Customer Reviews

Romania #026 (Global Underground)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been a long time GU fan, though I have to admit, I avoided the Barcelona mix, as I felt it would be too far off GU's progressive music focus. This mix is a deep and edgy bunch that really alternates between jiving to some dark bass lines and them some outright classic "smilers" on the second disc.
Not sure why they would allow James to mix in the same track "In a State" twice on the same comp. It's a beautiful track, but I pay good money for these sets - not to hear duplication.

I have spent a fair amount of time thinking of a way to properly describe this album. This is one of the best mixes I've heard in years, since Steve Lawler's Nubreed or Richie Hawtin's "Closer to the Edit". I have not heard many DJs over the years that can traverse a large amount of styles and still have the set maintain a cohesive feeling, but James Lavelle accomplishes it with ease (Darren Emerson gets a close second). Bouncing between acid house, breakbeats, techno, and other styles liberally usually feels awkward and seems out of place. Lavelle seems to scoff at this concept, using the changes in style to emphasize the breaks and beat drops when they come. It makes some of the breaks alot more effective than they would be on their own, and the overall effect is the enhanced desire to shake one's booty. This is the true measure of a DJ's ability, as I have heard plenty than can rock within the confines of one genre, but to be able to rock them all is a trait that deserves to be recognized.

Disc 1 (beauty) is able to hold it's own weight, despite some other sentiments. Highlights include DJ Shadow featuring Roots Manuva on a UNKLE remix of "GDMFSOB", Meat Katie and Elite Force's "Juju", and the Evil 9 mix of Santos' "Evil Robot". This disc does have some darker tracks, but overall it has a more laid back groove when compared to the second and the difference will be noticed right away.

Disc 2 (the beast) takes a much darker, grittier approach than its counterpart and in the end succeeds more so for it. Granted, this is coming from a man who enjoys the darker edge of dance, so be warned that I am somewhat biased in this arena. The UNKLE edit of Plastikman's "Ask yourself" is blended perfectly into a uber killer track by Scumdolly (Craig Richards) titled "making ends meet". You should know what you have gotten yourself into when the beat to this one kicks in. To keep it short the two other high points on the album are Peace Division's "No More Subliminal S**t" and Chemical Brothers featuring Flaming Lips' "Golden Path". I can't say enough about how good this particular disc is, for driving or dancing it doesn't get much better. I first listened to this album on a 5 hour drive and boy did it make the time fly!

All in all, you owe it to yourself to check this out if you like dance music at all. If you're a DJ, even more so. Bring some paper and a pen as well, cuz you'll want to take notes. All hail Lavelle. :)

This is just one more Global Underground stamp of qualtiy. Anything GU stamps its name on is wonderful.

This is a great and well-blended 2 disc set. Lavelle is his own animal and you can hear the uniqueness in his mix. A lot of others imitate Sasha, John Digweed, Paul Oakenfold, Matt Darey, etc.... Remember that Lavelle is UNKLE, someone who all of these folks have mixed at one time or another. When you listen to this set, you realize a unique and different refreshing style of DJ.

I'm truly glad I didn't give credence to all the jaded reviewers when contemplating buying this. I'd have missed out on something (finally) pushing the envelope in an otherwise monochromatic genre. Though a few years old, this compilation digs in deep and sets some pretty elastic boundaries that not many mix cds can keep up with. Both discs offer some truly inspiring peaks and like one of the other reviewers said - bring paper and pen because if nothing else, Lavelle's progressions are solid, funky and will have you shaking your head, smirking. I find it hard to listen to all the way through without having to rewind certain breaks and firing up my trigger finger. It's a different path no doubt, but to those searching - this will be one of those invaluable additions to your collection. Check it out quality monitors if you can.

I was disapointed when listening to this mix cd, mainly cause there's a lot of UNKLE cuts, Lavelle uses a lot of Acapellas from UNKLE's album NEVER EVER LAND, this album seems more like an UNKLE remix album than a new Global Underground mix set, a little fall by the British label I think....anyway I hope an improvement on the next Lavelle's set.

First CD is TWISTED: the way he puts traxx from different styles make his creativity and mixin habilities worth the price you pay for. One could say that the first CD is James "proposal"; nevertheless if you are a "conservative" houser, this CD may not be your type of music.
Second CD is BEATY: James does not lose "his touch"; the CD is filled with house and progressive beats as well as some other stuff no other DJ would dare to trow in.

His hability to mix up diferent styles definetly worths listening and buying. Embrace the proposal, open you mind and your wallet!

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James Lavelle delivers another dose of powerful melodies in this compilation.

The listener gets little chance to settle in after popping the first CD in the player. One is immediately slammed against a wall with the amazing remix of QotSA's "No-one Knows". The raw passion and grit then gives way (allowing one to gather oneself) with the introspective lyrics and delicate riffs of "In A State". The album continues with a series of solid, driving, ball-busting beats. The mix, however, is somewhat tarnished by "GDMFSOB" and "Dita Beater". The vocals on both of these tracks get on your nerves after a while. The former is just nonsense and gibberish, while the latter is, well, just plain irritating. In spite of this, Lavelle manages to make up for it by following them with excellent choons like "Sabot" and "Run Into Flowers".

CD2 begins with "Ask Yourself" and "Making Ends Meet", a sinister pair of tracks that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. UNKLE's "Invasion" is velvety smooth, swathing the listener in sensuous melodies and haunting vocals. The mix hits another (and final) low point with Peace Division's "No More Subliminal Sh*t", but then rebounds with back-to-back tracks from Meat Katie, "Import" and "Slagg". The mix hits its peak with the fun and addictive remix of The Chemical Bros. "Golden Path" and the drug-influenced "Psiko Garden". The compilation glides down gently with Sasha's remix of UNKLE's "In A State".

This album is another fine example of Lavelle's ecclectic mixing. Lavelle has the uncanny ability of taking one through sharp twists and turns, dips and peaks, all without losing one in the process. Many GU followers may find his style too unconventional and disagreeable. But one has to keep in mind that there *are* other skilled DJ's out there besides veterans such as Sasha and Diggers. It's great to see a new face among the GU clique.

I highly recommend this album. If you do decide to purchase it, make sure you accompany it with Lavelle's GU023-Barcelona compilation -- an undiscovered gem of a set.

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I own all 26 installments in this series (including the afterhours set by Deep Dish) and have to comment as this set being in the top 2. Not my favorite but immediately after throwing the first disc into my truck and driving across town I had people looking at me from bobbing my head to the sounds :) Recommended if you like the progressive breakbeat feal with a rock and roll edge.

James Lavelle is one of the most forward looking artists in the world today. Bending the lines between rock and dance music and with a huge amount of breakbeats Lavelle really knows how to throw down. Remixes of his own songs with UNKLE and tracks from Richie Hawtin the Chemical Brothers and the Queens of the Stone Age really stand out. Also unlike another reviewer said about Deep Dish's Moscow as the last disc they are entirely incorrect. the last was toronto, as most avid global underground listener would know, and it was excellent as well. If GU continues putting out mixes of this high quality they may become the last man standing out of all electronic record labels.

These two CDs inspired by a set in Romania was James Lavelle's second release in the Global Underground series. It provoked something of a controversy upon its release in 2004 for seeming a sales pitch for the album NEVER NEVER LAND by Lavelle's project UNKLE: of the 26 tracks in this release, 9 are UNKLE tunes, UNKLE remixes or productions by former UNKLE collaborators.

Still, at least on the first disc, Lavelle assembles that peddling of his own work into some pretty satisfying music. Curiously, the set starts with a prelude, Queens of the Stone Age - "No One Knows (UNKLE reconstruction)". Once it plays through, silence falls, the mix is broken, and then things really start with UNKLE - "In a State". PFN and Meat Katie provide some solid progressive fare, with UNKLE's "Have You Passed Through This Night?" a cappella layered on top. The high point of this first disc is DJ Shadow feat. Roots Manuva - "Gdmfsob (UNKLE Mix)". The artistry of DJ Shadow (deftly working with a massive library of samples) and Roots Manuva (clever and intricate rhymes) are something to admire aesthetically at the same time that one is caught up in the beats.

Disc two is much less worthwhile. Peace Division - "No More Subliminal [expletive deleted]" also features a rapper, but his unimaginative profanity-filled posturing is tiresome after the artistry of Roots Manuva. The bulk of the disc is instrumental tunes, but instead of concentrating the energy of his set, it just feels like bog-standard progressive fodder; Lavelle is certainly a DJ that works better with vocal material. Just as the first disc as an unmixed prelude, here the mix stops, there's a noticeable pause, and UNKLE - "In a State (Sasha remix)" closes the disc.

Though the first disc is solid, all in all I don't find this release to be a classic entry in the Global Underground series. I think it would appeal mainly to people who loved Sasha's INVOLVER album and want more in that style -- Sasha and Lavelle were both working in the same vein in early 2004, and indeed INVOLVER features some of the tracks found here.