixed) tribute! Download the entire thing at Brad’s site.