Good music comes from unexpected places, in this case from Boise, Idaho, courtesy of Electricwest. Known to his friends as Pat Benolkin, he won December’s Christopher Willits/Colors Shifting Remix contest in which contestants were given Willits’ track “Colors Shifting” (well duh) to remix under a Creative Commons license.

“We received a bunch of submissions and a great handful of notable stuff, but Patrick’s remix definitely showed the best overall production of the group,” says Willits, who listened to each track and personally selected the winner. “He guided the samples into his own vision, and made it his own.”

Benolkin, a DJ and producer, spends the bulk of his time in his secluded studio working, and it shows here. He transforms Willits’ number into an abstract experiment of sound that retains the dreamy, ambient quality of the original while exploring an even moodier realm full of programmed beats and crunches, and mournful-yet-moving synth chords.

The track will be available on XLR8R‘s INCITE 49, packaged exclusively with copies of the March 2007 issue. Additionally, you can hear the track at overlap.org.

Stay tuned for Electricwest’s debut album, tba in 2007.