Yeah X 3 is the fifth track to be singled out from David Holmes and Raven Violet’s LP, Blind On A Galloping Horse. Perhaps one of the least political pieces on a record that’s clearly intended as a kick up our collective apathetic arse, and a humanitarian call to arms. Rather than railing against greedy, corrupt, sociopathic powers that be, it seems instead to describe a personal epiphany. A celebration of life, love, and family. A counting of blessings, but also a shout that encourages those listening to never surrender their dreams. These admirable sentiments are set to David’s now characteristic kosmische-influenced wall of sound, and delivered in Raven’s signature `60s girl group harmonies. 

The first of the folks to rock up for a remix is Jordan Nocturne, of Belfast’s Night Institute. Beginning with a beat that may have been bitten from Michael Jackson, he quickly introduces a big, huge, hi-energy bass arpeggio – creating a headlong – and in a more perfect world, chart-topping – charge. Jacked up like Giorgio Morroder with he-man muscles. Donna Summer on steroids. 

Panda Bear and Sonic Boom, fresh from being dropped into dub by On-U Sound’s Adrian Sherwood, do some serious, slightly deranged, experimenting with reverb and delay of their own. Surrounding the ringing FM synthesis and low-end drone, with swooshing and swirling effects, and setting everything dancing to crashing, colliding drums and handclaps. 

The Vendetta Suite, David’s old pal, Gary Irwin, produces two takes, where his Reason To Drift Mix is a beatless, ambient excursion, fashioned out of fluttering otherworldly loops. The keys could be a Mellotron, harpsichord, or Celeste, their mood most certainly psychedelic, while Raven is reduced to a mantra: “Love is a mystery.” The results recall Primal Scream doing Eno, on their Inner Flight, and Joseph Byrd’s pioneering plugged-in hippies, United States Of America.   

X-Press 2, who seem to be on a roll, what with their new album, a dynamite crack at David Kitt, and now this, bowl us over with a brilliant “Balearic” house re-fit. Referencing Fingers Inc., and Larry Heard’s iconic Juno-60 sound, they playfully reimagine, re-create, his Can You Feel It riff on 21st Century machines. The idea, perhaps, inspired by Raven whispering “Mysteries of love” – this also being the title of another of Larry’s classics. Their vocal version is pure pop, but for me, the dub is the one. While significantly stripped back, this still features the bulk of the song, and the old school Chicago shenanigans are far more than a sly nudge and a wink. 

The remixes of David Holmes And Raven Violet’s Yeah X 3 are out now, on Heavenly Recordings.