REWORK_ (Philip Glass Remixed) is an iOS App that takes the incredible remix album made in collaboration with Beck and gives it a feature-length interactive visual treatment.
REWORK_ features eleven “music visualizers” that take the remixed tracks and create interactive visuals that range from futuristic three-dimensional landscapes to shattered multicolored crystals, and vibrating sound waves. People can lean back and enjoy REWORK_ end to end, or they can touch and interact with the visualizers to create their own visual remixes.
In addition to the visualizers, the app includes the “Glass Machine” which lets people create music inspired by Philip Glass’ early work by sliding two animated discs around side-by-side like a DJ with turntables. People can select different instruments – from synthesizer to piano, and generate polyrhythmic counterpoints between the two melodies.
The REWORK_ app features interactive audiovisual mixes by critically acclaimed musicians and remix artists including Beck, Tyondai Braxton, Amon Tobin, Cornelius, Dan Deacon, Johann Johannsson, Nosaj Thing, Memory Tapes, Silver Alert, My Great Ghost, and Peter Broderick.
The idea for the REWORK_ album came together during a conversation between Philip Glass and his friend and new collaborator Beck. The pair recruited producer Hector Castillo (David Bowie, Björk, Lou Reed) to help assemble a collection of remixes of Glass’ works by a list of critically acclaimed artists including Beck himself, Tyondai Braxton, Amon Tobin, Cornelius, Dan Deacon, Johann Johannsson, Nosaj Thing, Memory Tapes, Silver Alert, Pantha du Prince, My Great Ghost and Peter Broderick.
To complement the album, app developer Snibbe Studio (creator of Björk’s Biophilia app) created the REWORK_ app to give fans an interactive musical experience.
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User Rating
3 out of 5
3 ratings
in United Kingdom
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Reviews
There is space for improvement
The graphics and the music are exceptional as they come and rather artistic. I enjoy listening to it looping or even using it as a decorating illustration framework at home on the iPad version! Everybody is asking what it is and what it can do!
Sadly it drains the battery, since if screen is on battery safe mode, it will stop playing. As a user I would like to have the option to control this mode.
I want to listen to the music when my iPhone is in my pocket and I am on the go, that's not possible now as the screen is always on for now.
Also the is great interActivity with the visuals as you can stroke the screen for he graphics to change, but u find it kind if lifeless if that doesn't really have any affect apart for meaningfully stroking. At first interaction my expectation was that it would influence the musical piece and form some sort if dialogue with me and the soundtrack or give me some info like the background if each track perhaps.
I hope my feedback may benefit the development of this otherwise interesting app.
Pointless rubbish
This app lets you distract your tiny mind with pointless interactive animations whitest listening to sub-Glass reworks of Glass recordings. What a total waste of time.
The first reviewer is senselessly gorgeous
Save for the fact that the reviewer wishes for more and more. I paid my £ 6.99 in good faith, and loved the remixes so much I purchased the album so I could listen to it on the go. The glass machine is cool, and I imagine myself as a svelt Glass in the early 70's nodding my head vecifirously to indicate a change in section. So the first reviewer should have held back and read reviews before purchasing. 'I want more', the ever yearning cry from the frustrated fan.
Nah!
I am a fan of Philip Glass together with Steve Reich and other composers of modern classical music so when I saw that there was a new app celebrating the work of this genius I thought I'd fork out the 6.99 because it promised 'interactive versions' of tracks from his new collaborative album with Beck. With the tracks the only interactive aspect is that you can swirl the images around a bit. Not very impressive. The Glass Engine is okay but very limited in its scope and functionality. Way too simplistic for the rather steep price I paid.
Overall I feel a little cheated and would caution other potential buyers to wait for a more thorough and imaginative app as a celebration of this truly inspirational musical artist.
