Finest Italo Export - Mixed by Santos & Alex Dolby

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  • Two of Mantra Vibes finest artists in Alex Dolby & Santos combine in this double cd album to provide the best of the bunch of what this fine Italian label has to offer. Finest Italo Export showcases the pick of the bunch from the three labels under the Mantra branch, and includes the likes of not only the two mixing the album, but Makio, Scanty88, and Madox to name just a few. The album gets straight into the thick of it with Alex Dolby mixing the first disc. The mix begins very nicely with his ‘Untitled Valley’ and moves smoothly into ‘Hazy Way’. Recent release highlights are included such as the moody ‘Rathbone’ by Scanty88 and the pace is quite solid for this first disc, shown by nice flowing production such as ‘Base 1’ by Poonisher and the rumbling baselines of the Paranoid Jack mix of ‘Acid Theory’ by Maskio. Alex Dolby includes a couple of his very massive productions in ‘Psiko Garden’ and ‘Visionary Lake’, and the very juicy ‘Rosaline In Love’ by Bellone sets up the conclusion to this mix in style. That conclusion is the sizzling synths of ‘Tortuga Tool’ by Santos, and it concludes a mix that was full of energy and really relentless driving moments. Santos as expected takes it on a bit more of a House route, and begins his journey with the gritty Moguai Remix of his very own ‘I’m Not Homesick’. Santos also unleashes his very brilliant ‘Sabot’ early in the piece, creating a bit of a grungy beginning that continues on with Extramode’s ‘Beautiful Day’. The mix starts to lose the gritty edge and shows a bit of funk in its armory with Santos’ very solid remix of Armand Van Helden’s classic ‘Funk Phenomena’. The mix then starts to hit peak time and it’s well and truly there once it reaches the simply devastating Phil Kieran mix of Madox and the ‘Resonance Song’. Madox is again called upon to take out the mix, firstly with the chunky tribal sounds of ‘Careca’ and then the funky electro tinged ‘Hypnotic Funk’. If you have loved what Mantra has put out in the last year especially, then this mix will definitely grab you in the right way. They have definitely been a label on the top if its game and this double cd mix will show you why. Both mixes have a great raw energy about them that drives the mixes from the first to last track. You will be hard pressed to find a more enjoyable showcase mix for a label then this.
RA