Global Underground: Miami

Danny Howells

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 29, 2005)
• Original Release Date: March 29, 2005
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Global Underground
• ASIN: B00078803E
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #130,604 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The world’s most revered DJ mix series returns with an absolute stunner! This time around, in Global Underground’s continued effort to bring the world’s most exciting electronic music and party cities to you at home, Danny Howells took a trip with the GU crew to Miami. On a thrilling Halloween night, thousands of fans packed into the world’s most popular nightclub, downtown Miami’s Club Space to hear Mr. Howells drop a legendary main floor set of Disco classics, Detroit techno and thumping up-front House before exiting to the club’s terrace to play a jaw-dropping sunrise set full of atmospheric experimental music reminiscent of disc one of his last Global Underground release, last year’s acclaimed 24:7. That night became the inspiration for Danny’s first release for our signature series, Global Underground #027 Miami. The album is a sublime mix of genres featurning the likes of Bent, Silicone Soul, Ashtrax, Throbbing Gristle and Danny’s favourite record of all time, the breathtaking disco stunt "Hills of Katmandu" by Tantra.

A ten-year veteran DJ, with an unearthly ability to connect with his audience, Danny has consistently ranked high on every official and unofficial best DJ list there is. First making his appearance on the Global Underground imprint with his 2000 mix, Nubreed #2, Danny has gone on to gain notoriety as a ground breaking producer and remixer. His credits include a 2004 British Top 40 single ("Dusk ‘Til Dawn"), production collaborations with Deep Dish and remix commissions from Robbie Williams, David Morales and BT.

With the long standing tradition of Global Underground to tap the absolute crème talent to helm the GU series, Miami is sure to emerge as the essential dance music compilation of 2005 and Danny Howells will continue to rise as a star of today and tomorrow’s electronic music hierarchy.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very pleasent trip to Miami, March 29, 2005

By	Jonathan S. Foster (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow - he does it again (and GU), April 2, 2005

By	Sam McCarthy (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Global Underground since 13, April 14, 2005

By	Joseph Anderson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.