Zopelar - Origini (Ripperton remixes)
by Slav Ka
Say you walk into a ramen shop. It’s one of those diminutive places, hidden underground and presided over by an eccentric (obviously!) ramen chef. Let's call him Zopelar-san. Befitting an eccentric, Zopelar-san refuses to make a bowl of ramen with anything other than a thick, fatty pork broth. Naturally, you only see a single large cauldron of that heavenly liquid bubbling in the kitchen with the master himself hunched over it like a magician, subtly tweaking it until it reaches perfection. Inside the shop, there is only one table, occupied by two very similar looking Swiss gentlemen, sipping from their ramen bowls. The gentleman on the left (let's call him LeftRippa-san) prefers his ramen spicy, heavy, and with copious amounts of pork, while the gentleman on the right (let's call him RightRippa-san) loves his ramen light, delicate and with filled to the brim only with seaweed and bamboo shoots.
Origini EP feels very much like that ramen shop: Zopelar-san’s original mix is a vat full of sounds, all heavy, delicious and carefully cooked on a low flame for a very long time to bring out subtle flavours out of every ingredient. LeftRippa-san's remix takes Zopelar’s broth and dials up meat and spice: the track starts with a heavy thud of a beat with LeftRippa-san slowly evolving it and adding spices to refine the taste. Slabs of fatty pork are added around the 4 minute mark as a heavy synth line enter the track. A few more spices disguised as subtle blips, and a soft-boiled egg in the form of a mysterious distant drone melody complete this monster of a dish. Working through it requires aural perseverance and patience but you are rewarded by having that satisfying, languid feeling that only comes after consuming large quantities of animal fat.
But what if you are on a diet or simply prefer the subtle flavours and that light lucid feeling after eating a veggie dish? RightRippa-san to the rescue: his Bubbles Dub Mix takes the same broth and reworks it into a much lighter but no-less-flavorful bowl: the track starts with a similar base (broth and noodles) and while LeftRippa's mix pulls the music down towards the heavy with complex percussion and drones, RightRippa pushes it towards the heavens by sparsely adding musical equivalents of bamboo shoots and seaweed and leaving them enough space to properly interact with the broth. Zopelar’s broth is still there but the final taste leaves very little trace of pork or meat: it’s pure liquid lightness that will make any vegetarian dance with delight right past a comatose pork lover. Needless to say that both RightRippa and LeftRippa are simply two manifestations of a split personality from one Ripperton and, while Zopelar provides an excellent canvas with his original mix, Ripperton takes over the ramen shop and cooks two perfect dishes.