This looks superb on the surface, doesn’t it? Dubfire and Loco Dice? Cocoon? How could it possibly go wrong?
It’s a while before Dubfire’s mix really beings to take hold, his own new Sci+Tec signing Sebrok’s wiggling Vision allowing some sexy bubbling bass and eerie vocals into the mix, and before long Dubfire’s seriously saucy hipshaking remix of Paul Ritch’s Split The Line upping the mischief factor even more with its deadly rhythm and big builds. Reset Robot’s Do The Slot blasts away the competition with its mixture of jacking Chi-town bass groove and techy finesse, and Dubfire’s own special re-jig of Minilogue’s Jamaica with a Basic Channel track layered over the top makes for a very tasty closer.
El Loco keeps it old skool with some thumping tracky house / borderline techno early on, picking up the mix with sharp hi-hats and warm groove on Vlad Caia’s saucy Chango. Tight mixing and succinct use of effects keeps the energy up, with the undulating bass and rolling groove of Mathias Kaden’s remix of David Squillace’s One Lobster, Please upping the sex factor. You get that undeniable Loco Dice feeling of the energy really picking up around the halfway mark, as a trademark Martinez shuffling groove works its way in, tracks mixing together for minutes at a time to achieve maximum impact. Man of the moment Ekkohaus’s Unsound injects some spooky, ethereal vocal business into the mix, but this late stage in the mix you want something to keep the energy up. A deep, Detroit-y ending from Octave One comes as a somewhat lacklustre finale.
Some great moments throughout, but it’s not up there with a classic Sound Of mix from Sven himself. Close, but no cigar.