COMPILATION REVIEWS
COMPILATION REVIEWS
QUICKIES
7.0
8.0
Pangaea
Various
Fabric
Black Butter
FabricLive 73
Spread Love Vol. 3
Ice-block rockin’ beats
Various
Selected: Compiled By
Fred P
Utterly butterly
Various
Pop Ambient 2014
Various
Crossing Lines
Kompakt
NX Records
Beatless joy
8.0
New school heroes
Lush, hypnotic house and
techno, ‘Selected’ recalls
a time when vinyl comps
were the most valued
source for discovering
new artists. Unearthing
fresh, timeless gems from
Lapien, Ryo Murakami
and Bobby O’Connell,
this unmixed collection
offers an insight into the
textures of Fred’s magical
DJ vision. Adam Saville
What better soundtrack
to quell the festive
gluttony than Kompakt’s
annual ‘Pop Ambient’
album? Now on its 14th
installment, the Wolfgang
Voigt-curated celebration
of beatless joy is indeed
laden with drum-free
bliss, like Orb man Thomas
Fehlmann’s shimmering
‘Treatment’ and as Gas,
Voigt’s own towering mix
of The Field’s ‘Cupid’s
Head’. Ben Arnold
This is a high concept
release from Matthew
Herbert’s Accidental
Records and Goldsmiths
University that sees a
wealth of new talents
offer up their idiosyncratic
wares. The well-crafted
sounds range from
ambient and arty to
Balearic and indie-licked.
Expect to hear plenty more
from everyone involved
before long. Kristan J
Caryl
Acid Arab
Collections
Various
Pure Deep Hou se
Various
Majestic Casual Vol. 1
Versatile
New State
Majestic Casual/AEI
Boards
Henrik Schwarz
Defected Presents
House Masters
Defected
9.0
Funky bones
FUNK is in Henrik Schwarz’s bones. Anyone who’s
witnessed one of his extended DJ sets will appreciate
that he is a master of the slow burn, building layer
upon rhythmic layer, often using a wealth of his own
re-edits, remixes and original material. He is a man in
control of his dancefloor in every sense. Now added to
the roster of the ‘House Masters’ in Defected’s longstanding mix series, it feels like the right move to align
him with luminaries like MK, Blaze, Derrick Carter,
Dennis Ferrer, Charles Webster and Osunlade. He has
just as much to say. Much like those laptop-based club
sets, in which he succeeds where so many fail in making
performances feel vibrant and alive rather than dull
and tech-heavy, this double-disc affair finds his own
edits and remixes front and centre. Tracks you wouldn’t
imagine could be bent into pulsing house music or
urgent, atmospheric techno are utterly transformed
while retaining every ounce of soul. The Jacksons’
‘Dancing Machine’ becomes a 4am anthem, as his
stunning edit of Bill Withers’ ‘Who Is He?’ did before it.
He reworks jazz-funk staple Omar’s ‘I’m Feeling You’,
and ‘Think Twice’, Carl Craig’s take on Donald Byrd as
Detroit Experiment. Both are crackling, the latter a
shape-shifting beast, smashing subtly ravey stabs
with pianos and brassy horns. His haunting, epic mix
of ‘Walk A Mile In My Shoes’ by Coldcut, featuring the
yearning vocals of Robert Owens, is every bit as special
as it was when it emerged in 2006, just as Schwarz’s
star began its rapid ascendance. Similarly, ‘Where We
At?’, his dream team collaboration with Derrick Carter,
Âme and Dixon remains fresh, urgent, and mildly
unsettling. And if there’s a more anthemic, masterfully
constructed remix than Schwarz’s spine-tingling take
on Code 718’s ‘Equinox’, we’ve yet to hear it. It’s a piece
of work. But then, what did you expect? Ben Arnold
The third Hessle Audio member to take on
the Fabric Live series, Pangaea’s entry is less
Catholic than Ben UFO or Pearson Sound’s
instalments, though in cleaving to a tighter
techno script, it’s closer to the former, if less
exploratory. Playing it relatively straight,
Pangaea settles on 27 tracks of clean and
crisp, brainily percussive (“something for
your mind” as the sample from Speedy J’s
classic here goes) ice-block beats. A tightly
wound, almost airless set, there’s a driving
sense of momentum here, with tracks from
Lee Gamble, Kobosil and Bristol cohorts Pev
and Kowton all forming a churning mass. It
lends to a punishingly relentless if strangely
dour workout, but well-judged departures
like Maum’s ‘The Sun God’, Mumdance &
MAO’s lazer-firing ‘Truth’, Alex Falk’s acidflanging ‘PTR’ and Forward Strategy Group’s
raw ‘Clean Neckline’ keep this on the right
side of stark. Sunil Chauhan
8.0
Generously laid out across four samplers,
the full 23 tracks of ‘Spread Love Vol.3’
smear Black Butter even wider, covering
all the squeaky clean, liquid styles of
garage, bassline house and broken beats
we’ve come to expect from the label.
Despite showcasing emerging talent BNRY,
DVWLX and Lokate, most surprising is the
appearance of two tracks produced as
collaboration between Maxxi Soundsystem
and MANIK, two relative veterans who inject
a breath of Balearic warmth previously not
associated with the Black Butter staple. ‘Lift
You Love’ is deep, crisp funk bolstered by its
capaciously hollow gut and ‘Owls’ is a little
more upfront, unfolding a sexier, darker,
more robotic house work-out. Meanwhile,
Just Kiddin gets molten and metallic on
‘Diamond’ and ‘Gliss’, pushing the label
into a more progressive garage/house realm
to make for an enticingly varied package
spilling with ideas — some more original
than others. Adam Saville
I’ll have a Fred P
please, Bob
8.0
8.0
6.0
Rock the casbah
9.0
Various
Kerri Chandler
Crosstown Rebels
Watergate
10 Years of Crosstown Rebels
Crosstown traffic
Ten months after Damian Lazarus appeared
on the cover of DJ Mag, we have ’10
Years of Crosstown Rebels’, a three-disc
commemorative compilation celebrating
a decade on the dancefloor. More varied
than you’d perhaps expect, each part
maps the back catalogue of a label that
brought
career-defining
underground
hits from Art Department, Maceo Plex and
Jamie Jones. Kicking off with Amirali, Fur
Coat and Ali Love, disc one opens with the
druggy and opaque tech-funk synonymous
most recently with the imprint, before Kiki
& Silversurfer present the first curveball
(‘Shake Off’) — indie-disco that’s more
Hacienda than Day Zero — before Andre
Kraml offers some quirky off-kilter pop.
Elsewhere, Seth Troxler (‘Love Never
Sleeps’) bears his production hen’s teeth
with a deep tech house beat and Guti &
Dubshape get jazzy with ‘Every Cow Has
A Bird’. The diversity of tech house’s
most eminent label is evident, ‘10 Years’
is a definitive collection. Adam Saville
098 djmag.com.au
7.5
8.5
Watergate 15
Somewhat very Kerri
The house music veteran has been shaping
and developing the genre since he burst
onto the New Jersey scene over three
decades ago, so it’s not all that surprising
that the Berlin club’s Watergate label has
commissioned him to mix an edition of their
CD series. However, instead of going the
more obvious route of drawing from early
US house roots, Kerri has instead gleaned
his tracks from newer artists who produce
modern European sounds like Subb-an,
Tom Demac, and No Artificial Colours.
Although this style can suffer from being
over-polished and boringly “big room”,
Kerri imbues his trademark soul and swing
onto the mix, and it remains rootsy and
funky throughout. His own tracks, including
the exclusive ‘Mama’, are typically great
fare, but this release is more a testament
of Kerri’s versatility in adapting to, and
utilising, the present as much as the
past. Zara Wladawsky
Various
BPM001 Mixed By Art
Department
No.19
Art departure
In the same month Crosstown Rebels has
reminded the world there’s more to the
label than groggy tech house, one of the
imprint’s main offenders have made an
in-road into more upfront territory on the
inaugural mix for arguably the most hyped
dance festival of the year, BPM Mexico.
Still, anyone who’s heard Art Department
DJ live will know that their sets are never
as one-dimensional as perhaps their past
productions might suggest, the duo just as
ready to drop electroclash classics and big
room techno sounds into material on Jonny
White’s No.19, the label he co-runs with BPM
marketing bod (and DJ/producer) Nitin.
Mixing up tribal tech house from the likes of
Luca Bacchetti, Deetron and Ripperton with
more hypnotic and psychedelic beats from
Ten Walls, Mind Against and Eric Volta, ‘BPM
001’ contains as much to move the body as it
does the mind. Adam Saville
7.0
7.0
8.0
David Rodigan
Various
Various
Ministry of Sound
Houndstooth
EPM
After sterling comps in this series from
Andrew Weatherall, Carl Craig, Jazzie B
and Francois K, long-reigning UK reggae
DJ and all-round don David Rodigan
takes to the canvas. Over three discs the
storied selector goes deep into his musical
history with some surprising results. Disc
one is mostly his inspirations, before he
was bitten by the reggae bug, so we get
‘60s mod and pop tracks from the Small
Faces and the Yardbirds, and plenty of
lush soul from Etta James, Marvin Gaye
and Aaron Neville. All brilliant, but fairly
obvious fare. He’s on firmer footing when
he explores the reggae greats, with roots
tracks from the Abyssinians and Aswad,
and the incomparable, ominous skank of
Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s ‘Black Panta’. What
Rodigan’s good at and where his rivals fall
down is selecting decent modern reggae —
it’s hard to find, but tracks from Luciano, Ini
Kamoze and Busy Signal demonstrate that
it’s not all cheesy autotuned dancehall these
days. Ben Murphy
Rather than sum up their first year with a
label primer, Houndstooth invited their
artists to remix each other. The result
feels like a friendly in-house soundclash.
Second Storey’s ‘Quadraxx’ response to Call
Super’s ‘Dewsbury Severance’ comes on
like haunted-house grime, its synths now
front and centre with sword slices in the
background. House Of Black Lanterns get
two reworks, the best being _Unsubscribe_’s
take on ‘Broken’ which removes its former
brittleness and leaves it somewhere
between Big Black Delta and Instra:mental.
The most satisfying pairing, however, is
Special Request’s VIP refix of Akkord’s
‘Destruction’, now doused in simmering nujungle hallmarks that constantly threaten
to boil over. A worthwhile addition to their
catalogue, Houndstooth followers will find
most to appreciate in these new nips and
tucks but ‘HTH Vs HTH’ should also pique the
unconverted. Sunil Chauhan
EPM is a modern day musical empire that
encapsulates PR, publishing, digital
distribution and also a label. Now for the
second time they offer up a taster menu
from their back catalogue, with a focus on
the more techno-leaning output offered
to date. It’s a fairly in-the-know selection
that pairs known names like Orlando Voom
and Abe Duque with forgotten experts
from yesteryear, including BPMF and Inigo
Kennedy, and explores a wealth of styles.
From Duque’s squelchy tech funk to
Kennedy’s electro-charged techno stomper
via Paul Mac’s serene but equally speedy
‘Old’, this is fast-paced stuff that breaks
free of modern concrete funk or industrial
associations to explore the outer regions
of our galaxy. Highlights include The Third
Man, who recently released a full-length
on the label and who is at his cerebral and
cinematic best on acid-laced closer ‘Sleep It
Off’. Kristan J Caryl
Masterpiece
Not quite
HTH Vs HTH
Barking, with bite
EPM Selected Vol.2
Slick BPMs from EPM
Kiss of death
As you’d expect, this comp
merges acid house beats
with Arabic melodies
and instruments. But
rather than being a tepid,
lightweight “world music”
mess, it’s a brilliant, clever
conflation. Authentic
artists from both sides
of the equation come
together, with the Acid
Arab project — duo Guido
and Hervé — inviting
lots of musical friends
onboard. Ben Murphy
If MK topping the UK
charts pissed off the
purists, ‘deep house’
getting picked up for a
‘Pure’ compilation is likely
to give the hardliners
among us a hernia. The
stars of 2013 — Breach,
Dusky, Shadow Child,
Duke Dumont — they’re
all here, immaculately
mixed, with ‘90s classics
thrown together on disc
three. Adam Saville
7.0
For your ears only
Given that it epitomises
21st century pick’n’mix
multiplatform musical
consumption, it seems
odd that YouTube channel
Majestic Casual are
releasing something as
archaic as a CD. But it does
mean you can enjoy these
tracks from the likes of
Disclosure, SBTRKT and
Toro Y Moi without having
to skip through adverts.
How quaint is that? Paul
Clarke
REPEATTHE LPS WE CAN’T LEAVE ALONE...
D’Julz
This Is Bass Culture
Danny Howells
Balance 024
9.0
Deep masterclass from
the French don to
celebrate four years of
his label.
8.5
The prog veteran rears
a fresh face on ‘Balance
024’.
Bass Culture
Balance Music
Various
Boys Noise Presents
A Tribute To Dance
Mania
BNR
8.0
Electro stadium-filler
turns attention to ‘80s
acid on V/A comp.
djmag.com.au 099