Various - Mixed Goods XV

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Intro
2. Fred Everything - Let You Down
3. Blakstone - One Thing
4. Blaze featuring Palmer Brown - Do You Remember House?
5. Fred Everything - Universal Mind
6. Fred Everything - Another Soul
7. Barrington Levy - Under Mi Sensi
8. Fred Everything - Under The Sun
9. Fred Everything - Derby
10. Blaze featuring Palmer Brown - Do You Remember House? (Azzido da Bass Tech Drops)
11. Fred Everything - Without
12. Fred Everything - Revolution

Lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy. Did I not care about these anymore? Eh, not really. WinMX continued to suck balls as an AudioGalaxy replacement, and all the other suggested replacements were too sketchy for my liking. Also, I was employed again. And had real money again. And lived close enough to Vancouver that I could visit awesome music stores when I felt the urge to check new music! Downloading felt horribly unnecessary and so not worth my while any longer. I mean, just look at that track list up there! It's basically Fred Everything's album Under The Sun, with a few smatterings of other tunes. Why didn't I just buy Mr. Everything's album proper-like instead? Gathering MP3s was kinda fun at first, hunting about for music you knew was difficult to find at that day in age. Then, it became tedious, a chore for diminishing returns. Hell, I didn't even care enough to find a spiffy cover for this fifteenth volume of Mixed Goods, going with a rather generic 3D spheres thing.

I’ve really backed myself into a corner here with so much Fred Everything. I could tell you a bunch about his career, and his style of summery, loopy deep house (some people call this ‘liquid tech’ now, for some stupid reason). If I did that though, I’d have nothing to say when I do get around to reviewing Under The Sun (like, probably over a year from now). Well, okay, I’ll let you know that Derby is dubbed-out bliss, but that’s all.

The Blaze tune was a minor hit when it came out, even if it deals in a house trope that’s almost as old as the house ol’ Palmer’s reminiscing about: the ‘back in the day’ monolog. Still, Blaze has never made a bad track in their career (if they have, please don’t tell me – I cherish the ignorance), and Do You Remember House? is no exception, perfectly capturing vintage house vibes without coming off retro. Learn from these guys, o’ ye House Revivalists of our modern times.

Blakstone provides my obligatory ‘dark prog’ cut, and I’ve no clue which ragga version of Under Mi Sensi that is up there; it was all I could find when I initially searched for the original. With that, I’ve said all I’m willing to with Mixed Goods XV. Tunes are fine, but are hopelessly redundant within my collection. Meh, why couldn’t Mixed Goods XII have survived instead? That one was great! Ah well, one more to go.

Various - Mixed Goods X

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Aqualite - The Outback (DJ Taucher Remix)
2. O.T. Quartet - Hold That Sucker Down (Aquagen Remix)
3. DJ Kayos - Acid Vibes
4. Reverse Pulse - Flexible
5. Tom Wax - Amphetamine
6. Sunbeam - Solar Surfing
7. Stimulant DJs - Stop The Groove
8. Komakino - Dynacore
9. Spicelab - We Got Spice (Humate Remix)
10. Spicelab - Bad Rabbit
11. Sunbeam - Dreams
12. Shorty Bone - Dream Phase

My memory's hazy on this one. I distinctly recall seeing the image in an online gallery and thinking, “That's what I want for Mixed Goods X! It'll make for a wicked X-Files rip-off!” I'm pretty sure I'd also escaped interior-BC purgatory by this point, so my thoughts would have been on developing covers, including ones for future use since I had access to a printer again. Pity not the ink jet that handled this one, my friends, for it was a noble death.

The track list, however, has me wondering otherwise, as it's full of acts that don't make sense for the time. Komakino, Spicelab, Sunbeam, and such almost certainly would have been prioritized when I made my first searches in the world of P2Ps. Yet here they are instead, almost a good year after getting involved with AudioGalaxy. Perhaps after making the switch to WinMX, I tried my luck again to see if any new results came about? A smattering of leftovers I was saving for a theme-appropriate Mixed Goods? Or maybe it was that interactive Flash thingy I'd stumbled upon that pointed out tracks of ye' olden days, inspiring me to dig a little further again (Enlil's Tour Of Digital Rhythm, Melody & Harmony, or something).

I’m not sure what else to say about this one. As a collection of old school German trance, it’s alright, but I’d already put the best stuff on that Hypnotic: Electronic Purity CD, plus most of the other Spicelab material on its own disc (long since demised). The Aquagen Remix of Hold That Sucker Down pales compared to the classic Builds Like A Skyscraper Mix, and of all the leftover Komakino I’d yet to get, it’s an old, hard techno tune that makes the cut here. Still, gotta love Shorty Bone’s free-wheeling hard acid trance. So raw, so fun.

The outliers on Mixed Goods X aren’t much cop either. I have no clue why I got an NRG track in Stop The Groove, as I had but a passing tolerance of the stuff most of the time. Then again, when you’re growing desperate for any tune out of Muzik Magazine’s back pages, you’ll settle for Stimulant DJ’s. And Reverse Pulse’s cover of Depeche Mode’s Flexible barely sounds like the original at all – more like a left over German trance track the Pulsers had, and dumped some distorted vocals on top. Why do I have a feeling of déjà-vu talking about that one?

Various - Mixed Goods IX

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Jondi & Spesh - Creep Phase (Dub)
2. Chiller Twist - Strings Ultd (Shelly Mix)
3. Futurecast - The Future (Is Now)
4. Powerplant - With Or Without You (Blackwatch Mix)
5. DJ Gollum & DJ Yanny - Watch Out (Mellow Trax vs Lars Palmas Remix)
6. Dirty Vegas - Days Go By (Galastasory Mix)
7. Jay-J & Chris Lum - Freaks Like Us
8. Walley Lopez & Dr. Kucho - Acid Journey
9. Jondi & Spesh - Creep Phase (Original)

This might as well be Dark Prog 2, even though the music here isn't as endlessly plodding as some of the stuff on that disc. It is a consistent theme on Mixed Goods IX though, and also having the dubious distinction of the volume I always forget is on it.

Yes, even the Dirty Vegas hit Days Go By. I remember that I did nab that track almost immediately after seeing that Mitsubishi car ad like everyone else (so cool, so class, so vibe), but not where I put it. In fact, even going back to this CD just now, I was surprised to find Days Go By on here. Incidentally, this “Galastasory Mix” credit must be mislabeled, as Lord Discogs has no return for such a name. It just sounds like an 'extended mix' anyway, and for all I know, it's the proper original version (I don't have their album, nor do I care to get it). I'm only keeping it titled up there thusly as a testament to the wilderness that was post-AudioGalaxy P2P hunting of the early '00s, where mislabels were common. Many times you thought you'd stumbled upon a new, unique tune or remix, only to find it horribly, incorrectly titled (remember, kids, properly label your rips), or deliberately misleading to give the uploader undeserved fame (oh hi, DJ Mystik). At least this MP3 of Days Go By wasn't credited to Paul Oakenfold with a Digweed remix.

*whew* Was that paragraph ever long. What sort of specific tracks are we dealing with on Mixed Goods IX, then? There's some deep, dubby stuff here from Jondi & Spesh – mm, like dub techno, but with warmth. Chiller Twist's Strings Ultz was a minor, melodic hit back in the day, while Walley Lopez & Dr. Kucho bring a proggy bit of acid to the table. Even hard dance mongers DJ Gollum & DJ Yanny get a classy acid-prog (!!?) rub for Watch Out. Also, why is nearly every artist and remix on here a duo? Even two of the aliases (Powerplant and Futurecast) are duos. I swear I didn't intend to piece together Mixed Goods IX as a showcase of that! Maybe prog was entering its “we cans Sasha & Digweed too” era with credits?

Despite always forgetting about this compilation, it's still a pleasant disc to hear whenever I do throw it on. Can't really say the same for the remaining Mixed Goods, but they're definitely memorable, if not for the best reasons.

Various - Mixed Goods VII

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Dido - Hunter (MJ Cole Mix)
2. Acquired Sound - Online
3. PPK - ResuRection
4. Jamie Anderson - Can't Stop
5. Chris Zander - Lord Of Sunshine (Christian Hornbostel Mix)
6. David James - A Permanent State (Superchumbo Mix)
7. Oliver Klein - Timeloop
8. Biosphere - Chromosphere
9. Justin Scott Dixon - Pure
10. Interflow - Storyreel (Extended Vox Dub)
11. Jamie Anderson - Black Sun (Total Eclipse Mix)

7? What happened to 6? Heck if I know. I can't even recall what was on it, made in an uncertain time where I still relied on P2P sources, but with diminishing returns. Shortly after this one, my financial situation hit an all-time low, and I was forced to pawn off my CD collection for ramen noodles just to get by. I wasn't too choked to see those discs go, but a few had assorted tracks I wanted to keep for future use in these compilations. And now they're lost as well, lost, lost...

Well, not quite. That Justin Scott Dixon track, Pure, ended up on a future Mixed Goods without me even realizing it, which is doubly-funny since I already had the track on Sasha & Digweed's Northern Exposure 3. In fact, I think this is an exact rip from that set. Why on Earth did I even want that track so much? Sure, it was one of the few tunes in the back pages of Muzik Magazine I could nab, but it's not that good out of context.

Ah, I'm sure most of ya'll haven't even noticed Pure in the track list above. Yes, that's ResuRection you see, and yes, I unashamedly adore that track! Overlong breakdown aside, it's such a deliciously old-school sounding tune, I was stunned it even became the hit it was. Maybe it would usher in a new dawn of classic trance, one no longer reliant on Dutch supersaws and- oh, you naive little darling, 2002 Sykonee!

Aside from MJ Cole’s remix of Dido’s Hunter (was curious to hear what the deal with MJ Cole was ...wasn’t impressed) and another classic Biosphere cut (please point me to affordable copies of his early albums!), Mixed Goods VII follows a similar structure to those that came before: mix of house, techno, and prog. This one’s mostly prog though, as it was often easiest to find on WinMX, what with all those prog DJ mixes coming out in 2002. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, that’s not psy-trance act Total Eclipse doing a rub on Jamie Anderson’s Black Sun; rather, a play on words for a darker version of the funky house original.

Mixed Goods VII is alright, but a cynical ear isn’t difficult to form playing this CD, much of it drab and plodding. For as much as I enjoyed ‘dark prog’, what came recommended and what I could find just wasn’t cutting it. Fortunately, things turned around by the time I got to gathering it again.

Various - Mixed Goods V

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Jacob London - Slom Time
2. D.A.V.E. The Drummer - Strictly Underground
3. D.A.V.E. The Drummer - Implant (Acid Techno Is Alive)
4. Brancaccio & Aisher - It’s Gonna Be… (A Lovely Day)
5. Ubu - Pixels
6. The Bangin’ Drummer - To The Underground (Vox Mix)
7. Danny Tenaglia vs X-Press 2 - Elements Vs Smoke Machine (Mayor’s Mix)
8. Derler & Kitzling - Nuclear Device
9. BPT - Moody (Future Shock Mix)
10. D.A.V.E. The Drummer - Evil Acid

When I initially made all these burned CDs, they’d all go into a simple, thin jewel case with hand-written tracks lists. It wasn't until I got the dodge out of interior British Columbia poverty and hands on a decent printer that I could do any spiffy labeling. Being endlessly nostalgic for early '90s CGI art, I scoured the interwebs for such examples. Every cover for Mixed Goods was culled from online galleries, and I kind of wish I'd kept the original artists' credits for them, as some of them are damned good, even making the discs aesthetically better than they really are.

Like Mixed Goods V!

I had ‘underground’ in the track list twice, plus all sorts of pummeling acid techno and chugging, basement tribal house (prog!), so I figured something appropriately properly reflecting that sound was required. I was also getting better at developing these covers, placing text, toying with fonts, and all that. Mixed Goods V may not have the best tunes out of my series, but as a complete package, I think its tops. Heck, even the CD label has unique charm.

Music wise, there aren’t that many surprises, as I was only just re-gathering up new material. Unfortunately for broke-as-fuck music enthusiasts, AudioGalaxy had just recently shut down, and most were left scrambling for alternatives. WinMX sufficed at the time, though was leagues behind in finding the specialist stuff. Suddenly all those wonderful MP3 rips of Muzik Magazine recommendations were gone, left with tons of D.A.V.E. The Drummer instead. Huh, okay.

Well, ol’ D.A.V.E. wasn’t too bad for acid techno (Implan still kicks), but I’m sure you’re all more interested in that Elements/Smoke Machine mash-up. Ah, it’s totally a bust, the entirety of Elements playing in whole, immediately followed by the entirety of Smoke Machine played in whole. Oh look, someone noticed Smoke Machine uses part of the vocal of Elements in its track. You so clever, bootlegger! Ah well, it makes for a nice companion piece in this CD, coming off the Tenaglia inspired (rip-off?) To The Underground from Bangin’ Drummer and into the anthem techno (!?) of Nuclear Device. Funky house jams from Jacob London and Branaccacio & Aisher, plus fine prog slices from Ubu and BPT (yes, this is the best remix of Moody), and you have a surprisingly well rounded CD of underground flavoured tunes. In fact, of the Mixed Goods I still have, V hits the peak.

Various - Mixed Goods IV

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. BPT - Moody (Pete Heller's 'Stylus' Vocal Mix)
2. Quirk - Soft Focus (Hyperion Mix)
3. Quirk - Yebo
4. Funk D'Void - Diabla
5. Chris Carter - Plex
6. Andy C & Shimon - Body Rock (Live)
7. Matrix & Fierce - Tearaway
8. Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - Dust
9. Soul Grabber - Release
10. Plank 15 - Strings Of Life (Pete Heller's Strings Of Dub)
11. Kosheen vs. DJ Tiësto - Hidden Flight (Windsidor Bootleg Mix)

The title Mixed Goods truly is awful grammatically, though intentionally so. Something of an inside joke among my old 'Rupert Raver' crew, we (mostly two or three chaps not me) had a tendency to invent slang almost on a daily basis. It definitely started well before I joined up with them (I was a drifter before finding musically like-minded peers), and Lord help me, did I ever endlessly crack up to some of the nonsense that'd come from their mouths. Their slang war grew incredibly competitive, always attempting to outwit the last clever comeback, and ofttimes rendering simple discussion an impenetrable haze of jargon. As I still had close ties to that crew while I was making these CDs, some of the lingo remained a part of mine own, “goods” such an example. Yeah, it's not terribly difficult deciphering that one, but then I figured only they would ever see these anyway.

Okay, I’m honestly just burning word count here because Mixed Goods IV is quite a mess. By the time I got to making it, I was down to leftovers for MP3 choices, most of the best stuff already burned to personal compilation series (this one, Klassic Kickbacks, Breakz & Bass, Chilled Kutz ...ooh, mint material there!) or feature discs, typically of a specific genre or artist. I likely could have waited for more Muzik Magazine recommendations, but I needed hard-drive space for more music (my old-old computer only had 2.6 GB!). So onto Mixed Goods IV these oddities went.

There’s a fair bit of prog on here, though seeing Pete Heller’s name shouldn’t surprise of that. Perhaps more surprising is psy-trance act Quirk also getting in on that prog action; guess it was a bid to stay relevant, and ultimately failed since the duo folded shortly after these were released. A few excess cuts from my Breakz & Bass series also show up, though only Matrix & Fierce’s Tearaway is any good (and kinda’ stuck in post-Bad Company dark-neuro-step-funk-whatever sound). Chris Carter’s Plex is a weird nu-school breaks thing, and everyone knows Body Rock; all I could find was a crummy internet rip to sate my curiosity over the ‘clownstep classic’.

I guess the rest of these tracks were gathered to sate curiosity too; obviously so the Kosheen/Tiësto mashup, but also Funk D’Void’s nasty techno beast Diabla. Bet that track would scare the piss out of today’s festival circuit. Also, I really ought to hunt down proper copies of Pychick Warriors Ov Gaia’s music, shouldn’t I?

Various - Mixed Goods III

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Noiseshaper - The Only Redeemer (Flag Finger Mix)
2. Frankie Knuckles - Keep On Moving (The One Mix)
3. Sven Van Hees - Psychedelic Bellydancing
4. Wally Lopez & Dr. Kucho - Patricia Never Leaves The House
5. DJ GoGo - Sayna (Version 1)
6. Sven Van Hees - Serrano Anthem
7. Nigel Hayes - Que Pasa
8. Mateo Murphy - Love Express
9. Tom Wax & Jan Jacarta - Wormhole
10. Glenn Wilson - Release
11. Mateo Murphy - Impact
12. Tom Wax - …And Then It Hit Me

This was my stab at making a Balearic compilation. It didn’t quite work out, mainly because I ran out of Balearic music far too soon. It actually still makes for a decent ‘night out at Ibiza’ themed CD; at least I assume since I’ve never been to the tourist trap of an island. Laid back deep house to start, moving onto groovier, upbeat stuff like tech-house (no, it really was groovier back in the day!), some culturally tinged tunes as you wander the terrace to the next club, and finally settling on pummeling 4am techno to finish the night off.

If anyone’s paid attention to the previous burned CD’s I’ve ‘reviewed’, you’ll notice a couple familiar names already. Noiseshaper’s The Only Redeemer makes another appearance, a single that was heavily promoted during Quango Records’ re-launch in 2001. This Flag Finger mix, a short version of the reggae-dub house tune, doesn’t appear anywhere at Lord Discogs. Man, did P2P programs return some odd results back in the day. There’s also DJ GoGo’s Sayna again, though this version isn’t as mundane as the Dark Prog one – there’s an actual synth hook near the end, though minor. And here’s Sven van Hees, whom I raided quite a bit from Audio Galaxy for, almost entirely based on the cool track names. Most of the music I got from him went on chill-out CDs I made, Serrano Anthem is definitely in this vein (a mid-CD bliss-out moment), but Psychedelic Bellydance is… tribal-reggae techno? Awesome, is what it is; just awesome.

Nigel Hayes’ Que Pasa also has an upbeat, Balearic vibe going for it, though with a few jazzy guitar and saxophone licks thrown in. After that, techno, man, all techno. Well, not quite. Wormhole is definitely not techno, in fact rather out of place as a ’97 slice of trance surrounded by Mateo Murphy and Glenn Wilson tracks. I do recall stumbling across it when searching for Tom Wax’s …And Then It Hit Me, a tune I just had to hear after learning it was another ‘storytime techno’ tune (think The Horrorist’s One Night In N.Y.C.). Oh yeah, I’ve definitely been where this narrator’s been… once.

Listening back on this, Mixed Goods III has held up remarkably well, if I do say so myself. Shame hardly any of these tunes are available at Amazon’s MP3 store. Who knew this music would turn out so rare a decade on.

Various - Mixed Goods II

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Space Frog - (X-Ray) Follow Me (Funky Mix)
2. Dance 2 Trance - Power Of American Natives ’98 (DJ Scot Project Remix)
3. Komakino - Man On Mars
4. Tilt featuring Maria Nayler - Headstrong (Blades G. Remix)
5. Jam & Spoon - Be Angeled (Paul van Dyk Club Mix)
6. Final Fantasy - Controlling Transmission 2001
7. Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia - Exit (Drum Club Mix)
8. Biosphere - Novelty Waves
9. Slam - Alien Radio
10. Skylab 2000 - Higher
11. Space Frog - (X-Ray) Follow Me (Pants & Corset Remix)

No, really, I still had a touch of the trancecracker in me even by 2002. It was a very, very, very small amount lurking, probably hiding behind the spleen with any post-’96 euro-dance, hoping the invading electroclash couldn’t flush it out, but it was there. Well damn it, I had to purge it somehow, and if making my second volume of Mixed Goods a total cheese-trance fest was the only way to do it, so be it!

Okay, this isn’t that cheesy. I’d gathered an odd assortment of euro-trance though, and definitely knew I wanted some of the most shameless stuff on Mixed Goods II. Balancing it out at the other end were some ‘proper-trance’ tunes like Exit from PWoG (more of a dub tribal thing) and Biosphere’s classic bleep-techno tune Novelty Waves. Slam’s Alien Radio had more in common with techno (with spa-a-a-ace sounds!), but I liked the tune, so in it went as well. After that, Skylab2000…

Okay, anyone remember these guys? This track Higher is more of an old-school rave tune, and for the life of me I can’t recall where I got it from. My best guess is MP3.com, but I also recall some mass MP3 giveaway from a new electronic music magazine with a website tie in. Oh, early ‘00s, with your wacky internet gimmicks. I wish I could recall that one better.

Back to Mixed Goods II, the first half of this CD isn’t as corny as you might expect. Space Frog’s Follow Me was an undeniable hit in anthem loving circles, few able to resist that ‘call to arms’ vocal and stomping synth hook, and was regular weapon in Oakenfold’s Cream days. Naturally with any trance-associated hit, a pile of pointless remixes came out 2002, the Pants & Corset one the best of the lot; the Funky Mix is mislabeled, but I like it enough as an introduction to the forthcoming cheese. Amazingly, Scot Project’s remix of P.oA.N. is quite restrained from what you’d expect of the hard trance DJ – there’s pounding kicks and overlong builds, sure, but no blaring synths, my friends. As for a 2001 remix of Final Fantasy’s Controlling Transmission, well hey, it’s me. Not as good as the original though.

And that’s the end of this one. Honestly, about the only thing memorable about Mixed Goods II is the cover. I’d have bought more Trance Divas if they’d come packaged like that!

Various - Mixed Goods 1

(~): 2002

TRACK LIST:
1. Jam & Spoon - Be Angeled (Tweaker Mix)
2. Tendroid - Trendication To House
3. 2 Unlimited - Get Ready For This 2001 (Robbie Rivera White Label Mix 1)
4. Mark Ambrose - Destiny Angel
5. FPU - Crockett’s Theme (Tiga’s White Linen Remix)
6. Bushwacka! - Chorus
7. 2 Unlimited - No Limit 2000 (Razor & Guido Dub Remix)
8. Noiseshaper - The Only Redeemer (Needs Mix)
9. Mondo Grosso - Star Suite (Shelter Vocal Mix)

Mixed Goods was my main burned CD series; essentially where I shoved my current house, techno, trance, prog, and a few other assorted additions. I tried maintaining specific stylistic themes with each CD, and sometimes it worked out, but as I began running out of material, the later volumes turned incredibly hodgepodge. Just as well I lost a bunch of those. Out of sixteen Mixed Goods I made, only ten survive now, and even then half the CDs have oxidized (why didn’t anyone tell us these things about CDRs?). Most of the tunes I got for these were nabbed off AudioGalaxy or WinMX, typically after reading the back pages of Muzik Magazine and seeing what I could even find from their chart lists. Clearly I have no need for such antics now, but back then, I was broke, on the dole, and living nowhere near decent music shops. It was all I had to stay current on electronic music, so you’ll forgive a little sentimentality on my part as I now review my collection of Mixed Goods. Wait, where are you going?

Ah, forget those guys. Those that stayed, thanks man! Eh, what’s with the tracklist above? Well, wouldn’t you know it, quite a few of the tunes I gathered up for these collections are difficult to find now. Something like a (pre-shit) Robbie Rivera white label remix of 2 Unlimited, that makes sense, but dang, I had no idea Bushwacka!’s bouncy Afro-house Chorus would be too. Since the odds of making any respectable Amazon Playlist out of these tracklists is unlikely for music so old, I’m offering up the tracklist for these if you’re interested enough to scour the web for the tunes yourselves.

Okay, enough pre-amble. Mixed Goods 1 was my stab at a ‘funky, deep, classy house’ collection. Yes, even with a pair of 2 Unlimited tracks on it, though admittedly the Razor & Guido remix is more of an anthem house thing. Tracks like Mark Ambrose’s Destiny Angel and Tendroid’s Trendication To House Music are likely forgotten now, but house legend Blaze’s go at Mondo Grosso’s Star Suite’s a classic; sixteen minutes of groovy, shuffly jazz-garage with a never-ending empowerment monolog. Yeah, that’s some classy shit, mofos. Makes you even forget the CD opened with the corny Be Angeled from Jam & Spoon. Why would that even be made into a house track anyway? Jam & Spoon’s trance, no matter how pop they were going at the time. Give that track to Paul van Dyk or something.

Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy

4AD: 2000

Not to sound too up my own ass, but I was always a little smug around my peers in discovering Thievery Corporation before most of them. I shouldn’t be that smug, since I only found out about the Washington downtempo duo when 4AD, of all labels, redistributed their classic Sound From The Thievery Hi-Fi two years after it’d already come out on Thiev-Corp’s own Eighteenth Street Lounge Music. Dammit though, I was the first in my circle to find it, and it wasn’t until their sophomore album, The Mirror Conspiracy, that the duo broke out from underground-darling status with chill-out crossover potential. And for that, I… kinda lost the plot with them.

Not that I blame Garza and Hilton for refining the dubby, hip-hop groove they made for themselves - adopting Latin and jazz elements into a genre already filled with Jamaican and urban influences was a fine idea. They certainly proved capable of pulling it off, with tunes like Lebanese Blonde and So Come Voce getting tons of rotation on every loungey chill-out compilation that mattered (and then some).

The Mirror Conspiracy isn’t just some nifty bossa nova for smoky basements though, as oodles of ethnically diverse music finds its way throughout the album. Indra gets its bhangra on at points, plenty of Arabic nods crops up (Illumination, ), the Hong Kong Triad sounds like it could have fit snuggly in a ‘60s mod movie, and even that Afro-Brazillian percussion style batacuda gets its nod in Air Batacuda …hehe, ‘batucada’. Nearly every track features some unique stylistic origin while always maintaining a distinct dubbed-out cool vibe that’s wholly the Thievery Corporation’s. It’s just a shame so many of them are too damned short.

Perhaps I was spoiled by the lengthier tunes on their first album, but longer running time would make the songs on The Mirror Conspiracy so much more immersive. I want to get lost in Samba Tranquille’s blissy shuffle for longer than three minutes. I want to forever float on rivers of funky dub with Tomorrow. And what the Hell, Bebel Gilberto doesn’t even get three minutes at providing a soulful croon in So Com Voce? A few cuts do offer reasonable length – tribal Illumination, jazzy Focus On Sight clock in over four minutes, and Indra gets a whopping five-plus to strut her stuff (whoa, what is this, prog?). Considering, at thirteen tracks, the The Mirror Conspiracy runs well less of an hour, there wasn’t any reason for Garza and Hilton to indulge themselves a little - unless these were intended as radio-friendly versions, trotted out for easy licensing. Given how many songs did end up on compilations and chill-out mixes, maybe so.

I won’t go so far as to call Thiev-Corp’s newer style ‘pop’, but it is far more accessible for mass audiences compared to many other downtempo artists of similar ilk. Fair enough if that’s their goal (and judging by their follow-up albums, it was), but it wasn’t for me. Solid live shows though!