Tiny Magnetic Pets: ‘Re-Mix/Re-Model’

❉ Ange Chan takes an electronic journey with accomplished and exciting remixes of already loved tracks.  

Paula Gilmer, Sean Quinn and Eugene Somers aka We Are Cult favourites TINY MAGNETIC PETS are back with another fabulous release, and this time it’s a remix album of some of their best loved songs entitled Re-mix/Re-model (a clever play on Re-make/Re-model, the opening cut of Roxy Music’s debut album).

Ahead of their forthcoming European mini tour in October, which sees them return to Water Rats (London) and Kino Teatr (Hastings), the band also take in Zanzibar in Liverpool.  All UK shows will be supported by Tin Gun who did an amazing job of supporting TMP when they played at the same London and Hastings venues last year. The band then move onto Germany to Kulttemple in Oberhausen where they are supporting the fabulous synthpop stalwarts, Mesh, and finish off at Sinner’s Day at the Citadel in Diest, Belgium on the main stage.

The album contains an impressive number of remixed tracks by well-respected giants of the synthpop world, including Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, The Assembly, Erasure), and Wolfgang Flur (Kraftwerk), which is testimony to TMP’s flawless reputation within the electronic music genre.

The album artwork is an innovative mix of ‘80s pop and punk aesthetics, reflecting the overall ethos of the collection’s remixes.  The sleeve is designed by band member and graphic designer Sean Quinn, who is clearly a man of many talents!

Tiny Magnetic Pets. Photo © Conor Kerr.

The album opens with Vince Clarke’s RMX of Automation was released as an EP vinyl 12” single on 21 May 2021.  This remix was the lead track on the EP and offers a highly polished track by the Erasure synth master.  The track Automation is an accomplished song in the first place, but this version enhances it still further to new heights.  The energetic treatment of the track sets the vibe for the rest of the album and kicks the listener off on the unknown journey of synth delights that are yet to come.

Track two is Radio On featuring Wolfgang Flur (Outernationale RMX).  This track has previously received a couple of other remixes in the past including by Alice Hubble, and The Leaf Library Remix.  The Wolfgang Flur version was originally released on 16 November 2018 as a single in its own right. This version offers a perfect mix of both TMP’s and Kraftwerk’s individual styles with Paula’s vocals cutting through the stark synth sounds offering a perfect juxtaposition of vocals and electronic sound whilst demonstrating the adaptability of TMP’s core sound while staying true to their ethos.

Tiny Magnetic Pets; 24 March 2021

Next comes Spinning (Brian Ego RMDL) delivering pleasant trip hop synth vibes before Paula’s complementary gently delivered vocals kick in. Meanwhile the remix of Here Comes the Noise cuts through the soothing ambiance, to deliver a kick ass version of an already established TMP tune, and always a favourite when performed at their live events.  Swirling synth sounds carry the melody forward on this eminently dancey track.

LMGL: A Cautionary Tale (Staff Training Day RMDL) offers deep soulful synth sounds in its intro, which pave the way for the rest of the track, before the hi hat drum beat kicks in, providing an accompaniment to the vocals.  The track is seemingly over just as its started to gather momentum and provides a bridge between the next track on the album which is Control Me (John Gibbons and Scimon Tist RMX) in which the beat changes to a confident energetic Euro-vibe where the strongly delivered vocals reflect this confident feeling of an already established and positive track.

Tiny Magnetic Pets. Photo © Conor Kerr.

The mood changes once more with Blue Wave II/III (Bowsie RMX) into Ibiza-chill sunset vibes; you can almost see the sun setting outside Café Mambo to the jubilant anticipatory crowds.  The track progresses into a synth-fest of multi-layered deliciousness that takes your mind in all kinds of directions as you progress along this epic journey of a track.

Next up on this electronic journey we have Automation (Nick Reach Up RMX). This version of Automation was originally released as part of the Automation remixes, lead by the Vince Clarke remix and offers a contrasting disco version of the song, with a pulsating beat that won’t fail to get you shaking your rump!

Written by Sean Quinn, Spaced (Viktor Vektor RMDL) was one of the Pets’ earlier songs, released on 6 November 2015, and this version was the only pre-released track from the album, via Bandcamp, giving listeners a mere morsel of what to expect.  Its stark treatment bursts into an amalgam of electronic sound with layers of vocals overlaid drawing you into the track.  The lyrics discuss feelings of floating in space all alone and this track gives you an insight into that disconnected feeling.  Lyrically, it’s not unlike Bowie’s Space Odyssey which gives you the same vibes of complete isolation.

Tiny Magnetic Pets. Photo © Conor Kerr.

The next couple of tracks contain remixes by one of my favourites from the band, namely the serenely beautiful Drowning in Indigo in the form of the Spatial Awareness Dub RMX and Pokrasse RMX. The Spatial Awareness Dub Mix delivers a cinematic soundtrack version of the song, with the slightest edge of trip-hoppy vibes, whilst the Pokrasse RMX is in complete contrast, and offers a more upbeat version of the song.  The rhythmic backing drums mark the beat of the melody, whilst the vibey ‘70s tones morph into steel drum sounds before returning to the core sound of the remix. There couldn’t be two more diverse versions of this track.

This album is for fans of Tiny Magnetic Pets who already love their incomparable songs and want to hear accomplished and exciting remixes of already loved tracks.  There’s an astonishing array of treatments by established and respected giants of the genre, placing TMP firmly in the top tier of the electronic music field.  The album traverses along a highway of creativity, with an edge of familiarity, carrying the listener through the ultimate electronic journey. Must have listening for fans of the genre.  Bravo TMP!

To find out more about Tiny Magnetic Pets, visit the Tiny Magnetic Pets website, ‘like’ their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter. You can find all Tiny Magnetic Pets’ music on the Tiny Magnetic Pets Bandcamp page.


‘Remix/Remodel’ by Tiny Magnetic Pets is released October 7, 2022 via Bandcamp.

 A lifelong lover of music and prominent contributor to Me and the Starman (now available by Cult Ink on Amazon), Ange Chan is a Freelance Writer, having produced two novels and six volumes of poetry.

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