Reviews round-up featuring:
mix albums from DJ Format and Domino Records
Various - They'll Have to
Catch Us First (Domino) Ahead
of the game, the title of the latest compilation from Domino Records
seems to suggest and what with having signed and made a mint everyone
favourite glam rockers Franz Ferdinand, who can argue. So what to
do with all that money then? Keep releasing top record from a range
of artists from the UK, US and Argentina and practically give away
a collection of 14 songs from their finest. They'll Have to Catch
Us First retails at £2.99 and for the price of a few downloads
from iTunes you get brand new song from Franz Ferdinand, Argie electronic
songstress Juana Molina and ace new signings Psapp, as well as classic
tracks from The Kills, Sons & Daughters and Four Tet. There's
even a cover of Elton John's Daniel by Tortoise and Bonnie 'Prince'
Billy that you'll probably want to skip but at £3 what's one
dodgy cover version. If you're not aware of Domino's catalogue do
yourself this favour.
Various - Fabriclive 27 mixed by DJ Format (Fabric) Brighton
hip-hop producer DJ Format assumes the wheels of steel for the latest
edition of Fabric's mix album series. Format was a former driver
for Jurassic 5 so it's no surprise to hear Cut Chemist and other
West Coast backpacker hip-hoppers, like Ugly Duckling and Lyrics
Born, make an appearance here. But just when it seems its getting
a bit predictable, in comes the funky jazz of organ maestro Jimmy
Smith to signal a shift in perspective. If the first third of this
album is all breaks and scratching, the second shows you where the
inspiration comes from, with songs by Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone
sitting alongside 60's UK jazz from Brian Auger and Julian Covey.
The final third shows you the different ways all this can go with
the exquisite funk of the intriguingly named Karachi Prison Band,
Ananda Shankar's sitar and breaks classic Dancing Drums, before
ending with Edan's dynamic mix of guitars and beats Rock'n'Roll.
Like going to school, mix albums should be educational and fun.
Format does just that to bring us back to the old school.
Ahead
of the game, the title of the latest compilation from Domino Records
seems to suggest and what with having signed and made a mint everyone
favourite glam rockers Franz Ferdinand, who can argue. So what to
do with all that money then? Keep releasing top record from a range
of artists from the UK, US and Argentina and practically give away
a collection of 14 songs from their finest. They'll Have to Catch
Us First retails at £2.99 and for the price of a few downloads
from iTunes you get brand new song from Franz Ferdinand, Argie electronic
songstress Juana Molina and ace new signings Psapp, as well as classic
tracks from The Kills, Sons & Daughters and Four Tet. There's
even a cover of Elton John's Daniel by Tortoise and Bonnie 'Prince'
Billy that you'll probably want to skip but at £3 what's one
dodgy cover version. If you're not aware of Domino's catalogue do
yourself this favour. 
Brighton
hip-hop producer DJ Format assumes the wheels of steel for the latest
edition of Fabric's mix album series. Format was a former driver
for Jurassic 5 so it's no surprise to hear Cut Chemist and other
West Coast backpacker hip-hoppers, like Ugly Duckling and Lyrics
Born, make an appearance here. But just when it seems its getting
a bit predictable, in comes the funky jazz of organ maestro Jimmy
Smith to signal a shift in perspective. If the first third of this
album is all breaks and scratching, the second shows you where the
inspiration comes from, with songs by Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone
sitting alongside 60's UK jazz from Brian Auger and Julian Covey.
The final third shows you the different ways all this can go with
the exquisite funk of the intriguingly named Karachi Prison Band,
Ananda Shankar's sitar and breaks classic Dancing Drums, before
ending with Edan's dynamic mix of guitars and beats Rock'n'Roll.
Like going to school, mix albums should be educational and fun.
Format does just that to bring us back to the old school.