Some trips involve buses and airplanes, others need chemical assistance. Some trips, however, require only a stereo. Keigo Oyamada, a k a Cornelius, is an expert choreographer of the latter form of travel. His last record, "Fantasma," catapulted listeners through an orange-colored psychedelic wonderland where Beethoven and the Clash contributed to a natural sort of high.
The "Fantasma" remix album, "FM," is something of a paradox; "Fantasma" is already the ultimate remix. The artists involved, from cutting-edge clubbers like James Lavelle to jangly pop princes like the Pastels, were already in the mix before they even touched a cut. They were all part of Oyamada's musical memory, the raw material from which "Fantasma" was wrought. Its companion record, "CM," is a mirror, with Oyamada making cut-and-paste fantasies of pieces by many of the artists that remixed "Fantasma." All are marked with the indelible Cornelius touch -- an almost geek-like fascination with sound.
"It was my idea," explained Oyamada in a recent interview. "When I was making the 'Fantasma' album, I was also working on a lot of remix requests from other people. After a while, I recorded all the remix work onto one CD and thought it would be interesting to release it as one album. I thought it would be even more interesting to have another album with people remixing my stuff as well.