With Cicada Remixed, Drawbird opens the exoskeleton of their original album and allows it to molt into something louder, heavier, and unmistakably communal. Where Cicada by Drawbird was introspective, cyclical, and meditative, its remix counterpart is extroverted, built for motion, bodies, and altered states. This is not a revision of the original album, but a re-contextualization: the same DNA, now pulsing under club lights.
The album gathers a collective of predominantly Seattle-based DJs and producers, each approaching Drawbird’s material from a distinct electronic perspective. Across eight remixes, the ritualistic core of Cicada remains intact, but its surface is radically transformed. Ambient patience gives way to propulsion; inward-looking atmospheres are re-engineered into trance-driven, EDM-oriented structures. The result is a release that feels less like a remix album and more like a parallel ecosystem.
Rhythm is the central force here. Many of the remixes amplify the original tracks’ latent pulse, pushing them toward hypnotic repetition and psychedelic momentum. Trance techniques, looped motifs, extended builds, and insistent beats, interlock seamlessly with the ceremonial character already embedded in Drawbird’s compositions. What emerges is a music that feels both ancient and futuristic: ritual music reimagined for modern dance culture.
While the general mood leans decisively toward high-energy electronic territory, the album is far from monochromatic. Certain tracks retain a strong atmospheric presence, most notably “Electronomicon (Bluetech Remix),” which floats closer to atmospheric and downtempo traditions. Here, space and texture take precedence over impact, allowing the track’s digital mysticism to unfold gradually. It acts as a moment of suspension within the album, an inhalation before the next rhythmic surge.
Other remixes fully embrace the dance-oriented direction of the project. Beats are harder, basslines deeper, and structures designed for endurance rather than introspection. Yet even at its most driving, Cicada Remixed never feels hollow or generic. The spiritual undertones of the source material persist, giving the music a sense of purpose beyond functionality. This is dance music with memory, music that remembers where it came from.
Listeners familiar with the original album will recognize recurring motifs, but they will encounter them in altered states. “Stereoworld,” one of the standout tracks from Cicada, finds new life through remix treatment, its rhythmic foundations tightened and intensified, transforming its intricate percussion into something more overtly kinetic. Similarly, “And We Waltz”—originally a melancholic, elegiac closing piece, takes on a different emotional weight when reframed through remix logic, shifting from reflective farewell to nocturnal procession. Although the long cello arcos opposing the steady beats, still creates a melancholy atmosphere, but this time it tastes different.
The diversity of approaches across Cicada Remixed becomes especially evident in how individual tracks are reimagined. “Hallways (Rachel Vick Remix)” introduces a steady, almost march-like rhythmic pulse that mirrors the cadence of the vocal lines, transforming the piece into a psychedelic, shamanistic ritual music that feels ceremonial, as if designed for collective trance rather than passive listening. In contrast, “Gridsand (Extended Mix – Madlon Remix)” pushes decisively toward an EDM aesthetic. While the ritualistic soul of the original remains intact, it is now framed within a strong club-oriented texture, transporting the listener from a fire-lit clearing in the forest straight into a space of pulsating lights and nocturnal movement. This duality recurs throughout the album: some remixes lean toward atmosphere and immersion, while others, such as “Triplicate (Vincere Remix)”, embrace rhythm and propulsion, reinforcing Cicada Remixed as a work that thrives on tension between introspection and physical momentum.
As a whole, Cicada Remixed succeeds precisely because it does not attempt to replace the original album. Instead, it extends its lifespan, allowing the music to circulate in new environments and among new audiences. It is an album designed for movement, for shared experience, and for the liminal space where trance, ritual, and electronic dance music converge.In this sense, Cicada Remixed functions as a transformation ritual in its own right. The original Cicada whispered in cycles; this version chants, repeats, and accelerates. The soul remains the same, but the body has learned how to dance.
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