Category Archives: Let’s Dance!

Switched On – Balance presents Soundgarden mixed by Nick Warren

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Various Artists: Balance presents Soundgarden mixed by Nick Warren (Balance)

What’s the story?

The Soundgarden is an enterprise headed by DJ Nick Warren and his partner Petra, and in what seems like no time at all it has evolved from parties and radio shows to compilations and now a record label. This compilation marks a return to the Balance series for Warren, who as half of revered 90s duo Way Out West has an almost unrivalled pedigree in house music.

His wish was to create a timeless pair of mixes in which each track has involvement from a member of the Soundgarden family, illustrating the community ethics of the label.

What’s the music like?

Warren’s wishes are largely fulfilled, using his components to make a pair of mixes that could easily be listed as two recordings rather than their 27 tracks.

He creates wide open spaces and is careful not to fill them with too much music, so that sometimes the music can sound quite minimal. It always has a forward progression though, and in the course of two and a half hours opens out beautifully.

Warren opens up with a typically airy number, in this case Aārp‘s Gemma III, and lets the mix establish its own footing with a couple of airy house tracks. Arguably the best of these is Aspen, by Synkro & Arovane, which has a natural feel to it. As time passes a firmer footing and bolder sound are established. Warren’s mixing is typically seamless – it’s difficult to spot the joins at points – with other highlights including Kamilo Sanclamente‘s Urania, dispensing stardust far and wide. Darper‘s Crystal Voyager has broad harmonies and curious bleeps, musing on time and space, then Emi Galvan‘s Embrace flat major has a nice shimmery breakdown before panning out for Ben Archbold‘s SF.

The second mix is dreamy, a little darker but again thoughtfully compiled, starting with the Eastern leanings of SIX‘s Berlin. There are dark hues from Black 8‘s Black Tiger, while Dmitry Molosh’s Note brings a combination of distinctive sharper sounds and an ethereal vocal.

Later on Warren’s own Dreamcatcher, with Black 8, is subtly hypnotic, while Eli Nissan‘s Restricted Delusions is tougher. By the time Oliver & Tom‘s Luly comes around the pace has increased slightly but the mood is contented.

Is it recommended?

Yes. He may be an old hand at this compilation business, but Nick Warren still knows how to pace and mould a mix to perfection.

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You can get this album from the Balance music website

Switched On – Instra:mental: Timelines (Nonplus Records)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

When Instra:mental started the Autonomic podcast series with like-minded producer dBridge, their mantra was ‘music first, drum & bass second’. The duo – Alex Green (aka Boddika) and Damon Kirkham – qualified this by saying at the time that their aim was not necessarily to make a drum & bass track, but to make music that was ‘emotionally charged, personally edifying and organic’. They proved this in their excellent contribution to the Fabric compilation series.

Timelines revisits the Autonomic series from their perspective, bringing together five of vinyl-only contributions with six previously unavailable archive tracks. Marking the fiftieth release on the Nonplus label, it is in effect their second album, eight and a half years after the excellent Resolution 653 in 2011.

What’s the music like?

With little reason to change a successful formula, Instra:mental continue to switch between brooding panoramic instrumentals and close-up, stripped back pieces of sharper sound and raw rhythm. Sakura and Pacific Heights fall resolutely into the former category, beautifully structured and weighted, and keeping a serene beauty until bolstered by the substantial rhythm sections. Tracks like Encke Gap, with its more explicit techno references, fall into the latter description.

The music will appeal to drum & bass listeners but it is actually more versatile than that, flexible enough to bring in lovers of deep house or even slower jams. This is because a lot of Instra:Mental’s music can be appreciated at either a fast or slow tempo. As they say in their commentary to the album, a lot of their tracks operate at a nippy 170bpm – but have rhythms inbuilt to cater for those who might prefer half the speed. This brings a curious tension to their music as well, found in the likes of the slower Deep Night, a nocturnal scene with a slight edge, or Photograph, a subtly reflective beauty. End Credits is even more delicately shaded, but again the tension this creates is exquisite.

Watching You is a superb example of their craft, a nocturnal, urban portrait, while Elsewhere has a 1980’s soundtrack edge to its main riff, an intriguing clash of modern with recent past that pans out nicely to a wider perspective around halfway through. Final track More Than is perhaps the pick, another piece of reflection but a beautifully voiced one.

Does it all work?

Largely, yes. Heard in a single LP the duo’s approach can seem a little singular at times, but if you’re listening on good headphones you will be able to fully appreciate the nuances of their rhythms and the ‘less is more’ approach that makes their music more pictorial. Better still, hear it on a dancefloor somewhere!

Is it recommended?

Yes – fans will not need any convincing and will certainly be pleased with the results of Timelines. It will be interesting to see where the duo go from here.

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Let’s Dance – Mike Dunn: My House From All Angles (Classic)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Mike Dunn is a highly respected name in house music. The Chicago figurehead is already responsible for original house classics God Made Me Phunky, Face The Nation and Let It Be House, but as his many and varied pseudonyms indicate he is capable of an extremely versatile approach to house music.

The title of his first album since 1990 recognises that, the fourteen tracks including solo instrumentals and a few guest slots. My House From All Angles has been out since the summer, but Arcana wanted to recognise its existence and worth!

What’s the music like?

If someone asks you to play them some classic house music, Mike Dunn will never let you down. Because of the rich heritage he has in Chicago, he is capable of making music that recognises how house music sounded at the beginning, but brings it up to date in execution and variety.

He also has at his disposal another weapon – his voice. You don’t forget the Dunn tones in a hurry, his smoother than silk lower range used to cheeky effect on tracks like Phreaky MF or on the top notch track Move It Or Work It.

Classic house is not the only order of the day either. Modulation gets closer to techno, a brilliant instrumental whose closest cousin could be Kerri Chandler’s Bar A Thym. On the other side, The Wake Up Call, featuring Deejay Alicia, is darkly lit – as is You R, an acid tinged celebration.

Does it all work?

Yes. Dunn’s experience works so well here – he knows how to make a great house track but also the elements that keep it sounding fresh. That means that nothing is over-produced, nothing is too calculated – and that leaves room for a bit of instinct and a chance to tap into the party vibe, which after all is where house music works at its very best.

Is it recommended?

Yes. Mike Dunn is still full of ideas, and each of these tracks brims with creativity and a wish to have a good time. My House From All Angles is a show home definitely worth buying.

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Switched on – Jas Shaw: Exquisite Cops (Delicacies)

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reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

On the face of it, Exquisite Cops is a rare solo outing for Jas Shaw. One half of Simian Mobile Disco and a highly respected producer in his own right, Shaw is clearly capable of holding his own in a crowded field.

That, however, is only a small part of the story. Exquisite Cops has emerged from a period where Shaw has had to deal with a rare bone marrow disorder. It was diagnosed just after Murmurations, the last SMD album featuring the Deep Throat Choir, had been completed, and it meant their planned tour had to be ditched.

However Shaw is clearly one of those creative spirits who likes to respond to such a setback on the front foot, and while receiving chemotherapy he spent hours in the studio. Not only did he complete an album with Gold Panda as Selling, he made more than 20 solo recordings, which he has been releasing as singles and releasing as part of the Exquisite Cops project. This selection – a double album’s worth – is a self-picked ‘best of’.

What’s the music like?

Typically energetic, but varied too – Shaw clearly knows his techno, and as these eight tracks unfold we get a nice line in quick, pumping beats or softer material that nods across the Atlantic in the direction of Detroit.

Non-Caring Fabulousness starts the album almost lost in thought, with minimal treble but nicely paced, slightly darker material. Merely Bathing comes right out of that shell, with acidic bleeps betraying Shaw’s membership of Simian Mobile Disco.

Having heard two sides of Shaw’s solo personality, he cunningly blends them in the lush textures of Lecturing Birds On How To Fly, with upfront beats and woozy treble sounds that work across the stereo picture like a murmuration of starlings. This approach also works well for I Dream Of Meanie, Shaw adding a nice layer of white noise at the top to capture a bright, warm sound. Half way through a quasi-orchestral sound builds from the middle, suggesting Shaw might be familiar with Holst’s The Planets, and particularly the remoteness of Saturn.

Leaner textures are in play for Freedom For The Pike, which comes out fighting, heavy on the kick drum, and also the nippy Repeat Until There Is No More Other, a quick-fire track that recalls Plastikman.

The closing duo are both brilliant. Popes of Dischord is essentially a distorted set of bells over an energetic mid-range, building steadily over nine and a half minutes. It sounds a lot better than that in the flesh, and could easily work as a Chemical Brothers track. Finally A Bird With No Feet circles the listener’s head, working up a trance with its oscillating riff in a thrilling drive to the finish.

Does it all work?

Yes. Shaw’s ability to get even the stoniest cynic on the dancefloor with his music is well noted, whether in Simian Mobile Disco or in his own production work. Exquisite Cops is no different, and feels very natural – as though he has edited very little on the route from initial inspiration to finished club track.

This is an impressive achievement given that the gestation period for some of these tracks was months rather than hours. It so happens that Shaw has a great ear for spotting the compatibility of his ideas and blending them together.

Is it recommended?

Yes, strongly. The whole Exquisite Cops project is proof positive that good things can come out of awful situations, and that music is often the way to go for cathartic energy. When you listen to this it’s worth considering Shaw’s situation, and realising for a bit – in between dance steps – just how positive things really can be.

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Switched On – Defected presents Most Rated Ibiza 2019 (Defected)

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Various Artists – Defected presents Most Rated Ibiza 2019 (Defected)

reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

It has been another memorable summer for Defected. 2019 has seen their head Simon Dunmore and a collective of starry guests return for a third consecutive residency at Ibiza’s Eden club, and the label’s presence grows ever stronger on the island in their 20th year. Most Rated embodies that upward curve, with 30 excellent floor fillers.

What’s the music like?

Very, very good. There are two mixes here that make nearly two and a half hours of paradise for vocal house lovers. The choice moments arrive right from the first track of the first mix, Roberto Surace’s Joys, with its lifting of vocals from the Richard X & Kelis collaboration Finest Dreams. From there we can enjoy another superb Todd Edwards moment, Deeper presented in remix form by Gorgon City. As the momentum builds Riva Starr’s remix of G-Flame and KCC’s Heaven and Melba Moore’s My Heart Belongs To You (the Ferreck Dawn remix) double up effectively, before the piece de resistance of the first mix, Mattei & Omich & Nathan Nicholson’s superb track Doors, with its tagline ‘you close one door and another one opens’.

Finally the swirling strings of Cinthie’s Mesmerizing leave a mark…and if you’ve any sense you’ll head straight on to the second mix. Here Andreya Triana shines on vocal duties with The Vision’s Heaven, while Bless Me Toda from Alan Dixon adds a spiritual high. The music heads deeper with the Heller & Farley Project with Cevin Fisher, the Fire Island remix of We Built This House, and Dave & Sam’s Till The World Blow Up, featuring Mike Dunn. Dunn reappears with the bouncy If I Can’t Get Down, and there’s a similar spring in the step of Alaia & Gallo’s Trippin, featuring Dames Brown. It’s great to see Cassius present, remixing Oliver Dollar’s John’s Church, before the final winning double from Horse Meat Disco (Joey Negro’s remix of Falling Deep In Love) and one of The Shapeshifters’ very best tracks, Kimberly Davis powering the vocals for Life Is A Dancefloor.

Does it all work?

Emphatically so. Hands in the air, smiling faces and dancing feet are all symptoms of the Defected approach, and it transfers effortlessly to these two hot weather winners.

Is it recommended?

Yes, without question. Defected are riding the crest of a wave at the moment and this compilation sums up all the label’s qualities at the moment.

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