In 2024, Sun Atoms released their ‘Everything Forever’ long player, a record that more than made good on the promise of a string of excellent previously released singles. A highlight of that release, ‘Narco Polo’ eschewed guitar based sounds for a mix of funk and art pop, presenting a Talking Heads-ish groove and a swathe of samples to share something that relied as much on an atmosphere as steady rhythm.
Naturally, a recording that’s so reliant on an unwavering groove is ideal for the reinvention, and ‘Narco Polo Remixes’ presents two very different takes on an already great track. First up, the JunX remix opens with a pulsing beat and a Morse-like keyboard sound, immediately telegraphing something that’s been dramatically reworked. Bringing in a hard beat, the remix takes on the mood of a classic ‘Maxinquaye’ era Tricky recording, proving to be perfect for a deep, hushed vocal. Removed of the funk and a sense of flow, there’s something a little threatening about the result, but the softer approach is a perfect fit for Isaac Brock’s deep vocal tones. At the mid point, realising things need a shake up, a world of synths arrive to lend everything a Chemical Brothers-ish sound, providing a perfect backdrop for a more frenzied voice. This brings a dramatic change, but never an unnatural one, building nicely upon an already great sound. As remixes go, this isn’t likely to replace the original cut in your affections, but it’s an enjoyable alternative.
Taking a little more of a dance stance, the NRC remix wastes no time in unleashing some big beats against a sparse sounding synth, opting for a brilliantly mechanical quality. The inhuman edge lends itself well to the vocal taking more of a backseat – in this case having bits of it taken out of context to create a new musical element. As you might expect, having latched onto a rhythm almost immediately, this never lets go, to the point where the original mood doesn’t really change throughout the near six minutes. Nor does that repetitious approach become boring: what it actually achieves – and very effectively, too – is bring the track to a whole new crowd, who should enjoy this on its own merits, even though they’d be unlikely to enjoy much of Sun Atoms’ original work.
There are moments here, particularly with the second remix, that the source material and its more melodic elements appear rather secondary. Those who enjoy this on face value won’t necessarily find a love for Sun Atoms…and those who love the Sun Atoms LP won’t necessarily find a love for this, but that doesn’t stop ‘Narco Polo Remixes’ being interesting in its own way. As releases go, this is very much a curio, but those able to appreciate the overall sound will definitely glean some enjoyment.
July 2026