More double disc goodness from Toolroom following on from Gabriel & Dresden’s last effort. Tom Novy’s make starts off shakily with a super-clichéd vocal about house music before Kaliber’s ‘Is This For Love’ slips in – which is for me a rather lush piece of forlorn, melancholy, string-laden house ruined by a sub-par vocal. Novy’s mix of ONO’s ‘No No No’ is a step in the right direction – sultry, slightly moody grooving house with sharp, electro-tinged synths. There’s a fair few slabs of vocal house here – but don’t let that scare you off necessarily, as it’s most classily executed, and not clichéd in the way the opening vocal is. Adrian Bahil’s Dub of Marusha’s ‘Kick It’ is a fine example – a lush, glowing, melodic houser with a prog tinge that Sander Kleinenberg would probably dig, with a quirky little vocal snippet.
Tube & Berger’s ‘The Wild & Young Ones’ takes things down a moodier, darker electro route (with some pad sounds very similar to the main riff of Oxia’s ‘Domino’), with Stereofunk’s remix of Nudisco’s ‘Ajowan’ continues the theme but in a more incisive, gritty manner. The galloping minimal techno funk of Funkagenda’s ‘WTF’ rounds off the proceedings. An enjoyable ride, if not a hugely enthralling one – it would most likely sound fantastic in a club, but at home the impact isn’t quite there.
Lopez’s mix steps things up a gear, with James Talk’s huge snare roll-infested remix of King Unique’s ‘Yohkoh’ pummeling the listener into submission early on, before things go into a more restrained section. Scary Grant’s twinkling, dainty ‘What You Ask For’ sidles up to Booka Shade’s somber mix of Dave Gahan’s ‘Kingdom’, with bouncing, hip-shaking tribalness from Roger Martinez & FunkuZ on ‘Instigate’. Mark Knight & Funkagenda’s huge ‘Shogun’ keeps things heads down – albeit with some massive builds – only for Deadmau5 to defy such deepness with the rhythmic stomp of his simple-but-deadly ‘Complications’.
The mix then takes a swerve towards the turning marked “minimal and grotty”, skipping through clicking, inorganic, filth-driven mini-tech before arriving at the throbbing wiggle of Dubfire’s ‘Emissions’ and Workidz horrendously in-your-face ‘Washmachine’, full of harsh, hissing white noise and other huge noises that sound like said kitchen appliance taking off. Matthew Dekay’s stonking epic electrohouse rework of Junkie XL’s ‘More’ is a bit of a non-sequitur to finish off with given what precedes it, but its triumphant, anthemic tones are a rousing end to any mix.
There’s a good range of moods, styles and tones on this double disc – but all with the distinctive Toolroom vibe of sounding very electronic throughout. Not electronic as in its been made on a computer – but rather that its not about soul or funk for the most part…it’s about grooves made from synths, and drum machines that sound about as far from the real thing as they are allowed to be. Lopez’s mix is particularly enjoyable and worth most of the entrance free alone.
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CD1: Mixed by Tom Novy
1. Hool vs. Bruckheimer - In the Beginning (Pete Gooding, Christian Sol & John Moss Remix)
2. Kaliber - Is This For Love (Original)
3. ONO - No, No, No (Tom Novy Instrumental)
4. Bit Crushers feat. Hadley - Movin’ Too Fast (Original)
5. Novy & Bahil - Fluxcompensator (Original)
6. Marusha - Kick It (Adrian Bahil Dub)
7. Tube & Berger present T.Y.W.O. - The Young & The Wild Ones (Original)
8. Greg Cerrone feat. Claudia Kennaugh - Invincible (D.O.N.S Remix)
9. Orli & Martie - Chi (Original) 10. Dirt - Crew (Raw Baumel & Dos Santos Threesixty Mix)
11. Nudisco - Ajowan (Stereofunk Remix)
12. D-Formation & David Fererro - What U Want (Original)
13. Funkagenda - WTF (Original)
CD2: Mixed by Wally Lopez 1. Matt Samuels - Start to Finish (Original)
2. King Unique - Yohkoh (James Talk Remix)
3. Dada - Life (Sweeter Than Fever Style Of Eye Remix)
4. Scary Grant - What You Ask For (Original)
5. Dave Gahan - Kingdom (Booka Shade Club Mix)
6. Roger Martinez & FunkuZ - Instigate (Original)
7. Mark Knight & Funkagenda - Shogun (Original)
8 Wally Lopez - Go Ahead (Patric la Funk Remix)
9. Deadmau5 - Complications (Original)
10. Lopez - Wideband (Original)
11. Riva & Bias - Remind (Groove Garcia Revision)
12. Dubfire - Emissions (Original)
13. Workidz - Washmachine (Original)
14. Junkie XL feat. Lauren Rocket - More (Matthew Dekay Remix)