Global Underground 23: James Lavelle In Barcelona

good old school tunes - good disk condition.

No problems with this puchase!

THANKS!!

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.

Not a mix that instantly strikes you as a classic - the opening tracks on both discs are a little indifferent, and these are the moments when a DJ really needs to put the attention grabbers out. The music settles down to an agreeably mainstream GU feel towards the end of both discs. After a couple of listens through it's likely this will simply join the growing heap of "oh yeah that's another GU mix album" - while the pile of classics from this series remains titchy.

this is one of the best GU albums there is, and it really captures the sound of 2002.Disc 1 is incredible, with highlights being layo and bushwacka - shining and sasha - fundamental. plus fans of UNKLE will love dj shadow - mongrel meets his makerdisc 2 doesn't quite keep up the quality, but this GU is only bettered by the sasha mixes in my opinion

I have never felt the need to write a review for an album before, but having listened to this album once, I felt I just had to.I've always liked James Lavelle since first hearing his awesome mix on the Cream 2 cd so I bought this album without even listening to it first. I was not disappointed!As founder of the Mo' Wax label with artists like DJ Shadow, and the man behind U.N.K.L.E. I was surprised by the lack of hip hop in the mix. This is a difficult one to label, but I'd have to say it leans towards breakbeat, but covers other genres along the way. DJ Shadow is in there along with Dead Prez and Ian Brown and the Doves.Yet agian Mr Lavelle shows us he's in a league of his own when it comes to putting together a mix of such class!A must buy for anyone who loves dance music.

In the days of the international superstar DJ, one may ask where thwere is room for the smaller and arguably better DJs. Global Underground has, for some years now, released great house and dance, and this latest offering is no exception. CD1 just gets better and better, though each track has value on its own. The is a huge amount of variety from DJ Shadow and his more downbeat tune to the uplifting drums and heavy base of Sotero. Having heard James Lavelle rock Fabric, I wondered whether this would sound good on my hifi at home but it does not disappoint - he is so good. CD2 merges from big tunes to more downbeat tracks from the likes of Hybrid and the Doves. In the shops now is a special edition with an extra CD, containing a video and various other features. My advise - stop what you are doing and go and buy this album!!