Music Review: Ternion Sound - Digital Artifice // Recompiled

Review of the Ternion Sound Digital Artifice remix album, released 10/4/24 on VISION Records

Following the well-received debut Ternion Sound album, Digital Artifice (VISION Records, October 2023), Ternion Sound recruited a who’s-who of legends and rising producers from the 140, Garage, and bass scenes for 26 remixes, covering nearly the entirety of the original 26 song album (some songs got multiple remixes and others were not included on the Recompiled version of the album).

One thing that stood out to me about the original album was how clean the transitions between tunes was. The energy flow, and the songs themselves, felt like the type of live set that takes the listener on a journey, while still maintaining distinct and unique individual tracks as you’d expect from an album.

Track 1: Communion (Culprate remix)

A glitchy, breaks-forward song, with the drums quite high in the mix, combined with a bouncy bass line and grime vocals is a strong first tune to kick off the remix album.

Track 2: Gunfinger Music (The Glitch Mob remix)

With a clean drum pattern that immediately caught my attention, and a wobbly bass melody, the remix of this tune immediately got me moving. The second drop was a little lackluster in my opinion, especially compared to the initial bass melody, but it provides a nice consistent groove that flows cleanly into the next tune and gives some space in the ‘mix’.

Track 3: Bacterian (Chef Boyarbeatz remix)

Chef Boyarbeatz is one of my favorite producers at the moment. Watching his rise overt the past couple of years has been incredibly inspiring. Seamlessly blending elements of UK and dubstep in his production, Chef B puts an extremely well-produced and enjoyable garage spin on one of my favorite tracks from the original album.

Track 4: Real (Thys remix)

Higher BPM, with a dry, rattling drum beat, this song is a sonic break from the first three tracks, despite having a seamless transition from the previous tune. Not my favorite on the album, but well produced as expected from Thys (and Ternion Sound).

Track 5: Detroit (Coco Bryce remix)

Breaks legend Coco Bryce was recruited for a remix of Detroit. Utilizing expertly sampled drum and chopped drum loops, the percussion on this tune is the star of the show. Thinking in terms of the jam bands, Detroit almost feels like a drum solo while the rest of the band cools off for minute. It provides a nice flow the album overall, but isn’t a song I’m likely to come back to by itself.

Track 6: Dub Session (Neekeetone remix)

A low pass filter on the intro dissolves into another crispy breaks loop for the drums, this time by Neekeetone, a producer I was unfamiliar with before this album/ song. A soul vocal sample provides nice layering with the drums and the buzzy bass line on the back half of the song, picking up the energy before moving into the second remix of Gunfinger music on the album.

Track 7: Gunfinger Music (COIDO remix)

Another producer I was previously unfamiliar with, COIDO brings the album back to a deeper sound, with a pulsing kick drum and bass synth stabs that give the song a ton of movement. Definitely a standout track for me.

Track 8: xPrismatic (Bukez Finezt remix)

German (or maybe Belgium, sorry if I’m wrong) dubstep legend Bukez Finezt delivers a slurky (shoutout Chef B) dubstep cut of xPrismatic. The second half of the song adds a bit of crunch to the sound design, while maintaining a great sense of musical flow. This tune will do some absolute damage on a club system.

Track 9: Vapor (Mr. Bill remix)

Production legend Mr. Bill is known for his clean production, mix downs, and ability to deftly produce a massive range of electronic subgenres. On Vapor, he weaves a piano driven melody with a very high clarity sound design, reminiscent of past eras of bass music while highlighting the modern level of sound design expertise that current-day electronic fans have come to expect. While I enjoy the song, the sound design (especially on the the drops, which felt a little brosteppy to me) was not my personal favorite, but Mr. Bill’s production chops come through loud and clear on this remix.

Track 10: Portland (Sorsari remix)

Portland was a standout track for me on the original album. Sorsari’s remix had a riddim-esque flow, with an underwater feel. I especially enjoyed the variety this tune provided to the album, introducing a sound and feel that had not yet shown up from the first nine tracks. The bass sweeps that started around halfway into the song were especially nice, cutting through the mix and punching out of my sub.

Track 11: Particles (Maxo remix)

I honestly found this song a bit off-putting, with a glitchy flow that I didn’t necessarily dislike, but didn’t feel added much to the album beyond a choppy, dissonant feeling that interrupted the overall flow.

Track 12: OnPark (Criso remix)

Criso is another producer who I’ve been listening to a ton lately. At the top of his game and still rising rapidly, this tune is no exception. The flow on this song is a groove-starter, destined to get people moving in the dance. There percussive sounds sound like a wood block or glockenspiel, layered over a bed of the classic 140 dubstep kick drum sound work perfectly with the sound design of the bass. My only gripe with this song is that it felt too short.

Track 13: Heaven Sent (ENiGMA Dubz remix)

Another dubstep legend, ENiGMA Dubz remix of grime-focused Heaven Sent was a perfect follow up to the preceding Criso remix. The dark and distant bass growls mesh perfectly with the grime vocals, driven along by some crispy drum production.

Track 14: Reachin’ (Deft remix)

The main feature of this song is a pounding kick drum pattern and some glitchy sound bites sprinkled in here and there. Overall, this song was largely forgettable and didn’t do much for in general or within the context of the album.

Track 15: Intimacy (Saka remix)

I’ve been really into Saka’s sound for the last year or so. Coming off a string of great releases, a nod from Ternion Sound for a remix on this album is icing on the cake. Saka’s freestyle B2B with Fly at the Elements festival renegades (Shoutout Aspire Higher fr fr) was one of my top sets of the year, solidifying Saka as one of my favorites, and a producer everyone should keep an eye on if they aren’t already.

This song heavily features a booming kick drum, with additional elements being brought into the song slowly, much like how longer deep house or techno cuts tend to progress. The bouncy, tight sound design on the drop comes in cleanly on top of the entire production, giving the song a shuffling flow that lends itself to head nodding along.

Track 16: Simulacra (BASTARD remix)

Simulacra was another of my favorites on the original album. The darkness and sound design reminds me a lot of Kursa, specifically Kursa - Disarray. I enjoyed this one a lot, and will definitely be checking out other music by BASTARD.

Track 17: Portland (Aweminus remix)

Riddim dubstep legend Aweminus has been a fixture of the scene for a long time at this point. I like the selection of Aweminus by Ternion Sound for this remix, giving a vastly different take than the original and providing a lot of variety to the album’s overall sound. The remix is heavily riddim influenced, but manages to be crafted in such a way that doesn’t feel cliche or out of place. Definitely a surprise album standout for me.

Track 18: Heaven Sent (Leo Cap remix)

Leo Cap is your favorite dubstep producer’s favorite dubstep producer. Hailing from Russia, word on the street is he’s getting a US visa sometime in 2025, so look out for rare Leo Cap appearances in a city near you (fingers crossed). This remix (the second Heaven Sent remix on this album) is a gritty dubstep tune with grime vocals that has a lot of replay potential and will probably work its way into a number of DJs live sets.

Track 19: Gunfinger Music (Justin Hawkes remix)

For the album’s 3rd remix of Gunfinger music, Justin Hawkes delivers the first drum and bass cut on this album. This one is extremely danceable, creating a nice pocket for the bass to fit in around the drums. A well produced tune that is notably (and certainly intentionally) different from the other remixes of the same tune, beyond the obvious DNB aspect.

Track 20: Chatter Scatter (Posij remix)

This sound design in this song reminds me a lot of Simula. The second DNB song in a row, Posij keeps the danceable energy going with this take on Chatter Scatter. The yoi basses flow overtop of the consistent dnb drum pattern, keeping the mix clean despite the scattered (see what I did there) sound design and sonic effects.

Track 21: Cloak (Wingz remix)

Wingz, another new-to-me producer, was tagged to create a Cloak remix that comes in the form of a a jump-up DNB banger. The main melody of the tune is extremely catchy, working well with the ‘classic’ dnb snare and sound design on the drop.

Track 22: Guardian (Kloudmen remix)

This track marks the return the dubstep, with a unique soundscape that felt part-buzzsaw and part-alien caverns. The echoing effects panned around the mix, creating an eerie and immersive tune that was especially unique in my opinion. I definitely need to check out more Kloudmen music.

Track 23: Amplify (Enei remix)

Enei - Bag of Raw Meat was one of my personal first DNB songs I fell in love with (after my initial Macky Gee phase lol). This remix from Enei is drum-forward drum and bass tune, with a topline synth that reminds me of Joker at certain points. The hip hop verse fit better than the average drum and bass non-grime vocals, flowing through the bridge into the second drop. This was another standout song for me.

Track 24: Detroit (Current Value remix)

The build up of this one felt like it was going to be a liquid dnb song. The drop was a bit jarring in my opinion. I didn’t dislike it, but it wasn’t what I was ‘hoping’ for from the song, if that makes sense. There wasn’t enough low end for my personal preferences, and the earlier drum and bass on this album was more my cup of tea.

Track 25: Looking up (Om Unit remix)

Slowing the tempo back down as the album comes to a close, the Om Unit remix of Looking up has a distant synth melody layered with a nice breakbeat sample. The cowbell sound in the snare spot stood out to me, giving the song a unique feel. The minimal rolling bassline that comes in on the back half of the song was welcomed and helped cleanly shift the energy heading into the final song.

Track 26: Artifice (Buunshin remix)

The final track was a melancholy, introspective song that wound down the energy of the album. The main melodies and a (rough) continuation of the rolling bass sound from the previous song combined with the filtered vocals to create a smooth energetic and musical outro to the 90 minute plus album.

Final thoughts

Overall, I enjoyed this album, especially the fresh takes on some of the instant classics on the original album. I also appreciated the variety (genre wise and popularity wise) of producer choices for the remixes. There are a number of tunes on this album that made it onto various playlists I have, but also a handful of somewhat forgettable tunes. One other thing that was interesting to me was the decision to have multiple remixes of certain songs, while skipping over remixes of other songs from the original album. I wonder if this was an intentional choice by the Ternion boys, or if it was driven by which songs the remix artists chose to work with.