‘Inclination’, the first track on Steven Wilson’s seventh solo album, The Harmony Codex was released in a limited edition 12 inch single, remixed by Ewan Pearson, on 19 January 2024. Pearson describes himself on his website as a ‘Producer, Mixer and Remixer.’ Pearson previously remixed Wilson’s upbeat pop song ‘Permanating’ (from 2017’s To the Bone) in a dance version.
Pearson has had a lengthy career as a remixer, having worked with Tracey Thorn, Goldfrapp, Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode among many others. His dance version of ‘Inclination’ couldn’t be described as prog rock. As Jerry Ewing of Prog wrote in January 2024,
‘Gatekeepers and those of a sensitive disposition look away now!‘
Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote,
‘Ewan Pearson sprinkles sunlit Balearic euphoria‘
And Wilson himself describes the remix as,
‘A hypnotic cosmic disco odyssey‘
Pearson’s version is reminiscent of dance music pioneers New Order at their most electronic, in tracks like ‘Tutti Frutti’ (from Music Complete, 2015). Pearson’s mix begins with the chorus that appears much later in the original song, with the original beautifully mixed harmonies; but the sparkling synth loops suggest we are heading in a different direction. This soon happens, with the introduction of a heavy disco beat with added hand laps and a chunky disco bassline. The handclaps are an example of the ‘disco double clap’, two claps in very quick succession described by Hugh Morris of The Guardian in July 2023 as, ‘The infectious disco rhythm heard from Barbie to Kylie…cheeky, silly and faintly magical.’ Pearson’s remix achieves the difficult feat of taking Wilson’s contemplative song and driving it along with a propulsive beat, even in the parts of the song that were originally downbeat, to create a joyous new version that moves the feet in the way that the original moves the soul.
Nick Holmes Music 