Compilation Recommendations June 2015

Review: After appearances on the likes of Downwards, Clan Destine and Minimal Wave offshoot Cititrax, Berlin-based duo The KVB land on Geoff Barrow's Invada label for the first in a series of releases. To introduce the duo, Invada have elected to give the super rare Mirror Being album a proper release on vinyl after The KVB self-issued on limited cassette back in January. Mirror Being differs from most releases from The KVB as the pair's deep set vocals, a key component of their sound, are largely absent from the 10 tracks but their reverb soaked mastery of guitars and analogue gear is still very much evident throughout. We await their forthcoming new album from Invada with real interest.

Review: Following the runaway success of their Magick Cyrcles and Magick Sunrise compilations, Psychemagik return with another selection of wilfully obscure Balearic gems. There's a subtly breezy, occasionally humid feel to much of the material this time round, with the acclaimed crate diggers' selections flitting between stoned blue-eyed soul, baked west coast rock, curious, semi-spoken word pieces, and the kind of material that suggests getting horizontal as a matter of priority. It goes without saying, of course, that the selections are thrillingly deep, with a tracklist that will have even the most committed record collectors scratching their heads.

Review: Eskimo Recordings' colour-themed compilation series has thus far delivered enjoyable material in spades, with the first three albums providing a mix of sun-kissed nu-disco, woozy nu-Balearica, Italo-tinged chuggers, sumptuous synth-pop and atmospheric deep house. The Orange Collection, the fourth volume in the series, continues in this vein. Packed with colourful synths, tactile rhythms and vibrant vocals, highlights include the chiming nu-Balearic pop of This Soft Machine, the cheery Italo revivalism of Tarjei Nygard and Are Foss's "Flog", and the quirky Scandolearic deep house wooziness of Trulz & Robin's collaboration with fellow Norwegian Ost, "Find My Love". This CD version also comes backed with a bonus mix CD that turns the vibrant material into a colourful, non-stop musical journey.

Review: The longevity of Carsten Jost, Lawrence and Bianca Heuser's Dial Records imprint is impressive. Amazingly, it's been 15 years since the eclectic house and techno label's inception, a milestone marked by this excellent collection of previously unreleased gems. In true Dial fashion, All takes a widescreen approach, mixing melodies deep house and techno fare from Lawrence, Roman Flugel, Pantha Du Prince and Efdemin (whose futurist-tinged "No Exit" is superb), with quirker, harder-to-pigeonhole fare from the likes of John Roberts, Pawel and Physical Therapy. The latter's broken techno jam "Market Crash" is nothing less than a dystopian dancefloor delight.

Review: Having built a fearsome reputation as tech-tinged, powder-house party starters via acclaimed releases on Crosstown Rebels and Hot Creations, Fur Coat has finally been given a chance to put together their first commercially available mix CD. Happily, the Barcelona-based Venezuelan duo have grasped the opportunity with both hands, delivering an undulating, shuffling saunter through largely European house and techno. As atmospheric as you'd expect, with periods of both sparse, stretched-out hypnotism and surging, heads-down pump, Balance presents Fur Coat benefits greatly from the duo's willingness to blend forgotten gems (Luke Slater remixing Slam, Ame's tweak of Joey Negro's Akabu project) with suitably hot contemporary fare.

Review: Given the upsurge in interest in all things disco and boogie in recent years, it's perhaps unsurprising that Ibiza's Glitterbox night - established in 2014, and returning for a second season this June - is one of the White Isle's most hyped events. Here, the brand delivers its' first compilation, a two-disc mix-up of disco, house and electrofunk from Defected boss Simon Dunmore, with a third, unmixed disc thrown in for good measure. Packed with disco classics (Chaka Khan, Todd Terje's rub of Chaz Jankel), synth-heavy boogie (World Premier, Skipworth & Turner), breezy soulful house (Ultra Nate, Ten City) and stone cold anthems (Ashley Beedle remixing Bent's "Magic Love", Sure Thing, Storm Queen), it's an enjoyable romp through smile inducing, goodtime pastures.

Review: When they reach certain landmarks, Far Out Recordings usually release a Brazilika-branded compilation. Now that the label has reached 20 years, they've decided to push the boat out with a double-disc outing. Fittingly, the first disc features unmixed selections hand-picked by label founder, bossman and Brazilian music obsessive Joe Davis. As you'd expect, he's picked some corkers; breezy, sun-kissed material - both traditional-sounding and modern interpretations - from the likes of Azymuth, Marcos Valle, Banda Black Rio and, more surprisingly, Kirk Degiorgio's Offworld project. Things get sweatier on the second disc, as friend-of-the-family Spiritual South drops a thrill-a-minute sprint through the label's percussive, dancefloor-friendly side. Seriously, it's superb.

Review: Like many obscure Italo-disco acts, The Stupid Set largely went uncelebrated during their early '80s career. Here, Opilec boss I-Robots gives them a new lease of life via an album of his own edits of their previously unreleased Psychodisco set. It was originally recorded at the tail end of 1981 using an entirely analogue set-up, and subsequently performed live a number of times. This, though, is the first time it's seen an official release. I-Robots' edits are, naturally, fairly sympathetic to the original material, merely extended and snipping sections whilst leaving the band's analogue oddness in tact. Musically, it's impressive, too, sitting somewhere between curious new wave, early experimental electronica, the Horror soundtrack work of John Carpenter, and the raging throb of floor-friendly Italo-disco.

Review: 12 months on from the release of Colin Baldry's impressive Ambient Jazz Ensemble debut, Suite Shop, Here & Now has decided to give that set the remix treatment. As the album's rather clunky subtitle makes clear, they've opted for a selection of revisions that touch on 'electronica, deep house and disco'. There's still plenty of variety within that remit, though. Compare, for example, the breezy liquid D&B-meets-jazz positivity of Dylan Corby's rework of "Waiting For Space", the tactile, Balearic deep house dreaminess of the Cardiac Club Remix of "Quiet Hero", and the wonderfully slow, smacked-out Curveball version of "Cinematize". Best of all, though, is Leo Zero's thrilling 'dub house goes jazz' revision of "Vibration".