Nine Horses - Money for All (2007)

With each consecutive project, David Sylvian always manages to amaze. Money for All is a remarkably cohesive collection of unreleased tracks, remixes and alternate takes, and even as a collection, it presents a challenging expedition into electronic music. The featured material is fully invested with ideas and it shows how fruitful and strong the partnership between Sylvian, Jansen and Burnt Friedman is.

This EP consists of two new tracks (the title track and "Get the Hell Out"), remixes of three tracks from Snow Borne Sorrow ("The Banality Of Evil," "Wonderful World" and "Serotonin"), two alternate takes of the new tracks, and the bonus track "Birds Sing For Their Lives," previously only released in Japan. The release is filled with layers of intricate details and Sylvian, Jansen and Friedman elegantly blend sound textures and upbeat rhythms into deep and reflective sound-worlds. The musicians apply jazz-infused beat patterns and tones over sumptuous loops.

Compared to The Good Son (Samadhi, 2005), a remix album that featured a plethora of groundbreaking artists who remixed Blemish (Samadhi, 2004), it lacks the variety of different points of view, but it's unified by a vision and a sense for song craft, which makes it a great listen.

There are patches of brilliance throughout this EP. Its incredible musical detail and the fact that Nine Horses have chosen to engage their ideas in a variety of genres has resulted in some fine sonic details that materialise after each new listen, each one impacting the listener's perception.

Money For All may not be at the same level as Snow Borne Sorrow, but still Sylvian and Co. have produced a unique and enjoyable document. Instead of making a record with immediate impact and no shelf life, Sylvian (as usual) went to create something that people can enjoy for years.