Customer Reviews

Miami

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The newest effort from Global Underground returns to the legendary city series with Miami. This time around Danny Howells is steppin up to the decks. Although this is Howell's first compilation in the city series, he is no stranger to the Global Underground label. Howells also released a Nu-Breed mix and 24/7 mix for GU.
GU's city series has had some of the top DJs in the world mix them including Tenaglia, Sasha, and Digweed to name a few. Now it's Howell's turn and he dosen't disappoint one bit. Both discs are amazing. The mixing is so effortless and smooth you can get lost in the music easily.
Disc 1 is more on the deep, grooving side of house music, while disc 2 incorporates more of the electro, funk, and tech in house. All the tracks on this album fit perfectly together so there are no tracks on the album that I really didn't like. There are, however, some real stand out tracks on each disc. Disc 1 holds some great ones with Tomas Barford's "Light Shine", a deep groover with a nice female vocal, Sneaker Pimp's "Post Modern Sleaze", Silicone Soul's "Les Nocturnes",and Atomphunk's "Boogie Down". Disc 2 has some stand out music from the Wighomy Bros with "Wurz & Blusse", Drama Society's "Crying Hero"(Nice Tiga Remix!), Unit 4's "Bodydub"(Wicked Tiefschwarz Remix!)Ashtrax's "Freeload", and Greeens Keepers "Keep It Down".
Danny Howells is a great dj and along with Zabiela and Burridge, is one of the most entertaining djs to watch live. This mix is just further proof of why he is so good. Nice work Danny.

I have been impressed with and an avid listener of Danny Howells since his Nu Breed release, but I think it was the Nocturnal Frequencies set that really distinguished his fresh and unique sound. He was spinning some very prog house sound at the time of trance's zenith. At the time back in 2000, the same label GU was putting out classic trance such as Sasha's Ibiza excursion and Seaman's best in Buenos Aires. But I have been a little let down by the new GU's ever since progressive started morphing into something a little lest tribal, funk, and seamlessly dirty than the house of early 2000's. Particularly I was a little let down by his last series 24:7, a little too robotic and techy though I can see its inherent quality for Howells fans. But this CD refreshes GU, the sound emerging now, and Howells' reputation as a superlative world DJ.

CD1, the more subdued set he did at the Terrace of Space, perfectly captures the atmosphere and ethos of a sunrise in Miami when the party is in full swing. Very soothing and warming open to the disc, as Light Shine and Road through the Rain pulsate with chill house and some nice female vocs (used sparingly though in this mix). The belly of the CD is very good and fresh music, but it's more of a warmup to the last 1/3 of the cd1. Mimosa is one of the best pieces I have heard in a while from any DJ and immediately grabs your mental absorption. Jazzy tranquility is the best way to explain the sound. Atomphunk's Boogie Down is another great one, but I feel it functions as more of a segway into Bent's Exercise 5, a very bold sound.

CD2 is the sound he mixed inside the club and is surely the faster of the two. Very quality progressive here and less funk. Wighomy Brothers' wurz and blusse is a very gritty, dark track the demonstrates a big part of Howells' style. Overall this is one of the best mixes I have heard in a while that really indicates where music is going nowadays from a guy and a series that are changing with the sound of the progressive house genre.

In all honesty, this has to be the best Global Underground since Sasha's #13 from Ibiza. This one is Danny's first contribution to the actual GU series. I honestly don't think he could have made a better first impression. Danny has been playing house music for years and it's only fitting that he's finally been given a shot at making a mix for the most popular and widely known name in electronic music. He's done work for Global Underground before, but it was with the Nu Breed(I have it and really like it) and 24:7 spinoffs that he made his albums. This time it's the real deal.

Disc 1 starts out very mellow and kind of slow, but you can just feel from the beginning the energy waiting to burst out and get you moving. He keeps that feel going till he drops the remix of Post Modern Sleaze by the sneaker pimps and just tears it up till the end of the disk. From the fifth track out the entire mix is really up beat house. The pace is slower than disc 2, but it's still a pretty energetic album.

Disc 2 has more of a progressive house sound to it. He throws in some of the same styles he used on the first disk, but with a slightly different feel to it. This mix uses some elements that sound more like Sander Klienenberg at times and Hernan Cattaneo at others, but the overall album is phenominal. The sound and feel of the album fluxuates constantly and is textbook progressive house. This mix is more of his real sound, and is full of dark and dirty little runs that you would normally hear him play in a club.

This album is easily going to be one of the best of the year. I'm kind of in a bind as to whether or not it's better than Hernan's Masters Series II, but both albums are so good it's going to be hard to decide. What's even worse is Sasha is supposed to be releasing another full blown album here in a couple months, while Digweed just released Fabric 20(my copy should be here in a couple days) and another ablum a couple months from now. 2005 is going to be a great year for EDM fans.

One side note to all of this is the actual CD book. I got the "long" version which actually refers to the case. Instead of being two disks in a normal plastic CD case, it's layed out like a book with both CD's sitting next to each other on the inside of the front cover. The album notes are stapled into the inside of it and make up the pages of the book. The entire case is full of the photography normally found in any of the other GU's, but this one has interviews from people that are involved in the music scene around Miami. It's very slick and one of the most creative cases I've ever seen.

I have loved progressive house for about 10 years now. I have loved all of the different sounds encompassed by progressive house - from deep melodic vocal house to the more trippy, hypnotic house.

But I DESPISE the minimal "electro-y" sounds that seemed to have hijacked progressive house in the latter part of 2004, into 2005.

Having said that, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE disc 1, with it's more "traditional" Howells / Kleinenberg / Deep Dish / Digweed sound.

But I CAN'T STAND disc 2, which is full of that "electro-y" numbing nonsense that I was telling you about.

Perhaps your taste is the exact opposite of mine, and you'll hate disc 1 and love disc 2?

Regardless, consider yourself fairly warned - this is what you can expect.

Global Underground 27 : Howells in Miami is one of the best mix CD's I've ever bought. At first glance, Disc 2 is more likeable. It's techy, and a little faster than disc 1. It's fun and very danceable. However, the real gem of this set is clearly disc 1. From begining to end, it is one of the best things I've ever heard. Danny Howells himself calls disc 1 his "baby." It really shows! Put it in and you will find at least one part of your body moving to the grooves he's put together. This is simply house at its best.
These wonderful tracks are super-funky, and are very versatile. You can play it loud and dance, or keep it soft and chill out to it. Please, do yourself a favor, and treat yourself to one of the best kept secrets of house music. Danny Howells has such an ear for music, this CD comes straight from the soul. Get this CD, and then SEE HIM LIVE!!! He will not dissapoint.

I would recommend purchasing the booklet, which in some stores is the same price as the jewel casing.

Anyway, this double disc set is ear catching right from the start, which seems to be the going trend given the sets released by Cattaneo (Renaissance Volume 2) and Fortier (Balance 007), which also catch the ear from the first track of the first cd. This set separates from theirs once Danny Howells begins to make an emotional connection with his audience with track 2 on disc one (Light Shine). From here, the listener is always waiting to see what he's going to throw out next, mainly because he uses artists that aren't well known trance/house names.

He lights it up in the middle of both discs, and has a knack for choosing tracks that mix well together, similar to Sasha and caters to the mature house crowd.

This mix is also more emotive than his 24:7 disc 2 set, and sounds more like his 24:7 disc one set with danceable beats. I would compare him to Nick Warren in terms of connecting with his audience/crowd, while also packing in the emotion of an Oakie in his prime ('99). Pick up this Global Underground if you want to smile and nod with headphones on, or turn it up on your stereo with his second disc. A winner indeed.

Since Shanghai recently came out, it's hard to throw heaploads of praise to this Miami CD, without noting that it is a notch below Nick Warren's near perfect set. I still give it 5 stars and it's a clear winner.

Miami is defintely closer to the pure, funky side of house, rather than the deeper progressive stuff Nick Warren plays, but I guess you could call most of this progressive house too. A lot of it is soulful and has some disco vibes. I don't like all groovy, disco sounding house, and tracks 4 and 5 on disc 1 are two examples on the style I do not like. Aside from that, the rest of CD1 is astonishing, starting out with the crazy track Thermal, that glides through like a vintage 80's electro tune, reminding me a lot of Herbie Hancocks classic, Rock It. The few vocal tracks that follow on this disc are not repetitive or cheesy, and are spliced in at just the right times. Track 7 is a 1980 disco classic, and it's amazingly fresh sounding today. It supposedly took Danny 7 years to track this one down on vinyl, and I thank him for finding it and sharing it with us.

The groove slows down a bit at the end of this disc, but keep in mind, the energy level of the entire cd never gets to a dance floor frenzy stage. It will keep you head bopping all night, as the beats are smooth, just never too fast. I would not call it chill, as it's several BPMs above that, but overall a very sexy, afterparty sound, not unlike Deep Dish's two afterclub Toronto mixes.

Disc 2 starts out with a track I am not too fond of, but it's quickly forgotten by track 2, and the rest of the disc keeps an incredible flow going of great house melodies. It delves deeper into progressive house than disc 1. As if you couldn't tell, I'm a trance fan, and it was nice to see Ben Lost make an appearance in the form of Ashtrax, on track 13, the only real trance sounding track on here.

A very well themed, and well mixed set. I am sure it was initially at the top of everyone's list of house mixes this year, and rightfully so, however he has since been one-upped by Nick Warren (can't be too hard on Danny though, as Shanghai is going down as one of the best ever). Even still, I would not miss this great house collection.

I wasn't a huge fan like many other reviewers of Danny Howells. I briefly heard him spin live at Ultra Fest 2005 in Miami and owned his NuBreed compilation (which I wasn't crazy about at all). However, giving the excellent track record of GU series and impressive reviews below, I decided to give this mix a chance. Conclusion, this mix is worth every penny! This has got to be the best House mix of 2005 so far (May 2005) (only because Fabric 20 by John Digweed is a 1 cd affair;) rather then 2). First cd starts out slow, with excellent choices of tracks. "road through the rain" by An 2 is one of the mellow tracks that you will love. The cd peaks and doesn't look back with "like a virgin" by Olaf Pozsgay. Second cd starts out a bit slow too, but picks up much quicker with "bull dozer" by Sid LeRock. "Stalkers Groove" by Boogie Drama track serves the same purpose as "like a virgin" on the second CD.
The mix is very stylish and combines some of the best stuff that Dance music has to offer.

Superb. From the mixing to the track listing... a completely sexy and engaging Miami feel with just the right amount of the customary spookiness and flow that we know and love from Mr. Howells.

Miami is defintely closer to the pure, funky side of house, rather than the deeper progressive stuff Nick Warren plays, but I guess you could call most of this progressive house too. A lot of it is soulful and has some disco vibes. I don't like all groovy, disco sounding house, and tracks 4 and 5 on disc 1 are two examples on the style I do not like. Aside from that, the rest of CD1 is astonishing, starting out with the crazy track Thermal, that glides through like a vintage 80's electro tune, reminding me a lot of Herbie Hancocks classic, Rock It. The few vocal tracks that follow on this disc are not repetitive or cheesy, and are spliced in at just the right times. Track 7 is a 1980 disco classic, and it's amazingly fresh sounding today. It supposedly took Danny 7 years to track this one down on vinyl, and I thank him for finding it and sharing it with us.

The groove slows down a bit at the end of this disc, but keep in mind, the energy level of the entire cd never gets to a dance floor frenzy stage. It will keep you head bopping all night, as the beats are smooth, just never too fast. I would not call it chill, as it's several BPMs above that, but overall a very sexy, afterparty sound, not unlike Deep Dish's two afterclub Toronto mixes.

Disc 2 starts out with a track I am not too fond of, but it's quickly forgotten by track 2, and the rest of the disc keeps an incredible flow going of great house melodies. It delves deeper into progressive house than disc 1. As if you couldn't tell, I'm a trance fan, and it was nice to see Ben Lost make an appearance in the form of Ashtrax, on track 13, the only real trance sounding track on here.

Easily in the top 3 house mixes of the year. This long box edition is actually a fold out book, and not the boxes GU use to issue, which would always be a hassle to open at either end. The super wide book focuses on people and life in Miami and is worth picking up to add to the experience this incredible mix offers. The only downside is it's not as portable as the normal issue.

A very well themed, and well mixed set. I would not miss this great house collection.