David Cloyd’s Cage of Water [Remixes] arrives as a compact but dense EP, one that feels less like a peripheral release and more like an extension of an ongoing narrative. Rooted in electronic, experimental, and alternative rock sensibilities, the project revisits one of the most emblematic tracks from Red Sky Warning and reframes it through collaboration, rhythm, and texture. Rather than diluting the original, these remixes sharpen its emotional edges and widen its sonic horizon.
The EP is structured around four tracks: the original version of “Cage of Water” and three reinterpretations crafted in collaboration with James Tabbi, producer, remixer, and frontman of The Heroic Enthusiasts. This balance is crucial. The presence of the original track acts as an anchor, allowing the listener to hear how each remix bends, stretches, and sometimes quietly interrogates its source material. What emerges is not a linear progression, but a set of parallel perspectives, each circling the same emotional core.
Rhythm plays a central role throughout the EP. The original track’s use of the Tresillo pattern gives it a subtle but insistent pulse, one that never quite resolves into comfort. It moves forward while holding something back, creating a sense of suspension that mirrors the song’s lyrical tension. In the remixes, this rhythmic foundation is not abandoned; instead, it is rearticulated. Percussion becomes more tactile, occasionally leaning into hand-drum textures and low-frequency throb. There is a physicality here that feels intentional, as if the rhythm itself were breathing, constrained, and pushing against invisible walls.
Synth work across the EP is restrained but expressive. Rather than dominating the mix, the electronic elements often hover at the edges, forming blurred outlines and soft pressure points. Pads swell and recede like tidewater, while arpeggiated figures appear briefly before dissolving back into the arrangement. In Tabbi’s re-imaginings, the synths carry a faint sense of nostalgia without lapsing into retro pastiche. They shimmer, but not brightly; their glow is filtered, suggesting memory rather than immediacy.
Atmosphere is where Cage of Water [Remixes] truly distinguishes itself. There is a consistent feeling of enclosure, a sonic architecture built from echo, reverb, and negative space. Vocals, treated with care and distance, often feel as though they are arriving from behind glass rather than directly into the room. This choice reinforces the thematic imagery of separation and longing that underpins the song. The listener is not invited inside so much as asked to observe, to lean closer, to listen through layers.
Lyrically, the song’s metaphor of confinement—of seeing the world through a barrier, of being held in place by invisible forces—gains additional weight through these new versions. The remixes emphasize tension rather than release, allowing moments of stillness to coexist with surges of motion. When momentum builds, it does so gradually, never fully spilling over. This restraint gives the EP its emotional credibility; nothing feels overstated or rushed.
The mastering, handled by Blake Morgan, brings cohesion to the project without sanding down its rough edges. Each track retains its own character, yet the EP flows naturally, suggesting deliberate sequencing and editorial intent. There is clarity in the low end, space in the midrange, and a softness in the highs that suits the material’s introspective tone.
Cage of Water [Remixes] stands as a high-quality release that underscores the value of thoughtful collaboration. It demonstrates how a single song can become a site of exploration rather than repetition, and how electronic and experimental approaches can deepen, rather than obscure, emotional storytelling. It is precisely the kind of release that feels at home on a webzine attentive to nuance, craft, and the quiet evolution of contemporary alternative music.