Compilation Recommendations November 2013

Review: Those who checked John Talabot's excellent debut album, Fin, will know that his approach to house music is a little left-of-centre. Clearly inspired by the genre's quirkier fringes, he appears to enjoy creating tracks that veer from woozy and intoxicating, to tropical and pagan. Here, he makes his approach even clearer with a triumphant 27-track mix-up for the long-running DJ Kicks series. Variously deep, melancholic, unusual, inspired and atmospheric, the mix contains impressive contributions from the likes of Young Marco, Pional, Andy Stott, Jus' Ed, Joe Clausell and Talabot himself, as well as a rare outing for the rare (and rather fabulous) "Innermind" by Paradise's Deep Groove

Review: Analogue fetishists, acclaimed live performers and dubwise dancefloor fusionists Livity Sound might just be the closest thing Bristol has to a "supergroup". Since dropping their debut 12" back in 2011, the trio of Peverelist, Kowton and Asusu has impressed with their forthright but atmospheric blends of techno, bass music, dub, shuffling house and wonky electronics. This extended, two-disc debut album brings together all of their previously vinyl-only releases to date, complimenting them with previously unheard cuts and rearranged workouts. It's an impressive collection, flitting between fuzzy, dub-inspired techno (Pev & Asusu's "Surge"), drum machine-and-bongo workouts (Pev & Kowton's "Vapours"), undulating late night rhythms (Pev's "Saltwater") and hissing, jacking intensity (Pev & Kowton's "Raw Code").

Review: What a decade 1970-1980 was for French music! Featuring well-known Gaelic cosmic pioneers such as Serge Gainsbourg and Jean Michel Jarre and slightly less prolific space cadets such as The Atomic Crocus and Quartz, this is an immaculate document that celebrates and applauds some of the most influential music to have emerged in Europe during the 70s. Listen to tracks such as Space's "Magic Fly" or Pierre Bachelet's "Motel Show" and you'll hear three decades of disco and synth music that followed. Immaculately compiled and presented, this is one history lesson everyone would benefit from digesting. Bon Voyage!

Review: Astrolab's first Treasure Hunting compilation, released earlier this year, was something of a must-have, delivering a range of weird and wonderful collection of analogue machine music in a range of styles and tempos. Thankfully, this follow-up is every bit as engaging as its predecessor. Ranging from sparse alien funk (see Red Axes v Moscoman's "Wire Conflict") and clandestine synth-chug (Vosper's "Interstate"), to woozy new wave (Ivan Smagghe's memorable version of VoX LoW's "I Wanna See The Light"), via bubbling acid (Marc Pinol), tactile Italo (Eskimo Twins) and wonky kosmiche (Club Bizarre), Treasure Hunting 2 delivers from start to finish.

Review: Over the last decade, Romanian DJ/producer Rhadoo has done more than most to put the country's minimal techno scene on the map. It's perhaps fitting, then, that he's used the opportunity provided by this first Fabric mix to showcase previously unheard tracks from some of the country's top techno talents. It's a similar tactic to that employed by his good friend Inspirescu on his Fabric mix earlier this year. Just as it did then, it works now, with the complimentary tracks helping to build a cohesive vibe. What's most impressive is the fluidity; from the eyes-closed late night shuffle of Tulbure's "Stalker", to the restless hypnotism of Faster's "Protocol" and the trippy bump of Barac Nicolae's "Frou Frou", Fabric 72 is a coherent journey to the heart of the Eastern European minimal scene.

Review: New age music has undergone a bit of a critical reappraisal of late. Having too often been dismissed as "lift music" (or worse) by critics, a few enlightened souls have taken it on themselves to educate the record buying public on its merits. That's what Light in The Attic Records, often a source for forgotten gems and curious psychedelic oddities, has done here. I Am The Center mines 40 years of private press new age releases and presents the cream of the crop in one astonishing two-disc dose. In parts, the music is magical (see Don Slapian's "Awakening" and Iasos's familiar "Formentera Sunset Clouds"), at other times it's decidedly trippy (step forward Laraaji, Peter Davison and Aeliah); throughout, it's rarely less than spellbinding.

Review: Strut and Trevor Jackson do the right thing and collude on a second edition of Metal Dance, with a veritable feast of 80's industrial and primitive electronics to sink into. Some 27 tracks deep, Metal Dance 2 widens the remit of the first compilation by a year, collating material from the period 1979 to 1988 and features artists and bands that should be familiar to your eyes in Skinny Puppy, Chris & Cosey, Crash Course In Science and Liaisons Dangereuses along with many lesser known acts. Jackson himself contributes an edit of iconic Blitz DJ Rusty Egan whilst Morphine Records boss Rabih Beaini highlights Lebanon's history with primitive electronics on an edit of Rene Bandaly Family's eighties curio "Tanki Tanki". Impressively, the compilation also features a track by CHBB, a band whose members went on to form DAF and Liaisons Dangereuses and whose small discography was limited to four rare cassettes.