Various Artists

The famous Birmingham club-night drops another compilation, arriving years after the first one, but losing none of the flavour or edge in the process.]

This collection of dancefloor-friendly drum'n' bass tunes shouldn't be described as a 'compilation,' despite the fact that it contains 15 tracks - all written/arranged, produced and performed by different artists. Instead Eastern Drum And Breaks 2 deserves the title of 'collaborative effort' in the purest sense... 

...Nasha, a London-based group musicians, are rare in their astounding ability to successfully pull off a congruously holistic aural aesthetic - they sound tight! All 15 tracks on this album vary in how futuristic they seem but nonetheless share positively energizing up-tempo rhythms that are extremely danceable with regular time signatures - so DJs will love to bust this LP in the mix.

Featured on this collaborative release is a reworking of acclaimed Bollywood producer A.R. Rahman's So Gaye Hain (featured in a film titled 'Zubeidaa: Story of a Princess - 2000), produced by Outcaste Records veteran Ges-e; its a nostalgic number - wafty and playful yet with a powerful percussive edge that is employed perfectly in time with orchestral ebbs and flows. Ges-e's other 3 tracks (PK757, Streets of Basra and Mann Industries) all exhibit South Asian tabla percussion and vocals; sounding full and emphatic as they pair up with synthetic bass-lines and harmonics.

Popularized through his work with the Asian Dub Foundation, Aktarv8r steps away from the mic and decks and into the studio to create two tracks for this album which are reminiscent of Afrika Bambaataa's mid 80s electro-breakbeat experiments, yet with refreshing Arabian hints.

Also notable is Ozmani Soundz's Lushmeena (track 14), which is a heavily textured, sweet affair complete with non-lyrical female Indian vocals.

Each track on this album is innovative and for that, its worth listening to time and again - Eastern Drum and Breaks is a historical work that has set a standard for electronica producers in its embrace and bridging of d'n'b sub-genres whilst maintaining a solid 'Indo-meets-Arabic' feel. 

Following a release like Untouchable Outcaste Beats vol.1 is no easy task.  In general, when compiling a disc that is supposed to feature songs and tracks which have intrinsic historical significance as well as vastly contrasting musical styles it becomes a daunting task to sift through them all and pick out particular elements that jive, to then order tracks to maintain some harmony throughout the disc.

Outcaste Too Untouchable is indeed the younger brother of the two - it seems to have grown up too fast and been given too much freedom by the parents to go where it wants.  On the whole it is good, but unlike its older brother, will probably not command as much respect and listens as lengthy. 

There are a few gems worthy of being cherished in this compilation and on the whole, its biggest failing may simply lie in the fact that the tracks weren't ordered in the most harmonious arrangement.

Track 6 is Massive Attack's remix of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's Mustt Mustt.  Now, chances are you may have heard this before and you'll agree when I say that it is one of the few remixes to ever be original in its own right yet capture the sentiment of the original version at the same time.

Worthy of particular attention again is, funnily enough, another remix - Swayzak put their magic to Badmarsh and Shri's ‘Lament' to produce a smooth down-tempo house rendition. Actually, it's the second last track and would've ended the disc quite well but out of nowhere Badmarsh creeps up and slaps away any question in your mind about whether this was a worthy purchase - proving he is indeed That Type of Badmarsh with a dark and twisted indo-d'n'b number.

The liner notes to this double disc compilation album define 'chill' as "the trendiest sound of the moment"; music that combines "soft melodies and heavenly atmospheres: ambient, acid jazz, dance rhythms and revisited sacred music".

This compilation carries on in the tradition of other Buddha Bar compilations with sampling and blending the world's down-tempo music. The two included discs are named 'fusion' and 'confusion' - the opening act is mellow and features titles such as 'Venice Beach Dub' and 'Long Life To You My Friend'. Picking up the pace, Confusion is more percussive and will wake you to have your head nodding in no time.

Critics of George V releases have referred to their compilations as new age muzak probably because the more down-tempo selections do tend to be more playable as background music in social scenes. Chillout 3's first disc is warm and playful yet did not grab my attention at any point. It could probably have done better with increasing percussive elements building a scene towards the end of the disc before Confusion sets in:

The second disc begins with Fadhl Shaker's 'Ya Gayeb' - featuring music taken from Greek Folklore. Vittorio Muo's 'Orient Express' picks up the pace with a catchy flute line and breakbeat, whilst remaining 'chill' with echoed vocals and synthesized atmosphere. More organic sounds continue until track 8, the Chiller Twist Fruity Mix of Karunesh's "Punjab", where an excellent use of layered percussion with bass-frequency synthesizer and wafty female vocals suddenly provides the selection with a mystic atmosphere expected from the liner notes' definition of 'chill'. This is funked up with the Punjab-inspired 4/4 stylings of "Aphrodivina" - a Savage Spirits track mixed by the Gambafreaks. This dance floor-friendly rhythm is held until the final two tracks, which end in lovely French pop that may be likened to works of Japan's Fantastic Plastic Machine (Tomoyuki Tanaka).

After listening to both of these CDs in sequence, one may expect to feel a sense of wanting to hear more - yet, not want to hear them again. It seems that there are some great musical elements played on this compilation but they haven't been showcased. Overall, Chill Out in Paris 3 is lacking congruity between tracks above simple beat-matching. This could have been provided for by less audio-globetrotting and better track selection, in terms of matching atmospheres of individual songs.

Music Mosaic’s aim of publishing harmonious multicultural musical expression in a compilation format proves successful with their newest ‘Chill Out’ compilation, Goddess Groove. Fusing influences from places as disparate as Thailand and Ireland, this disc is a 58 minute blend of relaxingly wafty music with feminine air. Of its ten, the star tracks are 3 and 5; the first being Deep Dive Corp’s mix of Y’mama, by Zehava Ben, where smooth echoey female Moroccan vocals float loftily on a clean up-tempo breakbeat. The second is Lan Gaelach by Hyper[borea], which is certainly the most hyper track but leave an excited impression even after its 7:35 minutes.

A Planet Full of Grooves is the first instalment of Six Degrees' series of annually released compilations featuring remixes that aim to take you "to uncharted territories where a planetful of sounds exists together." (Bob Duskis/Six Degrees). Opening with soulful Bossanova, Os Cariocas' "Berimbau" begins an ideal listening of this disc in the presence of afternoon sunlight. With your head still nodding, the Rhythmic Remix of Uman's "Bird's Eye View" adds lushness to the mix with soft female vocals used more as instrumentation than to provide discernable lyrics. Indian Electronica pioneers Loop Guru play with Bob Holroyd's "Waking the Spirits" for the third track - this extended Strawberry Mix features Native Indian chants merged with effected female callouts, flute and hand percussion. Nation Records provide track 4, a piano accented number with catchy marching band-esque percussion, which is followed by a youthful sounding Lungiswa Plaatj who offers "Fundal", a soulful jazzy song. Electronica figureheads Fila Brazilia remix Delerium's "Euphoria" for the 6th track, which is an extremely funky breakbeat with acoustic guitar, electric bass and an overall tripped out Wild West atmosphere. Just past halfway through the compilation Banco de Gaia's now famous remix of A "Loop in Time" by Wally Brill brilliantly dubs early 1900s recordings of Jewish liturgical singers. This track was created for the compilation and is well placed as the seventh title, itself taking the listener to the core of the compilation - a place of texture and high emotion. Beginning with the sound of water, Cheb I Sabbah offers "Ganga Dev". This piece takes two of its six and a half minutes to provide a delightful merging of sampled western acoustic drumming with tabla, sitar and vocals, ending with as much grace to return the stage to Banco de Gaia for another signature track, the Skippy mix of "I Love Baby Cheesy". The last two tracks are both very dance floor-minded yet feature such clean production that they perfectly end the disc smiling.