Various - Groovetechnology v1.3: Swayzak

Studio !K7: 2002

It wasn't always so bad. In fact, minimal dub deep-tech micro-whatever was thrilling stuff, in its own understated way. That’s a fresh style of music for you though: plenty of room for experimentation and innovation, nothing stuck in tropes and clichés; kept just far enough in the underground that, should you lean your ears its way, it’s easy to discover, yet remains cultivated by only a small group of enthusiasts (“I see that bandwagon you arrived on, Club Land. Maybe come back in a few years.”).

Among the early proponents of the sounds was British (former) duo Swayzak, often lending a dubby, spliff-bliss vibe to their tunes which helped set them apart from other, like-minded micro-house chaps like Akufen and Herbert. Studio !K7, already a credible hip label at the turn of the century, saw the unique musical potential of this scene, and tapped Swayzak to offer their DJ talents in compiling this here Groovetechnology v1.3 as a showcase of deep-minimal-tech. Or wait... was it the short-lived UK label Groovetech Records that initially put these out, and Studio !K7 merely handled the German (and global) distribution? That makes better sense as v1.0 and v1.2 show up on Groovetech (not to mention the title of the series itself). Or maybe Studio !K7 bought out Groovetech, liking the cut of their musical jib? Who knows a decade on (the record execs, most likely).

Anyhow, if the idea of a Swayzak commercial DJ mix sounds odd, it's because they’ve barely done them (along with this, also a Fabric entry). I... don't think they're interested in the format, if Groovetechnology's anything to go by. This is pure mixtape action here, friends, and honestly, for this style of music, I much prefer it this way. Screw trying to hold a steady groove with monotonous minimal momentum, let's just enjoy the tunes for what they have to offer.

And oh yeah, the classic names are on display here. Deep, dubby goodness from Akufen’s Architextrue, Basic Channel’s Q1.1, and Convextion’s Crawling & Hungry; icy-cool electro from Ellen Allien’s Funkenflug Der Traume and Bergheim 34's Take My Soul; groovy ambient-tech from Villalobos’ 808 The Bass Queen, Bitstream’s Monolith, and Son.sine’s Upekah. There’s quite a bit to enjoy here, especially if you’ve an inclining towards the dubbed-out chill side of techno.

Plus, you hear that? No, not all that space within these tunes – you’re supposed to hear that. I mean the lack of white noise hiss, that annoying effect that plagued so much minimal-tech in the latter end of the decade. Oh, how wonderful to not hear any. I won’t deny it’s an effective, erm, effect out on the dancefloor, but God does it annoy elsewhere, ad nausem, especially when everyone adopted it; like detuned supersaws in trance, or mid-range wobble in dubstep.

Sorry for that tangent. Don’t let the minimal association deter you from Groovetechnology v1.3, as Swayzak’s brought together as classy a collection of such tunes as you could find in the year 2002. Trust.

Various - Grooverider Presents: The Prototype Years

Prototype Recordings: 1997

The jungle scene’s a weird one for the genres it cultivates. While you have your institutions like atmospheric, darkstep, or ragga (which can lay dormant for years before resurging again), more seem to have a glorious birth of creativity and inspiration, then utterly die from disinterest (how long’s it been since jazzstep was popular?). Tech-step was one such sub-genre to emerge during the ‘90s, the sort-of in-between linker from the original darkside sound to the darkstep sonics that came to define growling, aggressive jungle in the coming decade. It kept all the shadowy attributes the soldiers craved, but stripped things down, removing the complicated Amen breaks in favor of hard-hitting 2-steps; also, Reese basslines.

At its peak, Grooverider was one of tech-step’s biggest supporters, and he launched a label promoting the stuff, Prototype Recordings. Not only did he lure in prominent acts like Lemon D and Dillinja to his print, but it also helped launch the careers of future stars such as Photek, Ed Rush, Optical, and John B. Though short-lived, Prototype was one of jungle's true cutting edge labels of the '90s, and if you don't believe the hype, here's a handy compilation of material Grooverider was pushing.

Hot damn, just look at these tunes! Dillinja's future-shock, bassbin demolishing Silver Blade is here. Fancy-pants John B’s here with Secrets, a sinister tune that's like early Photek having sex with Johnny L (yeah, we're still half a decade away before his indulgence with electroclash). Ed Rush & Fierce team up for the blistering Locust, so aptly named as the basslines growl like a swarm of the reprehensible insects on the move (though more of an early darkstep tune, to be honest). And just so everything's not so agro and dystopian, Optical, Lemon, and Matrix offer tracks that feel the free-flowin' funk better while retaining that good ol' shuffling tech-steppy goodness. Oh yeah, and Grooverider gets in a bunch of tracks under his Codename John guise, decent enough offerings though rather old-school in execution compared to these new cats.

Still, with a mere ten cuts on this CD, that’s barely scratching the surface of Prototype material. Offering a few more cuts along with the main ones is a bonus DJ mix disc option, with Grooverider himself handling the decks. It’s… um, not a very good mix. Tunes are fine of course, but these are far from clean mixes. I’ll grant ol’ Raymond some slack with working from a limited track selection, and he acquits himself fine when he manages to, erm, ride the grooves between some mixes – the transition from his Deep Inside to Lucust is thrilling. Others though, like forcing the Dreams Of Heaven vocal into Silver Blade, is utter pants, and should have been handled with a quick cut instead.

Whatever. The music on CD1’s the selling point, and if you’re filling out your classic tech-step collection or just need a proper history lesson, don’t hesitate to scope out The Prototype Years if you get the chance.

Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted

Priority Records: 1990/2003

The only Ice Cube album you're supposed to have, even if you're not much of an Ice Cube fan. Oh, he's released tons more since his debut, not to mention plenty of collaborative work alongside groups like Da Lench Mob and Westside Connection. Some of it's been good, some not so good, but aside from maybe his work with N.W.A., O'Shea Jackson was never as virulent as he was on AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted. No, check that, he's even more vicious here than on Straight Outta Compton, the bad blood between him and his former posse firing him like no other motivation could. Not only was he gonna make a bigger mark than them solo, but he was going to do so with ‘the other coast’, Public Enemy’s own production group The Bomb Squad.

Hanging around the politically charged Chuck D undoubtedly played a role in Cube’s new-found lyrical focus. He still brought tales of gangster shenanigans, but they were far less glorifying and misogynistic compared to what his contemporaries offered. Rather, they spotlighted the decay of American inner city life, how it was destroying black communities, and how everyone – from the white upper-crust of society to the lowest scuzzed beggar – was all accountable. Cube offers no solutions, and indeed that can make AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted a tiring listen as you bear the brunt of his anger, but damn if it isn’t a visceral experience.

And the music! If Cube’s just discovering how potent his lyricism could be, we’re also capturing The Bomb Squad at the height of their powers too. As this was made in the golden age of sampling, tracks are incredibly dense with (likely) un-cleared content. Unlike, say, The Dust Brothers’ production for Paul’s Boutique, who just tossed in whatever they could for the sake of it, The Bomb Squad keep grooves tight and propulsive. Just take a gander at the titular cut, with those funky breaks, bass drops, scratches, gun shots, etc. Even if Cube’s words aren’t for you, try denying bobbin’ your head to these beats. Not to be outdone, Da Lench Mob prove they're up to the sample-raiding with Jackin’ For Beats, first appeared on the Kill At Will EP, but included here on the 2003 reissue of AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (the whole single, actually).

So if Ice Cube’s debut’s as good as I say (any hip-hop head would), why’s it taken me this bloody long to pick up a proper copy? Oversight mainly, but going through all that Del Tha Funkee Homosapien material recently reminded me to correct it. Yeah, ol’ Del’s cousins with Cube, which most folks know, but perhaps less known is how, as still part of Cube’s crew, he helped pen some of Mr. Jackson’s rhymes here. I dunno how many specifically, though a track like A Gangsta’s Fairytale sure sounds like something Del might write (there’s even a ‘Dr. Bombay’ reference). I wouldn’t recommend AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted if you’re only a fan of Deltron 3030 though, as they’re literally worlds apart.

Various - Groove Armada: The Dirty House Session

Muzik Magazine: 2002

Most of the free CDs music magazines gave out often had some sort of article tie-in: year-end retrospectives, hot new genre exposes, etc. I'm at a loss as to why Muzik tapped Groove Armada for a mix CD though. The duo was between albums, and their commercial clout had significantly dwindled in the time since Vertigo, only Superstylin’ having made any kind of impact in the interim that I can remember (were they still a big deal in the UK?). Muzik itself had seen a revamp on the issue this CD came with, but nothing hints at celebrating that accomplishment here. Even the cover’s all about The Chemical Brothers, nothing to do with a ‘dirty house’ session from the London boys. Really, the only thing I remember from the April 2002 print was Muzik’s panning of Boards Of Canada’s Geogaddi - the sheer audacity of even going there, mang! Incidentally, they also gave “tulip trancemaster” Tiësto’s debut In My Memory the same score; Boards and Tijs, on the same level? Scandalous.

Alright, I’m getting bogged down in that back issue. I need to stop that, but unfortunately The Dirty House Session isn’t terribly interesting, even as a freebie. Whatever the reason behind Muzik calling up Andy Cocup and Tom Findlay for a mix CD, the duo didn't put much effort into it.

Assembled in a day, it's primarily a collection of tribal funk house, the sort of thing they claim one might hear were you to catch them at a club. Ugh, not with that kind of mixing, I wouldn't. This is Oakenfold levels of beatmatching, in that sometimes there's none at all. Might it be that they figured that's just what their audience expected of them? They'd already released a DJ mix prior to this one for Back To Mine, and were due to release one for the AnotherLateNight series as well; both tend to have chill, laid-back, mixtape vibes going for them.

Whatever. It’s not that bad. So what if the minimalistic funk-breaks of Duji’s Be Careful What You Say abruptly ends, going into the ambient ‘sleepy Ibiza mix’ of Planet Funk’s Inside All The People? Yeah, that’s a silly thing to do for your very first mix, but the tunes are fine at least.

Yes, tunes. As said, tribal and funk jams are the name of Groove Armada’s game, and though the mixing’s pants for the most part, I still vibe fine on Essa’s dubby Africans In Space (it’s like if Sandoz did house!), or a shufflin’ groove remix of Armada’s own Superstylin’. This is ‘dirty house’ though? Fine, electro house was still in its infancy, not even really a thing yet (Satisfaction only came out that same year). Folks weaned on sleazy, trashy house music that came to dominate the term ‘dirty house’ will find a decided lack of it here. No, this is all about shakin’ those hips and ass, girl. What else can you expect from a loopy funky house track called Rumpfunk?

Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Greendale

Reprise Records: 2003

I mean, what else was Neil Young gonna do in his career? He'd explored rock music in nearly all its forms: country, punk, grunge, etc. He did classic rock before it was ever 'classic', and he even did proper classic rock, rockabilly. Folk music? Done it. Blues music? Conquered. Electronic music? Damn straight he went there! Death metal? Well, okay, maybe not that one – I can't imagine ol' Neil's 'baying at the moon' singing working too favourably when Cookie Monster growls are the norm. Still, Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black) isn't too far off from power-chord distortion metal...

Anyhow, what I'm getting at here is, after a long, long history of having done about all one could ever hope to in rock music, taking a stab at a rock opera wasn't so daft – no less odd than his other quirky ventures over the years. This being Neil though, Greendale wasn't going to be a performance piece on the scale of The Wall. Rather, it was a small, intimate effort, relying on just him and Crazy Horse’s brand of kick-ass country-blues rock to tell the tale, though the tunes are musically simple, even for them. Incidentally, so was the production itself, almost on the level of a community theatre show, which makes sense from a thematic standpoint, as it's all about a small town and a series of events that shake a family to their very core.

Spoilers? Well, since I know barely anyone reading this on an electronic music blog is likely to listen to Greendale - even long time fans were rather confuddled over it – I may as well let you in on the story that takes place.

A family called the Greens lives in a sleepy town called Greendale. About the only major ruckus they caused was when Edith and Earl Green changed the name of a rancho they bought. Sacrilege! How can anyone change the Double L to the Double E? Aside from that though, not much happens for the first few songs of Greendale. Then, in a chance pullover by Officer Carmichael, he catches Jed Green drug running. No one knew Jed was a bad apple, and he only makes things worse when, in a panic, he shoots the policeman! Oops.

As you can imagine, the townsfolk aren’t too pleased, and following Carmichael’s funeral, the media seeks to interview Grandpa Green about the incident, an old curmudgeon traditionalist (with a sense of the Fourth Wall no less, often complaining about “that guy singing”). Just as the old man literally tells the media to get off his lawn with a shotgun, he has a heart attack and dies.

Sun Green, the firebrand young activist girl, doesn’t take kindly to seeing her family fall apart due to the media, and... oh dear, I’m running out of self-imposed word count. I’ll just leave on the note that by the end, the FBI kills a cat, and the final song, Be The Rain, is all kinds of awesome!

Eurythmics - Greatest Hits

BMG Records (UK) Ltd.: 1991

Don’t worry, we won’t be getting bogged down with greatest hits CDs for the coming week, as this is the only other one I have. Well, titled ‘greatest hits’ anyway. I also have a pile of ‘best of’s, plus an annoying auto-label quirk turned a bunch of ‘collection’s into ‘super hits’ (damned reissues). Since I prefer getting original albums of artists, I don’t have that many such releases, but there are a few acts where all you’re interested in are their best songs, and little else. Why yes Eurythmics is one such group.

Maybe one day I'll pick up their sophomore (and most memorable) effort, but aside from those icy-cool synth pop classics, a lot of the music Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart crafted together doesn't do it for me, at least enough to enjoy but a cursory listen every once and awhile. Their stabs at gospel, blues, and soul were never awful or anything, but there's only so much tinny harmonica I can handle, and the '80s were not kind to most wind instruments (oh God, what have you done to the saxaphone? And why do you insist on still using it!?).

For anyone that wasn’t around during Eurythmics’ run, listening to Greatest Hits can be startling. Sweet Dreams has endured as a classic synth ‘anthem’ (and been raped by shit remixes for years as a result), and other tasty keyboard goodies like Here Comes The Rain Again and Who’s That Girl will get rotation on many ‘hey, remember the ‘80s’ channels or theme-nights. So tied to Lennox and Stewart are these tunes that many of the younger generation probably figure that’s their only sound. As Greatest Hits clearly showcases, this is not so. Your moms and pops (we’re not yet at the grandparent stage with the ‘80s yet, are we…?) won’t find it shocking hearing gospel-rock (!) Sisters Are Doin’ For Themselves (the Aretha Franklin collab’) or Motown tribute Would I Lie To You? alongside pure new wave cuts like Sex Crime (1984) or oh-so ‘80s ballad Miracle Of Love. It’s just what Eurythmics did, taking the new wave ethos of post-genre bending, mixing it along with a crafty sense of fashion (alright, so Lennox was just doing David Bowie; still cool to see a gal on that though).

Not much more I can say about this one. You know the big tunes, and if you’re curious to hear what other musical stylings Eurythmics dabbled in, Greatest Hits is a fine primer to get (mostly because, as a former Columbia House option, you can find it anywhere for bargain bin cheap). If you’d just rather hear more pure synth pop though, their early ‘80s albums are worth your investment instead. Well, except for their debut In The Garden, unless you’ve a fancy for the off-kilter side of new-post indie-wave rock something-or-other nonsense. Well, okay, it’s not that bad, but nothing from that album appears here – and damn, what a swerve into Sweet Dreams one year later, eh?

The Steve Miller Band - Greatest Hits 1974-78

Capitol Records: 1978

You’ve likely heard more Steve Miller Band songs than you’re aware of. While everyone – and I mean everyone - knows The Joker, Jungle Love, and Fly Like An Eagle are by the space-folk rock act, there’s plenty more they’ve released that you’re going to recognize without even realizing it’s the same band. Yes, even within the narrow time frame of their discography this greatest hits package covers.

For instance, I always associated Swingtown with my old man, as it’s been one of his staples for whatever bar band he happens to be playing in, easily and awesomely nailing the opening “Ohhhhh” refrain and lyrics. It was years before I discovered this was one of Steve Miller Band’s biggest hits, yet after hearing so many practice sessions growing up, I can’t help but think it’s my dad on the vocals, and not Steve Miller. Oh my, this is quickly turning into an anecdote review, isn’t it?

Can’t be helped. Steve Miller Band’s music has become so ubiquitous on radio stations (not to mention endlessly licensed out for soundtracks) that you’re almost guaranteed to have at least known someone older playing the ever-living shit out of these tunes. Some sort of memory will become associated with a Steve Miller Band song – even if it’s nothing more than, say, a teenaged Homer Simpson singing along to The Joker - that almost any discussion about their music will undoubtedly turn anecdotal over where you heard it (more often than not, at a bar or house party).

Despite the band having a long history with plenty of variety, this particular release deals with the peak of their radio popularity, and boy did Steve Miller ever hit upon a winning formula: good ol’ Southern blues, folk and rock, with just enough psychedelia to stand out from their peers, and dance floor savvy (ooh, is that a touch of disco I hear in Jungle Love?) to make these bar staples for decades to come. Despite this particular greatest hits collection gathering up music from a mere three album’s worth of material, very little AOR makes up this package; maybe the synth-effects lead-in to Jet Airliner, Threshold, could be considered one, but Miller realized he could get double the royalties if Threshold was considered a separate track, and you can’t imagine your classic rock station playing Jet Airliner without that lead-in, now can you.

Look, you don’t need me to tell you Greatest Hits 1974-78 is a solid package of charming pop-rock. You’ve heard tunes like blues-stomper The Stake, starry-eyed hippie folk Wild Mountain Honey, and inoffensive rock-chugger Take The Money And Run plenty of times, even if not these songs in particular. Steve Miller took blues-rock staples, turned them about as radio friendly as one could in the ‘70s, and crafted a pile memorable hits as a result. You wouldn’t want to hear these all the time, but good luck holding back a nostalgic grin on your face when one of these songs crops up.

Insane Clown Posse - The Great Milenko

Island Records: 1997

Guess I can't hold this off any longer. I thought maybe I'd be granted another respite should my next batch of Amazon orders make it in time, but nay, I must finally reveal one of the greater shames of my music collection.

No, fuck that. Why's there shame in having a single Insane Clown Posse album? I've had ample opportunity to discard, sell off, or microwave the sucker, yet The Great Milenko has stayed with me all these years. Nostalgia, then? Not really, as I had barely a passing interest in the duo even back when I was age-appropriate to appreciate their schtick in the '90s. Could it be that, *gasp*, this is actually a great album?

Nah, guy, though for all I know, it's tops on the Juggalo scale. What I can tell you is The Great Milenko features far more metal influences than any of their albums, catching the burgeoning nu-metal sound of the late ‘90s just as it was about to blow up. And dammit if I can’t help but really enjoy Slash’s chords on the kick-ass Halls Of Illusions chorus, or shredding from Sex Pistols’ Steve Jones on Piggy Pie. This, along with some of the best production long-time ICP beatsmith Mike E. Clark managed to crank out (having a major label backing sure helps), tickles all the ‘fun-dumb’ pleasure centers in my brain (along with professional wresting, I cannot deny).

Heck, some of the themes are, dare I say, rather clever. ICP’s wit is often no brighter than a black brick, yet songs condemning the lives of the most sinful of society? The Great Milenko’s filled with them and I think that’s material we can all relate to, though I’ve grown well past “world against me” tropes as found in How Many Times?, or “organized religion’s a sham!” ‘shockers’ like Hellalujah. Still, their closing attempt at pathos in Pass Me By, a somber reflection on what the afterlife may bring, is surprisingly charming.

Then there’s simple, silly, stupid stuff like What Is A Juggalo? (ever wondered?), The Neden Game (the clowns try to impress a girl on a game show), and horrorcore insanity (Southwest Voodoo, Boogie Woogie Wu, House Of Horrors). One can’t hate on these anymore than one could hate on GWAR or an early Peter Jackson splatter film. Insane Clown Posse fully embrace their gimmick of ‘wicked shit’, and everything’s just cartoony enough that anyone with half a brain couldn’t take them that seriously (unlike other low-brow specialists like Limp Bizkit). It’s fun to take a ride on their carny ride once in a while.

Or maybe not. Make no mistake, Insane Clown Posse is an easily mocked group, and The Great Milenko won’t change your mind about their shock tactics. They’re still doing their thing though, and somehow made it work for a two-decade plus career. That’s an impressive feat for any act, especially a one-note group like ICP. Just might be the world of hip-hop needs its psycho clowns after all.

Various - Global Underground 29: Sharam - Dubai

Global Underground Ltd: 2006

Though I ordered all these used Global Undergrounds at the same time, 29 took over a week longer to arrive. Was there something special about Sharam's offering? I know the detail-blurb mentioned it was an “Ltd.Ed” copy, but surely it's not one of those copies of Global Underground - the super-expensive, long cardboard package with the large photo-booklet?

Sure is. Holy shit, and I got one for a pittance? Who cares if it's just Sharam, these deluxe packs are pimp, classing up any bookshelf they happen to occupy. I'm astounded someone wanted rid of it at only five-percent its regular price. So long as the discs work fine–

And CD1 is missing. Oh.

Gee, The Club (title of the first disc) isn’t that bad. Spider & Legaz’ Look Around has a funky house-jam going for it, Sultan & Ned Shepard provide a pleasant Balearic tune with Together We Rise, and... er, what’s with all the McProg? True, Deep Dish occasionally skewed pop, but their mixes were often deep and classy enough to forgive them for it. Free of Dubfire’s “music are serious” tendencies though, it seems Sharam went and unlocked his inner Tiësto, playing the sort of music you’d expect on CD1 of an In Search Of Sunrise mix. Hilariously, The Club only gets properly good as a set when Sharam goes full-cheddar towards the end, his attempts at breaking up the early vocal tracks with bumpin’ tech-house wrecking whatever flow the set tries to build.

This could not have been appealing for the Global Underground faithful. Paul van Dyk? Motorcycle? Folks were clamouring for the series to shake things up from the Deep Dish-Lavelle-Warren tedium that’d settled in, but I highly doubt they wanted things going in this direction - might as well check out Armada’s output instead.

CD2 is an even more bizarre affair, and not because it’s given the utterly unhelpful title of The Hub. Track selection is all over the place, going from pure funk house of The Reese Project's Direct Me at the start, then jumping around various forms of deep-pop (!?) prog house without any sense of flow, occasionally with a good tune dropped along the way (the twinkle-prog bliss of Simon & Shaker’s Zero, or Spider & Legaz’ dark Psych). No, check that, it's Sharam showing off a bunch of Yoshitoshi cuts, so I guess 'the hub' is simply Deep Dish's head office.

Easiest way to sum up CD2 is the utterly baffling choice Sharam makes in placing Felipe & Nicholas Bacher's kick-ass tribal-techno Manitou a mere two tracks after Armin van Buuren's limp-Balearic vocal cut Who Is Watching, then Planet Funk’s equally wack ‘rocktronica’ Everyday two tracks after Manitou! Given the musical surroundings, techno anywhere on these two CDs would have been a stretch, but Sharam’s weak set construction hardly allows him to go from tepid to tough and back in such a ballsin’ fashion. If he was so adamant in playing techno, might as well have pulled an Oakenfold and mixtape it.

Various - Global Underground 014: John Digweed - Hong Kong

Boxed: 1999

In a bizarre coincidence, John Digweed’s our next offering of Global Underground on the cheap. Funny, since he and Sasha were still intimately tied at the hip as far as the clubbing consciousness was concerned in '99, such that Boxed likely thought it'd be right jolly having the two DJs release separate editions of their DJ mix series one after the other. Of course, the prior GU to Digweed's Hong Kong was Sasha's ridiculously popular Ibiza, but I get to enjoy the same cheeky fun what with having just done San Francisco.

And why has this particular copy of GU014 made its way to the bargain bins? Well, the jewel case pivots are cracked, and, um... hmm. Gee, there’s nothing else wrong with it. Even the original cardboard sleeve’s still intact, surprising since it’s almost a given you’re not getting those from a resell. Maybe the previous owner ...just hated it?

But... this is a Digweed set from nineteen-ninety-f'n-nine, at the height of the man's clubbing clout. His Bedrock label had become firmly entrenched within the burgeoning prog market (when the term ‘prog’ wasn’t even a thing yet), Heaven Scent was an inescapable hit with critics and punters alike, and he'd even broke Hollywood with his cameo in the movie Groove (pft, Carl Cox did it better in Human Traffic). How could anyone not like GU014?

Well, that second disc is rather muddled in execution. While it’s obviously the ‘peak time’ CD, with tons of big names (Tilt! Breeder! Bedrock! Quivver! Hole In One?) and big tunes, it doesn’t flow like you’d expect a Digweed set to. Track selection and mixing isn’t the problem here, as they all go well together, but that sense of journey most progressive trance sets have is lacking, songs playing one after the other and little else. It’s rather like an anthem trance set in that regard, only this being Digweed, like hell you’ll hear anything the Crasher Kids would cream their pants over – even Heaven Scent is the subdued Evolution Mix.

Most likely, he’d grown bored of trance in general (almost all the old progressive jocks had by ’99), thus he focused more on CD1’s arrangement. This is the Digweed that came to define his sound of the new millennium: deep, dark, tribal progressive tech-house (oh hell, that’s convoluted; just call it prog). While a bit dull in the background, it’s ridiculously infectious and absorbing once you’re locked into it. Hooks reveal themselves in patient, due time, making the peaks that much more rewarding. It’s music that forces the DJ to work harder to keep the listener’s attention, with teases, mixing, and phrasing that coaxes out a track’s full potential, and Digweed pulls off the challenge expertly here.

GU014 isn’t the best pair of mixes you’ll find in ol’ John’s discography, as his transitional period is apparent while listening to it. It’s still a solid Global Underground offering though, and a worthy companion piece to Sasha’s Ibiza, assuming that was Boxed’s intent.