Toolroom’s new talent sub-label gets its first compilation here, mixed by the fair hands of Kate Lawler. Leave your preconceptions at the door people…
Things start out deep and dubby initially with the late night tech-house of Mécanique’s We’re All Freaks bubbling through the speakers with its plodding bass and slight percussion, slowly growing into a heady, brain-rubbing chugger with a bit more bite, before we segue effortlessly into the similarly-inclined Wiggin Out by Tim Weeks. Following the groovy, heads-down opening chapter, we’re met by the simple but incisive riff of Flip & Djuma Soundsystem’s Jaded, the beats edging more towards a minimal techno bounce now. A swift bassline swap ushers in the deep, undulating sub of Chris Special’s sparse but groovy Go Deep, before the script is flipped into a more electro house vein – Lawler’s own prog-tinged Water Baby full of cool, warm riffs and a lush build, signalling a jump in mood in the mix.
The atmospherics build up with the big room riffage and breakdown of Funkagenda & Punkrok’s Ding Dong – a slight hark back to early ‘00s prog – and you feel the mix progressing naturally and without too much effort. The crunching guitars and crisp, euphoric bleeping motif of Professional Loser’s Three Ways gives the mix a half-time peak, before we slip back into deeper territories with George Andrew’s Smoke & Mirrors. The respite is short-lived as the mischevious jack of Paul Thomas & Sonny Wharton’s double-bill of Will Do and The Music fires things up once again, trancey undertones emerging thereafter in Kim Fai’s Excuses. Lawler’s Screw You delivers a dirtier, rasping-bassed techno throb, Kim Fai’s Empty Inisde following up with trancey arpeggios welded to bouncy tech, and Lawler’s 20 Years On Acid, doing exactly what it says on the tin in a squiggly, taut fashion.
It’s generally a very solid mix which works out to more than the sum of its parts – but the excellent programming of the first half goes slightly to waste in the second half, wherein the gradual progression that was built up somewhat tapers out in places. Another small gripe is that some of the sub-label’s best cuts have been omitted – but nonetheless it’s an enjoyable listen, and the slick mixing should impress even the hardiest Lawler-detractors.
Tracklisting:
Mécanique - We’re All Freaks
Tim Weeks – Wiggin Out
Flip & Djuma Soundsystem – Jaded
Chris Special – Go Deep
Kate Lawler – Water Baby
Marcella Presents Unisex Inc. – Bouncing Nipples (Original Dub)
Funkagenda & Punkrok – Ding Dong
Professional Loser – Three Ways
George Andrews – Smoke & Mirrors
Paul Thomas & Sonny Wharton – The Music
Paul Thomas & Sonny Wharton – Will Do
Kim Fai – Excuses
Kate Lawler – Screw You
Kim Fai – Empty Inside
Kate Lawler – 20 Years On Acid