Customer Reviews

Barcelona

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

lets face it most of the GU series sounds a lot like itself, and having collected i think 8 of them, my interest has faded substantially. seeing james lavelle hangin around on the cover of a GU cd was too intreresting to pass up tho, as i am a big fan of unkle and mo' wax in general. the whole comp in general is really quite awesome. the second disc of house tunes reminds me a lot of dave seaman's melbourne mix (my favorite GU to date with the possible exception of this one), FC Kahuna's infamous bassline-driven Glitterball is in fact on both releases, a testament to their similarity in vibe and energy.

the whole second disc is on that same trip, fairly deep and abstract prog house cuts that make for a good listen. the first disc is definitely a winner though, possibly because im somewhat tired of prog house and enjoy breaks, but there are some wicked tracks in there and some dope moments. the opening track after the intro i am not familiar with, but it is quite a piece of work, a stomping guitar-driven trip hop dealy somewhere around 100-110 bpm that is a really excellent kick-off to the mix. and when he mixes into Dusted, thats one my favorite cuts ever, such a flawless blend of energy beyond just matching beats that youd almost think its the same track. and of course dusted is a killer track in itself. the next track does some tempo witchery and things take off again in more club-friendly 130ish bpm territory. the rest of the mix is rockin new school breaks, even sasha got his floaty drug-addled self in there with Fundamental. id comment more on the mixing/track selection but to be honest after the first few cuts that i love so much it just becomes a big mess of breakbeat blissout for me and i dont really pay attention to whats going on (in the manner of most progressive mix albums)

id reccommend this to anyone who's into the greater electronic scene or the GU series or any of that. you get a nice dose of breaks and a nice dose of house, much better than the usual two and a half hours of the latest progressive trance hits that all sound the same

It's a good quality compilation, with a generous selection of trip hop, hip hop and house beats. The limited compilation comes in a tasty longbox, with one jewel case housing the 2 cd music set, and another housing the cd-rom. Don't expect much from the cd-rom, though: an 11 minute promotional video of a self-admitted hungover James Lavelle stumbling around Barcelona; some context-free snapshots of animals, people and buildings; and the track listing and sleevenotes readily available in the cd booklet.

If variety is the spice of life, then this album delivers. GU has set out to feature DJs that are underground, whose sound is not yet tarnished by the mainstream community. I must admit that when I first put in the CD...it didn't sound like the typical GU CD...The hip hop beats reminded me of Wu-Tang Clan...and as I listened...I found the progression to be pure genius....the transitions felt natural...and I found that friends of mine who are not GU fans...were bobbing their heads...and they kept bobbing their heads...even through the progressive house...which they swore they'd never listen to...So for me...this CD is not about the different genres of music being put together..it's about different sounds....and how they've been fused together seamlessly to take you on a journey...if you're a GU fan like I am...get it, no doubt....if you are not a GU fan, or are new to the series....give it a whirl....this one dares to be different...

...This album feels dangerous in all the right places. Its sleazy the way Lawler wishes he was. It breaks like Adam Freeland, its acidic the way Christopher Lawrence used to be and it has more implied sex than it has any right to.
Most important it takes chances. They might not all payoff, but enough do.
Did I mention it sounds great.
This isn't all prog house of course. The head of Mo'Wax couldn't foreget his beat based roots. This is a mix. This is a set. And it works.
But maybe most important is that it was realesed by GlobalUnderground. The label that was once the inovator, the leader. This album doens't save them. It just brought the fun back...

This CD Rocks. It's banging from beggining to end. I was getting a little dissapointed with the way things had been going at the GU. The last one I really liked was probably diggers LA set, that or Sander Klienenberg's Nubreed......

Anyways, I've never even heard of this fool before I went and snagged this platinum set up. After the chilling opening he than did something I thought I'd never hear, a UN-remixed leftfield track. After that, I was hooked. There is uknown tracks, older tracks, REALLY NEW tracks (A must for all GU releases).

In other words, this is an album that might save electronica as we know it. Lavelle, you da man!

This is my first review and after listening to this set last night and tonight, I felt I had no choice but to write it. I also admit I bought Barcelona because I buy every GU that comes out. OK, I love breakbeat and when I read James Lavelle was going to be part of the GU series, I didn't think twice. This set is more than Break & Beats, these discs are what the future of music is all about, a step beyond, a step into innovation and into a mix of all the sounds I love. This is about mixing vanguardism, a fusion of dark and progressive sounds, the bringing of tracks that move ahead of your senses. I can't begin to describe the start of each of the 2 discs, you have to listen to them to sense my feelings. It's like being dropped right into the middle of Barcelona and its unfinished cathedral, it's vibrant and all speed. You're not only going to listen to breakbeat, you're going to experience much more; there's no resting here, you just have to get up and move to the rythm. Like I said, it's hard to rest a few minutes while listening to these tracks. When it's all almost over, there's the grand finale that moves you back in time to that ever ever land of vibrant sound and the timeless sound of music. James took me to the sublime of listening, he certainly is an outstanding performer, you can't get much better at what you do. A plus album to have, a tribute to the future and the talent of today, believe me.

To be honest with you, I did not know much about James Lavelle prior to making this purchase. And after the subpar releases in my opinion by Deep Dish and Dave Seaman in this series, I said to myself what is GU doing? However, many convinced me that this indeed was a strong compilation. I just would like to say that although this is unlike many of the great GUs like Hong Kong, San Fran, Athens, et al., this is a compilation worth having. Lavelle increases the funk factor, incorporating elements of house, trance, drun and bass into an enjoyable mix. Particularly worth mentioning are the excellent tracks by Layo and Bushwacka (who are very underrated in my opinion). Just keep an open mind, and enjoy the ride that Lavelle take you on.

Probably one of the few really best albums on GU series, and one of the best albums I have. groovy, funky, bouncy - you can't help dancing... Finally a really awesome dance-album that you can't ignore from. warm-recommended.

Oakenfold's `New York', Digweed's `Sydney' and Sasha's `San Francisco' were released at the height of the late 90's dance culture, a culture which has entered recession. Held against the mix-by-numbers commercial efforts from the big labels, the `Global Underground' series seemed genuinely cutting edge. A release was a genuine event where established DJ's would explore completely new sounds in off-the-map dance floors. Tracks would be débuted on a GU release months before hitting the wider dance floors. Somewhere along the though GU seemed to loose it's pioneering spirit. Perhaps they're a victim of their own success, perhaps the GU edge was diluted as numerous spin-offs emerged with increasingly slick marketing. People just haven't talked of the latest releases with the same awed tones in which they regarded say, `San Francisco'... Until now?

James Lavelle's debut GU mix `Barcelona' might just have reinvigorated the series at a crucial time, when the `industry' is realigning itself following the `recession'. That edge is back as Lavelle takes it deep down and positively dirty, chicaning through breakbeat, house, hip hop and even reworkings of Ian Brown and The Doves' recent offerings, producing an genre-meshing original mix the likes of which hasn't seen the turntables for many a season.

CD1 works up through the gears, accelerating up through label-mate DJ Shadow's ominous `Mongrel... meets his maker', Leftfield's still-fresh `Dusted'; the inertia reaching critical mass with Sasha's awesome `Fundamental'; the soundtrack to a speed-limit shattering journey into the night - spine-tingling melodies colliding with heavy slabs of breakbeat. Lavelle journeys onward, barely pausing for breath but easing off the accelerator a little into menacing cuts like Stir Fry's `Breakin' on the streets' and Ils' gloriously remixed `No Soul'. Layo & Bushwacka! pick up the baton again before handing it to a remixed Hybrid-esque Ian Brown for the home-run.

CD2 emerges as a more subtle offering after the genre-hopping swerves of the first disk. It's a tighter house mix, perhaps lacking the inertia of disk 1 but still yielding seamless mixing by the track-full. Meat Katie provide the `beat-driven' house the blurb refers to as he works smoothly through the different breeds of house. Lee Burridige and Halo mark the evolution into a more progressive sound climaxing in Hybrid's masterful Sci-Fi symphony `Gravastar' (a mouthwatering taster for their forthcoming new album and incorrectly labeled on the track-listing above!). In closing another enigma is thrown into the mix as Lavelle re-cuts the acoustic rock of `The Doves'. Again, it all comes together beautifully.

`Fear' seems to be the overriding theme. It's a shot in the arm for GU, indeed taking the sound back underground, into less secure territory... Back home. After having been less than awed with recent releases, GU could again be the ones-to-watch.

4.5 for turning me on to breaks and hip hop. Better than I thought could be. Very, very good. Nasty, filthy changes that impress me at each break.
Super cool.
CFancy