CRYME - HOLD ON

​CRYME

HOLD ON
Seven; 2024

By Matt Jensen

CRYME’s HOLD ON EP serves as an unconventional study in remix culture, presenting five distinct interpretations of a single track. While remix compilations can sometimes feel like redundant exercises, this collection thrives by balancing nostalgia with forward-thinking reinvention. Each version of “HOLD ON” feels like a window into a different electronic subculture, unified by the DNA of its original composition.

The original mix is a love letter to the Chicago house scene of the early ’90s. Its unadorned 4/4 beat, reverb-soaked vocals, and shimmering arpeggiated synths evoke the sound that shaped an era. There’s a rawness here that feels unpolished yet deliberate, as though rediscovered on a dusty cassette. For anyone who grew up absorbing the transition from classic house to the melancholic undercurrents of artists like Burial in the late ’90s, this track taps directly into that lineage.

Cinthie’s remix stays close to its source material but introduces subtle shifts in tempo and focus. The slightly slowed BPM shifts attention toward the synths, now rendered with a rhythmic pulse that feels like a heartbeat. The groove is tighter, and the overall structure foregoes dramatic volume dips, opting instead for a steady and hypnotic build that doesn’t stray too far from its roots.

The Obscure Shape remix takes a sharper left turn, infusing the track with a frenetic jungle energy and glitch-inspired flourishes. This is HOLD ON reimagined as a digital rave fever dream, bristling with cybernetic textures and an almost chaotic momentum. It’s an adrenaline spike disguised as a song, a relentless blend of textures and tones designed to detonate on a dance floor.

Lydia Eisenblätter’s remix brings a different kind of vitality to the EP, driven by a synth bassline that introduces melodic counterpoints to the original’s ethereal framework. There’s a dance-punk edge here—a nod to the swagger of LCD Soundsystem and The Rapture—that reshapes the track into something simultaneously gritty and sleek. It’s a welcome burst of analog-feeling energy in an otherwise digital playground.

Volpe closes the EP with a remix that begins in the low-end depths, waves of bass surging like a tide before ephemeral synths emerge and dissolve. The use of hi-pass filters to create tension and release is masterful, crafting crescendos that feel both atmospheric and visceral. It’s a deeply immersive take that rewards patience with its subtle shifts and moments of catharsis.

What makes HOLD ON so compelling as an EP isn’t just the quality of its individual remixes—it’s the sense of shared purpose among its contributors. Each artist brings their unique voice while staying tethered to the original’s DNA, creating a communal spirit that speaks to the power of collaboration in electronic music.

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