Red On – Ghana Remixed
11.29.16 by Kat Harding

“Ghana”, an impressive experimental album by Red On, was written and recorded just over two years ago on October 23, 2014. Never meant to be released, it was a day of improvisation and recording of one-of-a-kind tracks with analog instruments in a mic-ed up room. I chatted with Red On, also known as Philipp Dittmar, about the original tape “Ghana”, the remixes, and what “Red On” really means (nothing really, just a play on the German word for red, “rot.” Rot On!).

Recorded in the magnificent Veitskirche, Veitsbronn Evangelical Church, Philipp wrote and recorded every track on the album in the moment, the unique improvisations recorded for the one time only, and never meant to be duplicated. Check out this teaser for some views of the hauntingly beautiful space, surrounded by religious relics and carved angels, a perfect fit for the spaced out, wandering tracks. He noted that he spent his childhood in the village near the church and wanted to go into the session not with computers, but with instruments, running everything through bass and guitar amps. The track selection featured very little editing due to the incredible acoustics of the space, which allowed the music to fill the whole room and create an all-encompassing physical experience.

Flash forward to September of 2016 and we’re treated with a remix tape, provided by Philipp and his friends. The remixed tracks are more upbeat and club-ready than their deep and sometimes droney counterparts: these are the songs I want to be soundtracking my exploration of a new city, wandering around in the twilight, while the originals are the ones I want to listen to while laying in a field, drifting in and out while meditating about the universe. Good news for cassette lovers: the tape release is significantly longer than the vinyl, which just features the more dancey selections, according to Philipp. Both were released on Nuremberg, Germany’s Verydeep Records, with the cassettes on a hand-numbered white body, featuring graphic red, white, and black cover art.

Side A of the tape is packed with five tracks, four of which are the same original with completely different interpretations, and it is wonderful. Philipp put full trust in his friends to “do their thing” while chopping and splicing his songs, and then worked on song order together. He did one of them himself, too, under his house music moniker “Philipp Roth.” The second track “Ghana 10 (miira) [Christoff Riedel Remix]” is among my top songs on the side, perfect to dance to, but also has the space to rest in between sections. Although it is difficult to pick favorites, as the following track, a take on the same song by Alex Ketzer, is just as good. Put this tape on to let your body get lost in the sound.

Side B is four entirely different tracks that do not disappoint. “Ghana 11 (moona) [Marx Mid Term Cycle]” is a sweeping remix, washing over you and encompassing you in sound, bleeding seamlessly into the next dance track “Ghana 6 [A. Elm Remix],” a song you cannot listen to without moving. A dark, echoey, and sinister feeling marks the last track, “Ghana 13 [Johannes Lauxens Version]” harkening back to the historical church the base tracks were recorded in. Church bells toll over gloomy reverb for an unsettling end to an exquisite tape.

Pick up the shortened version on vinyl, or the full cassette, from Verydeep Record’s Bandcamp and check out Philipp’s latest project, Miira