- It's almost hard to believe that Lawrence has never made a commercially released mix CD. Perhaps that's because throughout his prolific career he's been more widely known as a producer. As part of the Dial/Smallville crew in Hamburg, he's been responsible for pushing some of the most emotive German deep house of the past decade. But while he's brought some of his brethren along for the ride on Timeless, it's actually those that come from outside of his clique that make the deepest impact.
The one-hour excursion kicks off with Lawrence's own "Floating," before steadily climbing in tempo courtesy of Melchoir Productions' "Zukunft in English," a chugging and stripped back cut from 2004. It's then all relatively straightforward until Morphosis' "Silent Screamer" enters the picture. It's clearly the disc's standout moment—so much so that you could fairly separate the tone of the mix into pre and post-Morphosis sections. The track contrasts heavily with the moody productions that preceded it, yet its wandering bass and warped percussion feels remarkably at home surrounded by the haze of Smallpeople & Rau's "Life Aquatic" and the grinding "On & On" from Aril Brikha. It's the mix's turning point, and it's from here that things get interesting.
Isolee's "Thirteen Times An Hour," a cut that should be little more than a tool, seems somewhat ill-fitted amongst all the moodiness, while, in the other direction, rinsing Pigon's epic "Kato," for a full five minutes seems a tad ambitious. Luckily, things get back on track courtesy of Mike Dehnert's splendid "Beatmatching," after which Robert Hood, Roman Flügel and Plaid bring the CD to a halt. Timeless? Not quite. But credit Cocoon for continuing their strong string of non-Ibiza or festival-themed mixes (Cassy, Dinky). Despite the minor niggles, Timeless is a snapshot of some of the best deep house music on wax right now, all of it blended together expertly.
Tracklist 01. Lawrence - Floating
02. Melchior Productions - Zukunft in Englisch
03. Chez Damier, Ron Trent, Stacy Pullen - Forever Monna
04. Soul Capsule - Overcome
05. Smallpeople & Rau - Life Aquatic
06. Schatrax - Overcome
07. RVDS - Another Track
08. Morphosis - Silent Screamer
09. Aril Brikha - On & On
10. Delano Smith - My Life
11. Baby Ford & The Ifach Collective - Ambo
12. Isolee - Thirteen Times An Hour
13. Pigon - Koto
14. Mike Dehnert - Beatmatching
15. Robert Hood - The Realm
16. Roman Flugel - Brian Le Bon
17. Plaid - OI