Renaissance: Revelation - Mixed by Danny Howells & Nick Warren

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  • Danny Howells has established himself as one of the 4 or 5 "group 1" djs in the world today. This cd is definitely another quality achievement. The mix starts very much "above the ground" with the charming "prayer" that is Ashley Beedles remix of "always" by bent. However, almost instantly the sun begins to set and the grass that was the dance floor sinks and the roof closes in. Saint and cokers "deserted" introduces a shift from the opening journey that can be described as "smooth and dark". Highlights in the heart of the cd are indabas dark light (which would describe this mix quite aptly) and blueless from nebulus. Track 9, “Back to Africa” is a little green men remix of a lovely thumping work by Groove Juice feat Yamii Thain and for me represents the "around 4am" part of the mix. Soul providers "rise" certainly gives one a sense of dawn. Of course always knew the new day would dawn and this track introduces it most measuredly. Lexicon avenues "from dusk till dawn" (another title that confirms the journey of this mix) has a deep rumble with some vocals that suggest a modern day equivalent of Donna Summers "love to love you baby” (or is that Barry White.....(Excuse the joke I’m just not a fan of heavy moaning.....) Anyway, although I wouldn’t say that this cd is the same as Danny’s nocturnal frequencies 3, I would say that it is very interesting and quite stylish in some mysterious way. It moves around quite mysteriously yet, always delightfully. Speaking of mysterious, sharpsides "Belgian resistance" certainly fits the bill. The final track, "Nightflight" from mother’s pride, certainly has a hint of a Kraftwerk influence. Really nice track. It’s quite a surprising finale and one has the sense of being delivered "home" safley after a wonderful interlude with a world class dj and, by all reports a wonderful gentleman, Danny Howells. Nick Warren is a dj that really made his name some 3 or 4 years ago around the time when "dance" music achieved major "divine input" and set the standard for all the brilliantly clever music we hear today. To some degree he has maintained his standard throughout this time. What that standard represents to me is a nice selection of tracks compiled in a manner that would not be deemed as complex as some of the other djs we know today. Never the less, its mixed very well and the music is mostly very good. The would seem to be a great number of very clever people making music on this planet at the moment and this cd is the work of some of those people. The cd opens with a nice little intro that has Phil K all over it and leads into a fine and interesting track by Luke Chable called "eat static" which features a haunting male vocal. Track 3 by Jay Tripwire really gets swingin and is called "so horny for your horn...." we move through a track from polaris which has a nice female vocal for the "vocalphiles". Aussie Paul Mac plays us "the sounds of breaking up". Then its a double dose of "dirty" by dirty and these tracks have an underworld feel about them. Quivers mix of "stealth" by way out west is one of my favourites on the cd again featuring some great female vocals. Next its the deep dish space mix of "rapture" and that’s pretty much self-explanatory these days. Track 10 is by the unlikely named future sound of prefab sprout. Notwithstanding the name, the track "if you don’t love me" is very pleasant. For me its the last 3 tracks that really make this cd worth a buy. Mavis "Sufi" is a mysterious little journey but its deep funk project v Austin Leeds that steal the show for me with their amazingly vibrant "sub ritual". This track captures all the energy one would expect to find at an amazing dance party somewhere in the Middle East...belly dancers and all. It features a beautiful and haunting arabic sample that ties this track together into a fantastic exotic number. Great track 10/10. We finish with Marino Beradi’s "tribal shot". Another great track with some very interesting entropy about it. Well its been a bit of a roller coaster ride in reviewing Nick Warren's latest effort, however, its well worth a listen and combined with the Danny Howells mix well worth a purchase. Danny Howells 1. Always - Bent (Ashley Beedle's Mahavishnu vocal mix) 2. Deserted - Saint and Cocker 3. Runaway - Reset (Del Dub mix) 4. Nothing from this - Plato (Echomen mix) 5. Pixels - Ubu (Hipp-E mix) 6. Dark light - Indaba 7. Blueless - Nebulus 8. Another late Thursday - Southern Comforter (Spin cycle remix) 9. Back to Africa - Groove Juice feat. Yamil Thian (Little Green men remix) 10. Rise - Soul providers (Mas Collective mix) 11. From dusk til dawn - Lexicon Avenue 12. Belgian Resistance - Sharpside 13. Nightflight - Mother's Pride Nick Warren 1. Intro - Phil K 2. Eat Static - Luck Chable 3. So horny for your horn - Jay Tripwire 4. Addicted - Polaris (Power Productions mix) 5. The sounds of breaking up - Paul Mac (Dark Alley mix) 6. Dirty - Dirty (Weird acappella) 7. Dirty - Dirty 8. Stealth - Way out West (Quivver mix) 9. Rapture - iio (Deep dish mix) 10. If you don't love me - Future sound of Prefab Sprout (Stateside mix) 11. Sufi - Mavi 12. Sub Ritual - Deep Funk Project vs. Austin Leeds 13. Tribal Shot - Marino Berardi
RA