COMPILATIONS REVIEWS 9.0
Huxley 1trax Three 1 Trax Brave new world
Named after dystopian writer Aldous Huxley, Michael Dodman has left his stamp on the house sound presiding over dancefloors today with the third instalment of Subb-an & Adam Shelton’s ‘1Trax’ compilation series — and what a brave new world it is turning out to be. But rather than casting a prophetic vision of warning to budding socio-political theorists, Huxley’s world is one created of today’s vogue for ‘90-inspired garage- tinged house to push the continuum forward. Blending cuts by Jordan Peak, Nyra and Julio Bashmore, alongside various moments from his already illustrious production career, the result is an expertly composed mix, chunky house reinforced with extra hi-hats and snares to give its bumbling groove a skip-and-a- hop throughout. Primed, ready and raw enough for any throbbing warehouse at its peak, Huxley elevates the deep house formula to an exciting new height here. Adam Saville
Various Best Of Robsoul Robsoul Recordings
8.0
Weeks (and Weeks) of listening
SINCE launching in 2000, French house don Phil Weeks’ Robsoul Recordings has spent the duration of its 12-year lifetime cementing its position among the most reliable house labels out there. This unbridled success is down to the pool of producers regularly included on the imprint’s release schedule. Aside from serving as an obvious home for Weeks’ prolific output — in turn, therefore, making it a regular go-to place for DJs in need of robust, looped up tools steeped with the funk — there’s been consistent contributions from the likes of DJ W!ld, Chris Carrier, DJ Sneak and Joss Moog, and the label boss’ collaboration with Hector Moralez, Fries & Bridges — all of whom are celebrated on this, Robsoul’s first- ever ‘Best Of’ compilation. To be staggered over a series of weeks during the months of August and September, each release —a feature-
068
length collection from individual artist back catalogues — makes up a crucial box-set of six CDs for any DJ looking for a definitive collection from France’s most traditional house label. (Six- hour Robsoul exclusive set anyone!?).
More dedicated to Chicago-inspired house sounds than any other French label, each LP is wide open to be mined, serving up at least three or four gems per CD. Stand-out, career-defining tunes come in the form of Weeks’ ‘Jack To The Groove’, W!ld’s ‘W!ldstyle’ and Sneak’s ‘Funky Rhythm’. For every stone-cold classic, though, comes a fist of percussion- heavy 10-minute-long house tracks, that — while hardly the sort you’d rotate heavily on your iPod — will no doubt serve as functional tacking fodder for devoted DJs maintaining an infectious, chunky house groove. ADAM SAVILLE
Robag Wruhme The Olgamikks Nachtdigital In the Robag
This is the first release on the new label launched by boutique German festival Nachtdigital, which in August entered its 15th year. And who better, they thought, to encapsulate all that they are about than Herr Robag Wruhme, one half of the now-defunct Wighnomy Brothers and exponent of deepest, most thoughtful electronica. Each and every track here has been remixed by Wruhme, ensuring this selection flows like vintage Margaux. It’s full of clangs, clicks, echoes, bass and emotional bursts of synthesized fabulousness. Highlights, and there are many, include his hypnotic and wonderful take on Gui Boratto’s ‘No Turning Back’, a track already quite hypnotic and wonderful in and of itself. Notable, too, is his spectacularly good re-rub of ‘The Greasy Beat’ by Claude VonStroke featuring Bootsy Collins, which is somehow retooled with his own track ‘Wolluwe’ and his remix of Lunar City Express’s ‘Mr Jack’. It’s masterful. Ben Arnold
www.djmag.com 8.5
Various Contemporary Tartelet Vantage point
On ‘Contemporary’, Copenhagen label Tartelet offer up a slice of what they do best: left-of-centre dancefloor grooves clustered loosely around house bpms. Unlike some label comps, this isn’t about canonising a back catalogue — indeed, nine of the 10 tracks were produced for the album. Rather, ‘Contemporary’ is a state of address delivered from the vantage point of right now. From Muff Deep’s double-jointed disco ‘Elevator Swing’ to Samuel André Madsen’s acid-streaked ‘Ur Eyes’, Tartelet’s curatorial muscle is clearly well-developed. While Acid Woman’s deceptively-heavy ‘No Country For Old Men’ is a fruity exercise in Trax- esque stylism, it’s the marimba-driven ‘Melancholie II’ by Brandt Bauer Frick that is the key track here; its buffeted groove and transcendence of organic/ synthetic encapsulates the mindset of a label that knows how to keep things interesting. Louise Brailey
8.0
Matthias Tanzmann Fabric 65 Fabric Down in Tanzmania
There’s a good chance you are familiar with Matthias Tanzmann’s sound: the German has been honing it for over a decade on his own labels Moon Harbour and Cargo, at the many parties he headlines worldwide, but also at Circoloco — the crazy Ibiza party with which he has a long-standing relationship. The sort of slinky, floor-facing tech house he champions there is what makes up his entry into the Fabric series, with names like Minimo, Tanzmann himself and regular DJ partner-in-crime Davide Squillace all making appearances. Of course, the mixing is also tighter than a tight thing, but that does little to elevate the rather homogenized sound from start to finish. There are some standouts, though, including Shenoda’s blocky and twisted ‘The Question’ and Maya Jane Coles’ ‘Not Listening’ — but you probably heard that on her DJ Kicks mix not so long ago. Kristan J Caryl
7.0
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82