Back in 1998 Infected Mushroom were relatively unknown outside their home country. Things were about to change rather quickly though with the release of the debut classic album "The Gathering" the following year. The success of The Gathering propelled Infected Mushroom into trance super-stardom.
Around the the same time they also teamed up with Dj Jorg ( Jörg Kessler ) to create a song that was more than a nod to the influence of Hallucinogen's "Twisted" and Shpongle's "Are You Shpongle" albums have played on their rapid creative development.
The song, titled "The Messenger" was an epic track twelve minutes of of psychedelic bliss that merged elements of psytrance, downtempo and classical music. The track was released in September of 1999 on the compilation album Kumharas through the Shiva Space Technology label owned and operated by Jörg.
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Fast forward to 2012 and the release of Infected Mushroom's eighth album "Army Of Mushrooms" where you can find a remix of the original "The Messenger" as the last track on the album. The new remix make use of modern sounds giving the tune a total overhaul with new tires, a boosted exhaust, a v8 engine and sidewinder missiles !! Mixing in a harder edge with dubstep basslines and thumping percussive effects, the new version is a testament to just how much the Infected Mushroom sound has evolved since that original version.
While I like the new version I have a problem in that the original has so many good memories for me. So it's easy to get biased when decided which track I like best. Maybe accepting that is the best way to go. If looked at from a musical perspective I would choose the new version but from the view of a work of art I would be inclined to go with the original for the nostalgia it still holds for me.
Anyway I'm interested if hearing what you guys think ? I've included some YouTube videos of both version below. Which do you prefer and why - the original or the new 2012 remix ? Drop a comment below in the comments box and let me know.
Original 1999 Version :
2012 Remix :
And just for something different - here is another remix of The Messenger I found on Soundcloud by a guy called JVN from Indonesia :
