New Submerse: Agepoyo EP

Maltine Record’s latest offering, a brief EP from artist Submerse, features one new song, two remixes of said track and a third remix which will get a paragraph all its own soon. First, “Agepoyo.” This is light-speed dance music loaded to the gills with vocal samples (either of the titular word being repeated or what sounds like a goofy Japanese teacher introducing a lesson), accentuated with horns (!) that give the whole song a warm feel. The subsequent remixes keep the samples and (at times) the horns, but shift everything else around. JaQwa’s take flirts with Skrillex-ish dubstep, while Madmaid takes “Agepoyo” into the jungle and speeds it up even more.

That track is plenty of good as are the remixes, but the most intriguing inclusion on this EP ends up being the one rework separate from the rest…Submerse’s “Moe Garage Remix” of Harajuku-in-song-form “Ponponpon.” It’s the most Maltine song here – mostly because of a hearty helping of anime samples – but also a creative take on one of the ear-wormiest song of the summer. After about a minute of early night scene-setting, then the original track enters untouched…and then Submerse pauses for a second and turns it into a skippy dance number aided by a really breezy saxophone. It doesn’t quite milk the sugary-sweet chorus to its full potential, but is a great version that you can listen to here.