- Jay Haze got into the minimal business long before it became popular. The Don Corleone of the Contexterrior family presides over a multitude of labels including Tuning Spork, Textone and Future Dub, and this 2CD mix involves productions from many of his labelmates, friends and of course Jay himself in his various guises - keeping track of who made what here would tax the services of Scotland Yard on a good day. 2006 has been a particularly successful year for Haze: the man from Philly has capitalized on his move to Berlin with his successful Fuckpony project, and 'Mindin' Business' is aimed at giving the listener a two-an-half-hour voyeuristic peek inside the minimal grind of the German capital, where every day is a party.
The party begins with the deep south vibes of Signor Andreoni's 'Recon', oil in the pan sizzling in readiness for the static, hiss and pop of 'Fried Plastic' - a stripped back techno tool cooked by Haze and Dandy Jack. Precise grooves from Dan Curtin and an atypical Guido Schneider shuffle bring us to one of the highlights of CD1 - Samim & Michal's 'M.S.O.D' leading into Haze's 'Soul in a Bottle' - the latter received much support last year from DJs of deep and tech house persuasion. Featuring Big Bully on vocals, it's a fine example of Jays' ability to craft a catchy record.
But the real business begins on tracks such as 'Green Pimp', which takes us down beneath the streets into subterranean Berlin. Throw your Love Parade out the window, it's time to take it sleazy, and here 'Mindin' Business' conjures up seedy reprobates hanging out on the corner smokin' joints. Short-lived stretches of comparative calm on both CDs lead to a false sense of security: Jambi's 'Theme from a Dream', for example, lifts the gloom to brings us out of the glitchy abyss.
If CD1 is rugged terrain, Haze decides to funk it up with a more harmonious song based mix on CD2. Lovers of funky minimal house will appreciate this: Bugged out beats, booty shaking jams and downright bizarre sounds make it an unpredictable outing, although more assured melodic strains are also squeezed in courtesy of Argenis Brito. Elsewhere the Latin flavoured 'Higher Than You' by The Krak Street Boys is hard to resist, while Big Bully weighs in again on 'Spring Break' ' the vocals are very similar to those on 'Soul in a Bottle'. Haze mixes into the small hours on CD2 and his US house influences are tangible throughout: his Chi-town leanings remind me of Iz and Diz.
To sum it up in adjectives: obscure, dubbed-out and very inventive. This compilation grew on me with each listen. It showcases why Jay Haze is so well spoken of by colleagues such as Dan Curtin ' its streetwise urbanity lends a ghetto-tek vibe to minimal house, bringing the genre outside the realm of the geek and into the domain of the joyriding bad-boy. Who's afraid of Berlin? You should be!
TracklistDisc 1
1. Recon - Signor Andreoni
2. Hot Slave - Fuckpony
3. Fried Plastic [Dandy Jack AKA the Latin Elvis Remix] - Jay Haze
4. Blow Hard - Dan Curtin
5. Borderdot - Michal Ho
6. Cold Slave - Fuckpony
7. Juice in My Head - The Basstards
8. Until You Fat - Jay Haze
9. Groove Refried - Architect
10. Brown Bag - Signor Andreoni
11. Channel One - Guido Schneider
12. M.S.O. D - Samim and Michal
13. Soul in a Bottle - Jay Haze
14. Tiny Slave - Fuckpony
15. Frau - Vivianne Project AKA Hearthrob
16. Dune - Akiko Kiyama
17. Green Pimp - Jay Haze
18. Morning in Africa - Jay Haze
19. Fried Plastic - Jay Haze
20. Ama Sonica - Argenis Brito
21. Theme from a Dream - Jambi
22. No More No Less [Jay Haze Still Pimpin East Berlin Style Remix] - Agaric
23. Pandemic - the Redlight Shining
24. Dawg's Life - Fuckpony
25. Minimom - Jay Haze
Disc 2
1. Appreciatte - Jay Haze
2. She's Got the Funk - Samim and Michal
3. Deep Space Galaxy Mama - Bearback
4. What You - Dan Curtin
5. Save Me [Dub Surgeon Remix] - Lump
6. I Want It - Samim
7. Nubian Minimal - Architect
8. Silence - Fuckpony
9. Naked Gravity - Argenis Brito
10. Minikool
11. Higher Than You - Krak Street Boyz
12. Ripop [Jay Haze Grimey Remix Feat. Mark Dark Sniper Schneider] - Samim and Michal
13. Spring Break - Samim and Michal
14. It's Alright - Jay Haze
15. Big Brother [Jay Haze Paranoid Remix] - Mark Verbos
16. Dive - the Snipers
17. Body Movement - Fuckpony
18. Dirty Big Mouse - Samim and Michal
19. Angel [Lil Dirrty's Rough as Diamond Remix] - Samim and Michal
20. Make Mony Ho - Fuckpony
21. Point 88 - Falko Brocksieper
22. Vroom Vroom - Jay Haze