#MixtapeMonday - JMSN x Various Artists: Love & Pain EP

Lyrics & Delivery: 4.0/5.0
Production: 4.0/5.0
Overall Score: 4.0/5.0

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Review by MrReesh - @ MrReesh - Follow the river baby, follow it.

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You know what they say, nothing goes together quite like love and pain! So much so that on a non-physical, philosophical level, one could argue that without love there is no pain. But this is RAWFUNNYTRUE, the website dedicated to bringing you down to earth, utterly hilarious and accurate reviews of music, not some overpriced textbook on the proposed origin of man, so - would you want The Love & Pain EP as your partner in the upcoming zombie apocalypse? Yes, but I wouldn't trust him with all your antibiotics.

I swear it actually doesn't get boring guys

The EP itself isn't actually an EP in the strictest sense but a collection of remixes of JMSN's Love & Pain, an awesome song in its own right. And I know what you're thinking: SEVEN remixes of the SAME song? Surely that becomes more boring than watching paint dry on an overcast Monday while the ninth season of Scrubs plays in the background? Surprisingly, no. As each remix adds something to the song, it's interesting to hear the original artist's intention for the song (who also produced the track) compared to other producer's impressions using the exact same material, and each track feels different.

The Kaytranada remix, one of the best, has a sort of soulful garage vibe to it, painting the Love & Pain opus as more of a fun head-bopper, really making you feel the fun of the track rather than bogging you down in deeper meanings. Compare that to Ta-Ku's remix, which actually emphasises that dark feeling, with wonderfully strange sounds going on such as an "oo-ah-uh-oua-oh" riff and mysterious shuffling noise in the background which fits well, despite you having no Earthly idea what that sound could be. Meanwhile Mndsgn's remix uses Love & Pain to create a kind of ethereal, floaty instrumental, juxtaposed against luscious hard hitting hip hop elements, making a song which though sparse at times is very easily enjoyable. Tulpa's remix however is a masterpiece of composition, softly cut with Love & Pain riffs and and subtle instrumentation, clearly focusing on the love side of Love & Pain as by the end of it, you just really want a hug.

Awkward conversations
#1

The remaining remixes are alright too, though to me they feel more like the awkward friends of a friend who don't really socialise, and just start looking around the room after you say hi and they say hi and then they realise they have nothing else to say. They're not bad by any means, just not notable when surrounded by notable tracks. For example the JELANI remix feels as though it was moving into a good place, but never quite gets there, choosing to sit its sonic arse in the seat of mediocrity. DPat's also squeezes a cheek onto that seat with it's strange rhythm that didn't sit well with me personally, and Sango's is decent, though it gets repetitive.

This EP is cool. It's one of those ideas that on paper sounds quite lame, but works well in practice. What it does is something few albums or mixtapes manage to do with such limited content: makes the music feel alive, changing - real. It's more of an experience EP than one you might listen to religiously, but that just makes it even more cool. Sure not all the remixes are as good as each other, but it is definitely worth a download, especially considering its non existent price tag.

My Top 3:

1) Kaytranada Remix

2) Tulpa Remix

3) Ta-Ku Remix

Download it here (direct link) though you can also download it from JMSN's official website www.iamjmsn.com, which is currently just a countdown clock.
Or, you can show some love by purchasing it on iTunes here.

Or just listen below!

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Photo Credits:
Original photo from Burgers picture "Me Looking Super Smart!!" by rileyroxx
Original photo from sleeping guy "Sleeping Chinese Garbage Collector" by kongharald