At the end of this week, Max Tundra is putting out a remix mixtape called Remixtape. We’ve heard contributions from A. G. Cook and Katie Dey and today Kero Kero Bonito is sharing their remix of “MBGATE,” the quasi-title track from his 2002 album Mastered By Guy At The Exchange. KKB turn the track into a twitching groove, and Sarah Bonito goes into a gloriously nerdy rant about all the mechanics of mixing and mastering a song for release.

“For me, Max Tundra was a foundational fixture in a teenagedom spent discussing MilkyTracker and charity shop expeditions in between romance and house parties,” KKB’s Gus Bonito said in a statement. He continued:

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).

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.

Listen to the “MBGATE” remix below.

Remixtape is out 8/12 via Domino.