Layo and Buskwacka! release their debut Global Underground mix

Global Underground are set to release the lastest installment of the GU series : GU033 - Layo & Bushwacka!, Rio De Janeiro. Recent releases have had me wondering if they were just alternating between Nick Warren and Deep Dish. Layo & Bushwacka seem like a great addition to the GU roster to me, their productions are class and their music taste is second to none. The tracklisting refects their taste too, mixing a large number of down-low classics and newer material.

CD 1 looks like a total gem with plenty of classic tunes from Francois K, Danny Tenaglia, The Daou, Blunted Dummies etc... CD 2 is a mix of mainly newer material with a few classics thrown in - thankfully not full of the electro-house fodder which so many DJs have piked to playing recently. It has some kicking tunes from Adam Beyer, Martin Buttrich and more.

Review : Trafik - Club Trafikana (GU Music)

Trafik's previous album, Bullet, was a fantastic blending of styles before it was popular earning them fans in all corners of the dance music world including the crème of the progressive crew and many big-room party DJs. Their new Club Trafikana LP is again a solid piece of work with tons to love.

The opening track, "Cut Your Teeth", shows the meshing of the group's previous rock influences into their current sound and is sure to be played to death worldwide with a massive vocal and epic feel.

The album hosts a couple more tracks of similar style and quality but also delves into the housier end of things with "Thought Line" - a more groove oriented club number which reminds me more of Silicone Soul than Trafik. Nice indeed.

Electro-house makes a showing in "Dum Dum" and "Salt In NYC" - both solid if unspectacular tunes which set the stage for "Le Beeatch" which is the sure-fire anthem of the album. The energy and vocals of this one are simply awesome and will see this get played world over by anyone wanting to crank a party into top gear. A nod to the classic GU sound comes in the form of "Indestructible" which is an epic progressive breakbeat tune and "Find Me", a more mellow melding of dance and rock styles.

Club Trafikana achieves something that so few albums do – to be an album in itself – something you can listen to from start to finish as a single sitting and hear what the artist is all about. Their live act is notoriously awesome and I can see why listening to this.

Enjoy!

Review : GU – Mixed (Global Underground)

GU – Mixed (Global Underground)

It's not often you get a Global Underground CD which doesn't have a name like Howells, Digweed or Tenaglia occupying the cover. GU Mixed is the latest Global Underground CD and its solely about the music – kick-ass music they've sourced from the farthest corners of the globe and spun together into a three-CD pack which, despite not having a moody looking DJ on the cover, is a solid mix.

In true GU fashion the mix starts with some dubby, low-key tunes by big names Trentemoller, Danny Tenaglia, and Funk D'Void. The groove is set pretty quickly and you can tell it's going to be a couple of hours before you realise how much time has passed.

Into the mix Angel Moraes "Operator" gives a taste of New York shuffly campness while Cubic "Superflyin" and Arias "Twelve" drop in as the big-tune party section of the first disc begins. "Mal Function" by man of the moment Emjae rings through the speakers before the massive Saul B vs Leo Girardi "Manga", a definite epic house anthem for 2007. X-Press 2, Bent and UNKLE follow to round off the first mix.

Slam's "Azure" sets the stage for the second mix which follows a similar path to the first – starting out minimal and dubby and picking the pace up through some gem tunes by James Talk, Lützenkirchen, Wehbba and more. Solid as always Roland Klinkenber's "Mexico Can Wait" and Aril Brihkka's "Winter" change the direction of the mix into a floaty nu-prog sound which is smooth and sparse and classic GU style music. Sébastien Léger, Jim Rivers and Gabriel & Dresden and more follow before the end of the disc. Overall a very hypnotic vibe for the mix.

Disc three of the release is the "Classics mix". This is not full of obvious classics but the classics you'd expect to hear if you put on a GU CD which came out in 1993. Even if you're not familiar with the tunes you will still totally enjoy them. Last Rhythm "Open Your Mind", Doi-ong "Good Feeling" and WestBam "Hold Me Back" all bring back old clubbing memories and piano house makes a showing with Shades of Rhythm "Sweet Sensation" and Smallage "Together". Altogether quite a beachy vibe which somehow avoids sounding as dated as the age of the music would suggest.

Living up to the high bar set by "GU Ten" was a task in itself but "GU Mixed" does a solid job of setting the standard for forward-thinking mixes. Nice!

Reviewed by DJ Rob Warner