Late Night Tales レコード& CD

Review: The first installment of Late Night Tales' After Dark was that rarest of things: a DJ mix that retained a smoky sense of early morning, home listening atmosphere while retaining an open-minded focus on the dancefloor. This follow-up - once again compiled and mixed by Bill Brewster - offers more of the same. Musically it's pleasingly varied, moving from the string-drenched downtempo beauty of Typesun's "Last One Home", to the heady Balearic rock of General Lee, via Justus Kohnke, the soulful post-bruk smoothness of As One, and the sprightly analogue electronics of Emperor Machine's remix of Paqua's "Late Train". There's also a bunch of previously unreleased tunes to enjoy, including killer contributions from the Mang Dynasty (AKA Ray Mang), The Gino Fontaine (Chicken Lips man Andrew Meecham) and - most surprising of all - The Grid and Robert Fripp.

Review: Eight years on from his last After Dark compilation for Late Night Tales, font of all musical knowledge Bill Brewster returns with a fourth instalment. According to the man himself, it's a 'freestyle' selection with 'low and slow' the overriding theme. That loose but logical concept allows Brewster to showcase a diverse range of selections that defy easy categorisation. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, with our current pics including the synth-heavy Balearic voodoo of 'Idle Hours' by Idle Band, the Weatherall-esque chug of Hotel Motel's terrific remix of Jeb Loy Nichols' 'Don't Drop Me', the dub disco-goes-cosmic disco squelch of Ray Mang remixing Khruangbin, the deep synth-pop sweetness of Debbie & The Code's 'Code of Love', a terrific Naill edit of Gilbert O'Sullivan's 'So What', and the deep electro of Carl Finlow.