Montreal’s Sultan came as a bit of a surprise for Global Underground’s
nubreed series, but they’ve picked an absolute winner here. His productions with Ned Shephard have received much love from Pete Tong and impressed our good selves, and this is the first we’ve heard of him DJing. Mighty impressive it is too.
The ethnic chanting of Lu Lu Rogue & Trentemøller’s
Ninna Nanna might be quite an off-putting opener for some, but once the lush strings of Ike’s remix of Soulphiction’s
Changes drops in there’s no denying that we’re dealing with a class affair here. Before we know it, we’re in the deep, heady techno bounce of Dave Ellesmere’s remix of Toby Tobias’
Schoon, the previous two tracks reduced to brief, functional interludes, and after some deep rolling grooves we’re treated to the sublime, twinkling prog beauty of Behrouz’s
Where R U Now.
The epic atmospherics really start to come on heavy now, with the plodding throb and ethereal vocals of Tone Depth’s
Rumblefish 2009 giving some more classic prog sheen to the mix, before Sultan switches to jauntier, bouncing tech grooves with a glint in their eye. He keeps the gorgeous melodies intact though, with his and Ned Shepard’s
Roads Under Ramallah a sumptuous, cinematic string and flamenco guitar-filled delight that clearly shows his production talents. Again, their
Crimson Sun with Dirty Vegas is a triumphant moment towards the end, all soaring strings and widescreen sound.
Disc 2 begins beautifully, with the haunting, folky vocals of Bertie Blackman’s
Town Of Sorrow, Mic Newman turning it into an atmospheric beauty, before Florian Meindl’s
La Nuit drops by with its cheeky sub bass and wiggling percussion, immediately lifting the mix up a couple of notches. Sultan keeps the percussion skippy, gliding through a superb mash-up of Luomo’s gorgeous
Tessio with Gorge’s stomping remix of Jean Claude Ades’
Show Me, and injecting more classic house and Detroit techno thereafter. Joris Voorn’s
Empty Trash is a slice of moody, groovy class, and paves the way for more proggy, euphoric gear - Sultan & Shepard’s remix of DBN & Medita’s sultry
Asteroidz oozing lushness from every pore, and the builds and refrains continuing to get bigger and bigger as we progress. Paul Kalkbrenner’s remix of Chordian’s
Closed Eyes injects some big room techno throb into the mix as we reach the final third, and while the final tracks will be a bit poppy for some tastes, they make for a rousing finale in our ears.
Sultan’s mixes are expertly programmed, twisting, turning and evolving in a wonderfully organic and uncontrived way. There’s a great range of material on here that marries the classic prog stylings of GU with cutting-edge sounds, and we think it’s one of the most solid compilations of the year. Fantastic stuff. Now, about that haircut…
[CHECK THIS ALBUM OUT IN THE PLAYER BELOW] Tracklisting: Disc 1 - Lu Lu Rouge feat. Trentmoller - Ninna Nanna - Music for Dreams
- Soulphiction - Changes (Ike Remix) - Sonar Kollektiv
- Luis Junior - Colache - Abysoma - Exclusive
- Toby Tabias - Schoon (Dave Ellesmere Rmx) - Rekids
- Pascal Vert - Bios (Mark Wessen Rmx) - Jetlag Digital
- Sascha Funk - Mango - Bpitch Control
- Behrouz - Where R U Now - Forensic
- Tone Depth - Rumblefish (2009 Rmx) - Bedrock - Exclusive
- Behrouz - I'm Coming Home - Exclusive
- Luciano Esse and Toni D. - Los Penal - Atcha
- Sultan & Ned Shepard - Roads Under Ramallah - GU Exclusive
- Norman Zube - Swing - Parquet
- Dominik Eulberg - Sansula (Jonas Kopp's Dubfreak Mix) - Traum - Exclusive / Soultan & Tone Depth - Moments (Guitarapella) - Black Hole
- Namito - Train to Tehran - Kling Klong
- Sultan & Ned Shepard feat. Dirty Vegas - Crimson Sun - Harem - Exclusive
- Sultan & Ned Shepard - Verona - Exclusive
Disc 2 - Pascal Vert - When Time Stands Still
- Bertie Blackman - Town of Sorrow (Mic Newman Rmx) - EQ
- Florian Meindl - La Nuit - Traum
- Jean Claude Ades - Show Me (Gorge Remix) - Swings - Exclusive / Luomo - Tessio (Accapella) - Great Stuff
- Maher Daniel - Buzzin - Harem - Exclusive
- Florian Meindl - Here Today Gone Tomorrow - Flash !
- Joris Voorn - Empty Trash - Rejected
- DBN Feat. Medita - Asteroidz (Sultan & Ned Shepard Rmx) - Yoshitoshi
- Stephan Luke - Invisible Man (Ned Shepard Instrumental Rmx) - Harem - Exclusive
- Joe T Vannelli - Private House (Siwell Dub) - Dream Beat
- Chordian - Closed Eyes (Paul Kalkbrenner Rmx -Ned Shepard Nubreed Edit) - Soniculture - Exclusive
- Matan Caspi & Eddy Good - Neverland - Harem - Exclusive
- Ned Shepard - Chromatic - Harem - Exclusive / BM Linx - 123 Cat (Accapella)
- Dark Globe - Break My World (Sultan Nubreed Rework) - Exclusive