Huxley - 1trax Three

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  • It's funny what a little bit of syncopation can do. In Huxley's case, it can revitalize a flagging career in dance music. Releasing well-meaning but cookie-cutter tunes on labels like Cécille and Tsuba, the UK producer looked back to his garage favorites and started to put a skip into his step. The results speak for themselves: "Let It Go," "Out of My Mind" and "Atonement" have all received rapturous response, and vaulted Huxley to the top of what people are calling a full-fledged garage house revival. 1trax Three, then, arrives at a particularly interesting time for the DJ born Michael Dodman. While not as high-profile as the Visionquest and Jamie Jones fabric mixes from 2011, this mix serves as a similar chance to either go all-in with their respective crew/sound and document the "sound of now" or take the long view and aim for something more timeless. Dodman goes for the former option here, gathering together recent and upcoming tunes that have no doubt soundtracked his sets throughout the year. The results are compelling and well-mixed, if not always exactly revelatory. Dodman's tastes still run toward plenty of straighter house and techno, and much of 1trax Three is filtered through this prism. Germans Luna City Express, Sebo K and Mobilee stalwart And.ID are all featured. So is UK house vet Luke Solomon. The Classic label boss' remix of Joshua Iz & Diz comes fifth in the tracklist and is an easy reflection of the up-and-down nature of the mix's early going, sandwiched as it is between two upbeat Huxley remixes that sound far cleaner and more modern than what comes between them. 1trax Three suffers not from poor mixing or poor track selection—both are stellar—but poor programming. As soon as we take things up a notch with Huxley's remix of Maya Jane Coles' "Dazed," we're taken back down with Nyra's "Best Of." Both are great tunes, but you're sometimes left wishing it had been a straighter line up to mix standout "Get Loose," whose infectious bassline triumphantly announces we've entered into second gear completely and totally. After a brief stop-off for "Let It Go," Dodman keeps the pressure high for the rest of the mix, leading directly into the classic finale from 24Hour Experience. It's a stunning reveal, coming after Julio Bashmore's remix of Mosca's "Square One" and it reflects what has made so much of Huxley's recent moves so rewarding. Every time that you think you have him pegged nowadays, there's a little left turn that'll keep you guessing where we're headed next. It doesn't always work here—but Dodman succeeds often enough to feel that 1trax Three is another major step in the right direction.
  • Tracklist
      01. Huxley & Sam Russo - Don't Undastand 02. Shenoda - Shots 03. Jordan Peak - Work 04. Shenoda - Moments (Huxley Remix) 05. Joshua Iz & Diz - It Iz What it Iz (Luke Solomon Main Mix) 06. Maya Jane Coles - Dazed (Huxley Remix) 07. Nyra - Best Of 08. Gavin Herlihy - Get Loose 09. Huxley - Let It Go 10. AND.ID - Erotica 11. Baunz - 808s Pausetapes And Other Shit 12. Robert Owens - I'll be Your Friend (Dzeta n Basile Rmx) 13. Little Fritter & Zare - I Want it Back (Luna City Express Remix)
 14. Nina Kraviz - Okain's Scream (Sebo K Remix) 15. Mosca - Square One (Julio Bashmore Longhorn Remix) 16. 24Hour Experience feat. Lorraine Lowe - Give Me That Love (Groove Mix)
RA