COMPILATIONSQUICKIES 9.0
Various Dirtybird Players Dirtybird Still flying high
Those scruffy ducks that keep giving, Claude VonStroke’s San Fran family turn a corner on ‘Players’. Those worried whether the Dirtybirds would rise from the forest fire they sparked — like the grubby phoenixes they are — will can it the moment a passage of euphoric breaks in Kill Frenzy/Nick Monaco’s opener ‘Black Girls White Girls’ rolls in. Meanwhile, Justin Martin & Ardalan go back to basics with ‘Wheelgunner’, arguably the sickest Db track yet, before Shadow Child hits new garage/house heights with ‘The Only One’. New talent Cause & Affect’s ‘Don’t Like To Do That’, with its bizarre, repetitive use of what sounds like a Disney sample, is a drunk slice of woozy bass that’s another highlight, and Leeroy Peppers (aka Christian Martin) drops a Detroit- inspired bomb in the mould of Untold. More than a few ideas here to keep any Dirtybird doubters from darkening their doorstep. Adam Saville
7.0
François K The Masters Series Renaissance François K plays Renaissance man
At this point, Renaissance’s house mix series is faced with a conundrum: play to the heritage crowd or strive for relevancy in a form which has pretty much migrated online. Answer? Wheel in François K. A luminary of the early New York scene, François K boasts legendary status, but still resists the nostalgia’s undertow. The first disc is a pan-genre exercise where Jazzanova’s warm house currents lap at the austere technoid textures of Factory Floor’s remix of ‘Drone Logic’; the Berghain-optimised metal-on-metal pummelling of Blawan’s ‘6 to 6 Lick’ finding rhyme in Objekt’s obtuse ‘Porcupine’. The second CD cracks a window on the basement atmosphere, picking a path from the terrace vibes of Luca Bacchetti’s ‘Atlantic’ to Adam Beyer and Alan Fitzpatrick’s ‘Human Reason’. The open-minded, on-the-pulse instalment the series was crying out for. Louise Brailey
Hector 1trax: Four 1trax 6.0
A bit yawn
So far, Adam Shelton and Subb-an’s 1trax series has been pretty much flawless. Efforts from the label bosses and Huxley have been chunky, groovy and expertly programmed. The next installment from Hector — a set recorded live in Tokyo — might be put together with the skill expected of the minimal master, but it never really gets going. Lisa Loveday
Various Toolroom Goes Deep 3 Toolroom Records 7.5
A nod to the casual listener
The third in the series from Toolroom does a decent job of representing the label’s versatility when it might otherwise seem the stable is shifting towards the main room. 40 quality tracks in total, plus three anonymous DJ mixes, lead us on an accomplished journey through the tougher end of the deep house spectrum. Angus Paterson
Zombie Disco Squad Classic Through The Eyes Of...
The Classic Music Company 8.0
Disco’s not dead
The Classic stable throws the keys to Zombie Disco Squad so he can dig through their archive; he delivers a jackin’ mix that starts deep and funky, before escalating into some bouncy techno. Hits all the right notes in terms of a fun-fuelled experience that never takes itself too seriously. Angus Paterson
Various Cookie Monstah & FuntCase Present Circus Two Circus 5.0
Cartoonish tuneages 8.0
Various 5 Years of Jackmode Jackmode Mode-us operandi
As the wave of disco-infused palm tree house started by Foss & Jones continues to gestate, cleaner versions of the sound have inevitably continued to flow. Set up in 2008, Berlin-based Jackmode has continued to push for perfection, collating cuts from a loose family of producers that includes the likes of HNQO, Death On The Balcony and Adana Twins. Defined more by its interest in beefed-up, dancefloor primed music than its commitment to a particular niche style, the only prerequisite is plenty of funk within a tight tech house framework. Not forgetting attitude with enough bite to rival Luis Suarez. Celebrating five years in the game, this unmixed double-disc package sees the Jackmode community — Zombie Disco Squad, Sishi Rosch, Doctor Dru, Animal Trainer, Monkey Safari — deliver all the solid substance this rightly respected label stands for — and more. Lisa Loveday
Various Crossing Wires 001 My Favorite Robot Hot wire
The three chaps behind Toronto’s My Favorite Robot — both the label and the act — assemble for, remarkably, their first compilation album. Jared Simms, James Teej and Voytek Korab, now solid mainstays in the underground house music revolution, give a snapshot of what they’re about right at this very moment. This is all entirely new and exclusive material from their own stable, but we can forgive them the shameless self- promotion on the grounds of its enviable quality. ‘Maia’ from the Scots bombshell that is Graeme Clark, aka The Revenge, is stunning, as is the album opener, ‘Children Of The Concrete’, by the estimable Finlander Jori Hulkkonen, a man able to do no wrong whatsoever since 1995. Best of all — tough call as that is — is the John Tejada mix of Tim Paris’s ‘Golden Ratio’, with vocals from Georg Levin. It’s damn near perfect. Ben Arnold
8.0
You might expect a triple-CD dubstep mix put together by one DJ named after a boss-eyed puppet and another whose name is a spoonerism of “cuntface” to be somewhat lacking in depth and subtlety, and you’d be right. Imagine a clown shoe stamping on a human face, forever. Joe Madden
Various Reptile Youth Remixed hfn music 4.0
Snakey overhauls
Post-punkers Reptile Youth pray that the cachet of Peaking Lights, Mark E and SCUM can be transferred with the remix fee. Sadly, the only remix to transcend the source material comes from Canadian chillwavers Diana, their Oneohtrix-esque remake of ‘It’s Easy To Lose Yourself’ teased into alien muzak. Louise Brailey
Bill Brewster Late Night Tales: After Dark Late Night Tales 8.0
DJs do it at night
Normally soundtracking the afterparty, the ‘Late Night Tales’ series heads to the club for this compilation. Helmed by Bill Brewster, his slo-mo house and disco is still suitable for the sofa, although the sleazy vibe means it’s more for the kind of ‘horizontal dancing’ that involves grinding your loins rather than nodding your head. Paul Clarke
REPEATTHE LPS WE CAN’T LEAVE ALONE...
JD Twitch The Underground Sound Of Glasgow
Glasgow Underground 9.0
One half of Optimo rides Glasgow’s subway.
Jaymo & Andy George Moda Black Vol. II
Moda Black 8.0
The second comp installment from Moda’s pitch-black sister has a garage-y vibe.
Rodriguez Jr. Back To Back Vol.7
Mobilee 8.5
Curated by one of Mobilee’s most prized assets, this is right on the money.
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