Music Reviews
Various Artists - French Disco - picked up a while ago at Backspin records (check them out at the links page), this CD is super-funky! Plenty of great disco tracks which never made it onto a filtered, vocordered, up-tempo Daft Punk album, group like Cassius and Daft Punk showcase some old favorites from the remix bin. A few great tracks stand out from the rest, and it felt quite rare, so it's in rotation. This is certainly for anyone wishing to hear what Daft Punk would do if they got their brilliant French hands on George Clinton's Mothership Reconnection (it's funky, obviously). Cassius comes in at the end with Boombass for a great remix of Sound of Violence to make a pretty fun track.
Paul Oakenfold - A Lively Mind - This second album (other than mixes) of Oakey's is pretty good stuff. Not a packed with stars as Bunkka, it's still a lot of fun with Pharell and Grandmaster Flash himself making guest apperances. This album is more fun to mix than the previous one, and the BPMs are more steady and faster (Amsterdam is damn near trance) than other Okenfold samplings. It can be a little repetitive and it feels like he ripped off Bodyrockers for Faster Kill Pussycat but otherwise it's a more melodic journey with Oakey.
Stéphane Pompougnac - Hotel Costes 8 - This is the eighth offering of the music director of the famous French Hotel Costes. This is signifigantly more upbeat and jazzy than the previous selections. The mix, done entirely by Monsieur Pompougnac, is really well done, though a few more tango tracks would have been nice. The beat-heavy Think Twice will really put the extra pep in anyone's step with a grooving bassline and classic breakbeats sound. Pompougnac's own Last Night is absolute classic House - from the pounding bass, deep bass vocal sample and heavy use of that old scratchy French filter (listen to older Hotel Costes to get a feel). The Lemontea by Jazzanova was a nice touch too. This mix is perfect for your next chill party or art gallery opening!
Timo Maas: Music For the Maases - This delightful two CD disk album features tons of Maas remixes of old favourites such as Green Velvet, Poesidon, and Orinoko. The mix is heavy on the bass and the tempo will really move you. There are some more funk-style breaks near the start of the first CD but the pounding bass on the second CD will have you adjusting your levels quite a bit. The tracks are all oldies but goodies, great for those DJs trying to bring back the hard bass of the English and German house scenes of a few years ago. All of the tracks not done by Maas are remixed by him, so these are some rare, bass-ified tracks any house DJ would want in their arsenal. There is a need for some variety as listening to these tracks end on end can drive one a little mad. Great for a drive downtown, this set will have all your people toe-tapping and head shaking, ready for the club.
Naked Music: Nude Dimesnsions 3 - This third installment of the highly acclaimed Naked Music production team is great and filled with a departure from their normal deep house sound in favor of more electro and Nu-Jazz with a great mix from solid producers like Blue Six, Miguel Migs, and Nathan Haines. This album is not quite as good as the Blue Six album, but it still has a few really solid remixes and is great for getting down and getting busy. There are a wide variety of tracks on this collection so those of you wishing for a good downtempo, deep house album should look at the rest of the Naked Music catalogue or try a more jazzy collection such as Stephane Pompougnac's Hotel Costes collection or anything by Us3.
Us3: Hand on the Torch - This 1993 release from Blue Note Records is a great album for those chill or downtempo nights at classy parties. The perfect blend of jazz (with great names like Herbie Hancock, Thelonius Monk, and Art Blakey) and great underground hip-hop and reggae. The first track, "Cantaloop" has a special sort of meaning for The Moriarty Syndicate but the sampled loops and great rhyme scheme make for a fantastic throwback track. All of the loops, samples, and cuts are all from the wonderful Blue Note Records (one of the greatest Jazz labels in the world) and are all done in house with DJ and live musicians. A great collection for those fans of Nu-Jazz and the downtempo crowd.