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A bottom-heavy, booty-shakin blast from two hot up-and-comers!
Colorado-turned-Chicago DJ, Nique and label mate Vitamin-D (a.k.a. Derrick Daisey) have teamed up to record and produce a 2-disc collection of sexy, dirty, hard house tracks, most of which were produced, and/or remixed by the two, and along with other Colorecordings label mates Sean Biddle, Danny S., and Granite and Phunk, make up all of the writing credits on this one.
And despite my personal disdain for today’s onslaught of half-assed, tag-teaming mish mash and hap-hazardly programmed, falsely-packaged label showcases, this one was truly palatable, and, to my surprise, I found this one quite enjoyable.
With track openers like “You Like Me Too” by The Floorfillerz and “Looking For You” by Danny S. (respectively), how can anyone go wrong? Disc One, mixed by Nique, is highlighted right in the center by the danceable bop of Vitamin D’s own broken beats on track 6, “Where It’s At”, but what makes this one fun and different, is that is meticulously sectioned off, with obvious markers, signifying breaks in the Hard House segments with splashes of Tech Funk and just plain old funky House.
The infectious spacey progressive-ness of track 8, “Luv Technique” by Granite and Phunk, melds wonderfully with track 9, “Time to Get Lively” by Danny S., which explodes with a minimalisitic evil blast, as Nique does just that (get lively) through just about all of this classy release. Track 11, another sure-fire hit by Vitamin D called, what else, “Can’t Lose”, harkens back to the Derrick Carter warehouse party, bass-jackin’ nights of days gone by in spectacular fashion, but wouldn’t seem to work anywhere else but nestled between the two gems (“Tunnel Vision” by High Caliber and “Display of Attitude” by Nique) found on this one.
Disc Two, mixed by Vitamin D (aka Derrick Daisey) tries to pick up where one left off, but doesn’t seem to pull it off. Instead, it veers towards a faster, harder, clubbier sound that doesn’t fit the tempo and vibe conjured up by the first.
However, a few shining lights remain, as on track 2, “F*#@ the Drink” by The Floorfillerz, or track 4, “The Hustler” by N.S.D. Project (remixed here by Sean Biddle) that features a catchy rolling bass line and high end bird-perching sound that everyone will come to know and love. The sequencing of the order of the tracks on this one isn’t as strong, and doesn’t seem to do each individual single the attention they so deserve. Disc two is a little harder, more boring than normal, and unfortunately, the obvious down side to what would have been an outstanding label showcase.
-- review by Carl Noone, Jr.
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