Max Tundra releases Kero Kero Bonito remix of "MBGATE"

Ahead of the release of Remixtape, the aptly named remix mixtape featuring some classic reinventions from the Max Tundra discography by the likes of Julia Holter and BABii, and the reissue of his three critically acclaimed albums on Friday, today Max Tundra (aka Ben Jacobs) releases the joyful remix of “MBGATE” by South London-based indie-pop band Kero Kero Bonito. The release follows A. G. Cook’s raging remix of “Lights” and Australian experimental singer-songwriter Katie Dey’s dazzling cover of “Will Get Fooled Again”.  

Originally featured on Jacobs’ 2002 breakthrough album Mastered by Guy at the Exchange, the trio’s remix is bold, bright and bedazzling. Featuring playful synths that add a poppier-edge to the track and an additional lyrical tribute to Guy of the Exchange himself, it simultaneously pays homage to the original whilst also bringing it into a completely new league of its own.  

“For me, Max Tundra was a foundational fixture in a teenagedom spent discussing MilkyTracker and charity shop expeditions in between romance and house parties,” Gus Bonito of Kero Kero Bonito notes on Max Tundra’s legacy. “He was possibly the first musician to collate the references that later codified our corner of pop music, like trance supersaws, jazz fusion chords and hated General MIDI sounds. Such tropes represent pop's capacity to spin wit and craft into impossible compulsion, and also - crucially - challenge arbitrary cultural orthodoxy (especially in the '00s, but even now).” 

He continues: “The original track constructs a neck-snapping groove through dizzying sample editing, and we had little choice but to base our track on this groove wholesale, though our cheerleader chants and unplayable solos are two KKB trademarks that sit happily in Max Tundra's universe too. Today, we're doing the mashing up, and the collective quest for magic pop continues, but Max Tundra's discography remains a frontier marker for where music can go.” 

"The fleshing out of the weirdo disco portion of my 20-year-old musical capsule into a fully-fledged verse-chorus pop anthem is one of the most unexpected, life-affirming treats I have ever received,” Jacobs comments. “I couldn't believe how the good folks at Kero Kero Bonito managed to unlock such a prize. I hope it brings you as much joy and euphoria as it did for me."