With how big of a commercial holiday it’s become, sometimes the Record Store Day equation skews more chaff than wheat. However, the spirit of what led to its rise in the first place is abundantly clear with some of the true gems that spawn from it, exactly the case with the Vegyn remix of Moon Safari, reimagined as Blue Moon Safari in a rare re-issue of the French electropop classic. Here are some of the biggest highlights this “worlds collide” drop offers.
To do a bit of preliminary table setting, when we label Moon Safari as iconic, it’s not just fluff. Air’s 1998 debut LP was among the standard bearers in turning French electronic music into a global phenomenon, something easier traced with a household name like Daft Punk. On the other side of the equation, Vegyn has churned on as an “if you know, you know” underground sensation for years, likely best known for pulling Frank Ocean’s Blonde and Travis Scott’s Astroworld into his atmospheric orbit. Along the way, his own solo material has showcased his expert ear, bringing in similarly underrated talents like JPEGMAFIA and Lea Sen.
Vegyn Brings A Subtle Yet Expert Touch To Blue Moon Safari
Jump to the actual material on offer with Blue Moon Safari, beginning with what Vegyn provides on “Sexy Boy.” One of the original record’s centerpieces and an unmovable piece of electronic music’s history, its metamorphosis is a suitable explanation of the soft touch utilized in remodeling the classic LP. The discordant, wobbling synths and breathy vocals that lit the OG composition remain in place. It’s the peripheral details and window dressing on top that help modernize it, with a breakbeat drum line mixed underneath and a wailing guitar riff that links back to the one already in place. Then to “Talisman,” finding much of its renewed energy in the drums. The song gives palpable punch with analog percussion that leads off the song and continues to serve as a driving force underneath the atmospheric SFX that the OG majored in.
Given that Vegyn leans towards understated compositions already, a similarly feathery approach isn’t too much of a shock as you work through additional pieces like “All I Need” or “Kelly Watch The Stars.” However, that’s not a hard and fast rule. He flips “La femme d’argent” on its head entirely, pulsing like alien technology, chopped down by more than half of its runtime, and given an uncanny quality in the process.
A Reverent Reimagining
That doesn’t mean it’s any less gorgeous than its source material, but what it references is a sweeping, analog jam session that blends the history of funk with the burgeoning genre it’d go on to define. What Vegyn turns out of the function machine is barely recognizable in comparison, yet perhaps the mission statement for either song has more in common than its form. Either one clocks in as a stark turn from the mainstream they responded to, boundary-pushing in equal but opposite directions.
While we wouldn’t rule out Moon already being a staple of your rotation, if not, it’s a suitable crossroads to get in on one of the defining markers of French electronic. For those familiar with the project, you can get the chance to experience it like the first time again. Finally, for the historians, true music geeks, and those who know this project in and out, picking out exactly what compositional notes distinguish this remix album from its progenitor is a way to fall back in love with its layered textures.
Catch Blue Moon Safari and all of the Veygn backlog wherever you stream your music.
