Compilation Recommendations May 2016

Review: It's 26 years since Roger Sanchez released his first production, the bleep-inspired deep house of "Dream World" by Ego Trip. A career retrospective, then, is long overdue. Strictly Roger Sanchez does a good job in this regard, gathering together classics, forgotten gems and big hits on three themed discs. The first focuses on remixes, including such gems as his heavyweight rework of early Corina Joseph's "Live Your Life With Me" (a fantastic early Basement Jaxx production), while disc two showcases original productions from the Kangol-wearing DJ. The third and final disc looks at "The Strictly Years", dusting down killer early tracks including Underground Solution's "Luv Dancin" and DV8's "Work It".

Review: With summer just around the corner, Gilles Peterson has decided to unleash some audio sunshine to get us in the mood. Magic Peterson Sunshine sees him digging into the vaults of Black Forest-based imprint MPS Records, a legendary outlet for whose vast catalogue encompasses nearly 50 years of eccentric, imaginative jazz. The 16-tracks take in a variety of jazz styles and moods, from the fizzing, up-tempo intensity of The Modern Jazz Group Frieburg's "Big P", and the undulating organ madness of Eddie Louiss' "Out Of The Sorcellery", to the harmonious samba-jazz of The Singers Unlimited, and some Dave Brubeck-style goodness from Mark Murphy. Throughout, Peterson's selections are as summery as a legendary back-yard barbecue.

Review: Munich's Permanent Vacation churns out releases at a rapid rate, making it annoyingly easy to miss out on great material. Lucky, their sporadic Selected Label Works compilation series can help fill in the gaps. Volume Five contains a wealth of tasty treats, from the wonky late night throb of Dolkraut's mesmerizing "Fire", and progressive house influenced dancefloor bliss of TB's "City Girl", to the Orbital style intelligent techno of Daniel Bortz and Sacha Sibler, via the bass-heavy wonkiness of Lake People. There's also another chance to savour Session Victim's loose, warm and groovy rework of Midnight Magic, and a tops-off-friendly chunk of Sound Factory era pump from Tuff City Kids.

Review: Speak to any New York DJ of a certain vintage, and they'll happily talk for hours on the thrill of attending parties at The Loft, and in particular the open-minded brilliance of David Mancuso's selections. The ongoing Loft Classics series has thus far done a good job in reflecting this. This 12th installment is no different. While it contains a wealth of disco classics (The Winners' "Get Ready For The Future" and Geraldine Hunt's "Can't Fake The Feeling" included), the mystery compilers have also found room for the spiritual jazz-dance goodness of "High Priestess", the heavyweight dancefloor dub of "How Much Are They", and the oh-so Balearic loveliness of closer "City Country City".

Review: Last year, French record collector Charles Maurice put together AOR Global Sounds, a compilation of forgotten tracks from around the World, by artists influenced by the hazy West Coast style of Steely Dan. Here, he unleashes a follow-up, once again delving deep into the archives for inspiration. There's naturally much to admire, from the music box-heavy blue-eyed soul of Greg Yoder, and sax-laden stoner jazz-funk of O Ji Ji, to the synth-heavy disco-funk shuffle of Carol Ray Band's brilliant "Quelques Mots Gentils", and the Balkan AOR disco warmth of Bobana Petrovica. Look to the heavens, hold a loved one close and get slow-dancing.

Review: Despite his well-earned reputation as one of techno's most prolific producers, this contribution to the long-running Fabric series is Alan Fitzpatrick's first mix CD. Happily, it finds the Drumcode regular in fine form, showcasing his wide-ranging approach to late night techno. After beginning with some clandestine ambience and dark downtempo textures, Fitzpatrick proceeds to join the dots between the throbbing peak-time thump of Mike Denhert, the swirling deepness of Bjarki, the spine-tingling rave revivalism of Markus Suckut, and the glassy-eyed Detroit nostalgia of Operator. He wisely includes a clutch of his own productions, too, including the decidedly dystopian "End Theme".

Review: Having celebrated 15 years of the Beats In Space radio show last year with a killer compilation, Tim Sweeney has decided to mark five years of his spin-off label with another similarly impressive two-disc collection. It gathers together material from each of the first 20 12" singles released by the imprint, variously touching on wide-eyed disco (House of Spirits' brilliant "Holding On"), "Miss You"-era Rolling Stones (Hidden Fees' excellent "So What"), sun-kissed Balearic brilliance (Tornado Wallace, the peerless Secret Circuit, Guiddo's fantastic "Gin 'N' Tears"), and raging acid house (T&P's throbbing "Shoot The Freak", and Matt Karmil's heady "So You Say").

Review: Given that Nina Simone's 1958 debut album, Little Girl Blue, is something of a stone cold classic, it would be fair to say that DJ Maestro was taking a huge risk when he decided to get it remixed by contemporary artists. Thankfully, most involved have done a fine job, balancing the need to put their own spin on things, while paying due reverence to the source material. Highlights include a slick Reflex edit of perennial favourite "My Baby Just Cares For Me", a fast-paced, jazz-dance flavoured interpretation of "Love Me Or Leave", a sumptuous deep house take on "I Loves You Porgy" by Medd Dierdrop, and, best of all, a fantastic Latin house rework of "African Mailman" by Opolopo.

Review: In the autumn of 2005, DJ/producer Oliver Koletzki decided to launch his own label, Stil Vor Talent. A decade on, he's naturally in celebratory mood, and has decided to mix together some of his favourite label releases of the last ten years. Built around the imprint's trademark fusions of deep house and tech-house - think woozy electronics, bubbling melodies and steadfast, dancefloor-ready grooves - Koletzki's all-action mix does a good job in flagging up Stil Vor Talent's finest moments. These include the spine-tingling breakdowns and melodious grooves of Teenage Mutants, Ed One and Boden's "Expression", Kellerkind's dark-but-shimmering "That Sound", and Koletzki's own, pulsating "First Come".

Review: Since relocating to Amsterdam over a decade ago, Dave Clarke has kept himself busy with remix work. Much of that material is showcased on the self-explanatory Charcoal Eyes: A Selection Of Remixes From Amsterdam. In typical Clarke fashion, the included reworks touch on dark electro (Maelstromm & Louisaah!, The Soft Moon), eyeliner-clad new wave (Neon Judgement), EBM (Gazelle Twin), pitch-black industrial (A Place To Bury Strangers) and, of course, bombastic techno. In this category you'll find a surprisingly funky rework of veteran indie-rockers Placebo, and a throbbing, set-phasers-to-stun interpretation of Crash Course In Science's "Flying Turns".

Review: Those of a certain vintage may have a soft spot for Global Underground's After Hours series, which promised to soundtrack "the party after the club" by joining the dots between woozy progressive house, deep techno, electronica and, of course, ambient. Some eight years after the last installment, the long-running club brand has decided to re-launch the series. Apparently, this latest installment took a year to put together, and featured tweaked, edited and gently reworked tunes layered up for a more enjoyable listening experience. Musically, it sticks to similar territory to previous installments, updating the sound a little via tracks and remixes from Ewan Pearson, Lawrence, Scuba, Matrixxman, Michael Mayer and Joris Voorn.