Compilation Recommendations July 2012

Review: Ostgut Ton boss Nick Hoppner helms the latest edition of Panorama Bar's series of residents mixes. Hoppner, a veteran by Berlin scene standards, delivers a slick, fluid and entertaining mix high on melody and atmosphere, whilst building a solid dancefloor groove. Replete with some exclusive material from the likes of Dexter, Matthew Styles and The Mole, the mix commences with a series of tingling soundscape numbers that sit somewhere between deep house and nu disco (see the Balearic rush of Furry Phreaks "Lament For A Dead Computer") From here Hoppner gleefully joins the dots between the old and the new, taking in glistening piano house, Africanisms (DJ Gregory), blissful Detroit techno (Daz Williams) and analogue electro-disco (Swan's curious "Can You Rock To This?") before ending with the blissful "New For U" from Andres.

Review: Possibly inspired by their summer season in Ibiza, this latest Cocoon collection is noticeably breezier and more melody-driven than previous outings. Sure, the shuffling beats and floor-friendly rhythms remain, but there's far more emphasis on quiet beauty. Take Of Us and Visionquest's opener "Equillibrio" sets the tone, delivering soft-focus chords and touchy-feely beauty. The first half of the collection largely follows suit, before Christian Smith, Guy J and Mark Reeve up the tempo, beefing up the drums and dropping in rave-friendly elements in true techno style. It's pretty much what you'd expect - bar the mad, stomping jazz-house of Adam Port's "Black Noise" - but the quality threshold is high. Cocoon will get few complaints from DJs.

Review: It's a commonly held belief that, bar a few exceptions, early UK house wasn't very good. Here, Richard Sen sets out to prove otherwise, digging through the archives to unearth a string of dusty gems. Eschewing the usual hits ("Carino", "Voodoo Ray" etc), Sen proves conclusively that British producers were every bit as talented as their Chicago and New York counterparts "back in the day". Interestingly, many of the cuts here are deeper and more musically well-rounded than their US equivalents - hell, Baby Ford's "Crashing" could easily pass for Dream 2 Science or Mr Fingers - while the more aggressive acid cuts (see the contributions from Man With No Name and Return Of The Living Acid) are every bit as raw as you'd expect.

Review: Long out of print following its ultra-limited 2010 release, Intergalactic Gary's first continuous DJ mix for Roller Disco gets a timely repress. Those who've heard the Hague-based record collector's subsequent mixes for Roller Disco will know what to expect; long-forgotten European synth-pop, new wave and riotously camp Italo disco from the early to mid 1980s. With oddballs such as Big Ben Tribe and Roberto Onfri (whose "Welcome Desire" sounds like the inspiration for strange Pet Shop Boys B-sides, circa 1986) present, there's plenty for diggers to enjoy. As an introduction to mid '80s underground Italo goes, Playback Fantasy is excellent.

Review: Not content with a release schedule that delivers a new compilation every other day, Cocoon have decided to launch a new mix strand: Cocoon Heroes. This first installment features discs mixed by Joris Voorn and Cassy. On the first, Voorn smoothly joins the dots between heady deep house, touchy-feely tech-house and melody-driven hypnotic moods, cramming in 26 tracks from the likes of Lawrence, Guy Gerber and Oxia. Cassy takes things a little easier on disc two, choosing to give 13 tracks the chance to breathe. It's arguably a more interesting mix, too, going from the off-kilter bass music of Pearson Sound to the woozy techno of Mr G via a series of impeccably percussive grooves.

Review: This sixth edition of the slightly murky series dedicated to the sounds that Larry Levan used to treat the Paradise Garage faithful to ranks as one of the better instalments to date. The full decidedly epic version of Cerrone's classic "Supernature" is just one of the big disco moments featured alongside the synth laden electro funk of Conversion's "Let's Do It (which feature's Leroy Burgess in fine voice) and some formidable dancefloor soul like the Mighty Ryders' classic "Evil Vibrations." Throw in a smattering of hard to define classics such as Fern Kinney's chugging synth-reggae oddity "Groove Me", and a dash of post-disco from Was Not Was and this ten track selection is something Levan would no doubt approve of!

Review: The rise of Jamie Jones over the past two years has been nothing short of meteoric. Now officially the world's number one DJ (according to readers of Resident Advisor, at least), Jones could record and release the sound of a car alarm and it would be hailed a "classic". Cynicism aside, the Crosstown Rebels regular has made some extremely high quality house over the years, as this collection of previously unreleased archive material so adroitly proves. Expect plenty of soft, touchy-feely material (including an excellent collaboration with Art Department) that offers plenty of thrills for fans of the Visionquest/Crosstown Rebels sound.

Review: There's a big change in approach on the latest Watergate mix. Gone are the stripped back minimal house grooves or nouveau deep house sounds that had prevailed on previous mixes. In their place come tracks that show Solomun's love of funk, r&b and hip-hop. Alliance Ethnik's "Respect" sets the tone with its slinky groove and hip-house style call and response vocal, while Lucy Pearl's "Don't Mess With My Man" is cut from a similar cloth, its vocal funk signalling an end to linear rhythms. Solomun himself has taken inspiration from this 90s sound and his own "Kackvogel" is all hushed vocals and slick r&b bass. The mix also features the timeless Cologne techno-pop of Heiko Voss' "I Think About You", remixed by DJ Koze.

Review: These days Flemming Dalum is making something of a name for himself on the Italo scene, but it wasn't always this way. Back in 2010, when this mix of strange Italo curiosities and camp European floorfillers first emerged on Roller Disco Records, he was still relatively unknown. Over the last 12 months, demand for Italo Hula Hoops has rocketed on Discogs, hence this timely reissue. If you've got even a passing interest, it's worth a listen. Dalum's mixing is spot on - no mean feat, given the inherent analogue wonkiness of the source material - and the track selection is dazzlingly obscure.

Review: More from the Roller Disco reissue series, as Intergalactic Gary's tongue-in-cheek tribute to the joys of camp '80s synthesizer music gets a deserved repress. For the uninitiated, Intergalactic Gary is a Hague-based synth fetishist and notorist Italo digger. Here, he showcases a tiny fraction of his unrivalled collection of (largely European) synth-pop and disco oddities, mixing up 19 tracks that will be new to all but the most dusty-fingered of collectors. Original copies still fetch relatively high amounts on Discogs, so this reissue is perfect for those without the means and dedication to cop the hit. More importantly, it's also a brilliantly enjoyable mix

Review: Beachside hotel Ushuaia - home of the Swedish House Mafia every Wednesday throughout the summer, fact fans - is the latest venue to enter into the world of branded compilations, thanks to a tie-up with Defected. Cynics will be surprised to learn, then, that The Beach Album is actually rather good. Sure, there's some typically soft focus house and a dash of Defected standards, but also some brilliant nu-disco, nu-Balearica and on-point deep house from the likes of Tornado Wallace, Todd Terje (whose "Inspector Norse" will no doubt be everywhere this summer), Bonar Bradbury, Mark E, Behling & Simpson and Tiger and Woods. There's also a chance to revel in the majesty of John Talabot's "So Will Be Now", arguably one of the tunes of 2012.

Review: Following its initial, limited-edition release in 2011, copies of this sparkling mix of forgotten, mid '80s Italo from Danish digger Flemming Dalum has been changing hands for upwards of L30 on Discogs. Here it gets a deserved repress, allowing skinflints everywhere the chance to bask in its tongue-in-cheek glory. Dalum is something of a synthesizer fetishist, and here he celebrates the appregiated basslines, sparkling stabs and Fairlight-ish chords that were such a feature of Italo between 1984 and '87. In typical Flemming style, few of the records are well known, even in Italy, but that's half the fun. And as the title hints, Italo Good Times is most definitely fun.