What's good in dance albums and cool stuff to relax to this summer? GRAHAM REID and RUSSELL BAILLIE get down.
Kinobe, Soundphiles (Jive)
What: Less a dance album than a summery soundtrack in the manner of Air's Moon Safari and Groove Armada's Vertigo.
Best played: While in a deckchair with ice clinking in the glass, but skip the first two upbeat tracks.
Best tracks: The warm Ernest Ranglin-like guitar of Bopalong, sliding guitar on Bayou Barrataria, the Eno-like Hammock Island, the spoken word of Lucidity and already successful single Slip into Something with a distinctive sample out of From Here to Eternity.
Worst feature: Includes the obligatory reggae gesture (poet Benjamin Zephaniah on the lame Theatricks), obligatory breezy item (Slip Into Something) and the obligatory self-referential remix (the hidden track recycles the Slip sample) which suggest Kinobe recognise the successful formula laid down by Groove Armada.
Deejay Punk-Roc, Spoiling It For Everyone (Isom/Sony)
What: While Cali-punk pop bands wave the banner of anarcho-rock, this New Yorker can bring a more hardcore, face-pummelling ethic to bear and reminds you in the late 70s disco and punk rock existed simultaneously. "Which side are you on?" he's asking.
Best played: Loud. Clubbers who would have been disco bunnies in a previous lifetime need not apply.
Best tracks: When he's hard as on Ever Get The Feeling You've Been Cheated and the angry breakdancin' Brooklyn Style. But surprisingly, also the jazz-cruise of Spring Break.
Worst feature: The weasely, out-of-character 70s disco of One More Bump.
Faithless, Back to Mine (DMC/Border)
What: Another in the tasteful series where the hipper than thou choose chill-out tracks they'd play after coming home from clubbing. Previous instalments have included compilations by Groove Armada, Nick Warren and Danny Tenaglia.
Best played: In the wee small hours in the comfort of your own home. Or a humid day in the garden just chillin'.
Best tracks: Early up Dido's coma-inducing My Life, and the spacey ambience of Dusted's Childhood which segues lazily into Sub Sub's Past. And the inclusion of Mazzy's Star's Fade Into You at the end.
Worst feature: The middle which sags with the Tindersticks and Pauline Taylor. And is it kosher for Rollo and Sister Bliss (who are Faithless) to include a couple of tracks they've produced, and their own Sunday 8 pm?
Danny Tenaglia, GlobalUnderground (Boxed)
What: Double disc of exotica house grooves which has a high fun quotient, international outlook and seamless flow.
Best played: Disc one early on at cocktail parties to set the mood. Disc two once the party has kicked in and just before you drag out Gloria Gaynor.
Best tracks: OnePhatDeeva's retro-soul on In and Out of My Life, DJ Linus' Chinese gong-meets-didgeridoo hypnotrance on Otradnoje.
Worst feature: Microworld's tedious and seemingly endless Signals which opens disc two.
Various, Boneshakers 4 (Internal Bass/Border)
What: Ten track, fourth instalment of funky, brassy and spacey lounge-jazz compilation series from the British Internal Bass label.
Best played: When washing dishes and vacuuming, it's up-tempo, moving around the house stuff. Or over cocktails on the patio, it's also mood music. You could dance to it, but it's kind of exotic and difficult.
Best tracks: The Brazilian-flavoured Voonga Voonga by New Sector Movements, the whispery vocals and percussion of Aromabar's Little Brother, and Neon Phusion's trippy Space Jam.
Worst feature: None especially, it just all grooves by. Although Pablo's 70s funk on Supersweet isn't up to much.
Various, Sound of the Pirates, Mixed by Zed Bias (Locked On)
What: Nuggety 21-track collection mixed by one of the new wave of British garage DJ/producers who here trawls through pirate radio playlist material which includes Basement Jaxx's You Can't Stop Me, Artful Dodger and Romina Johnson's Moving Too Fast, and Rough Cut Bias' Down.
Best played: After three quick cups of coffee.
Best tracks: The Large Joints remix of Roy Davis Jun's bluesy-soul Gabriel, Suburban Lick's rewrite out of UB40's One in Ten as Here Comes the Lick.
Worst feature: The feeble Mind, Body and Soul by Leee John. And it all does bang on a bit.
Ian Pooley, Since Then (V2)
What: Second album from German DJ-producer who seems to have spent quite a bit of time down Rio way, judging by the sound of his sunstruck shimmering Brazilan-inflected house grooves across 12 tracks which fall just this side of tropical kitsch
Best tracks: The bongo-happy Coracao Tambor featuring the voices of a couple of gals - Rosanna and Zelia - possibly from Ipanema, also return on equally airy Menino Brincadeira.
Best played: On a beach at sunset - or sunrise - and considering one track's called Bay of Plenty, preferably an east coast
Worst feature: Occasional seagull noises. The flotation tank-friendly track Cloud Patterns.
Afrika Bambaata, An Electro-Funk Breakdown Mix (DMC)
What: A remix collection from the godfather of hip-hop, who's coming to the Big Day Out, big on the strident breakdance-friendly electro-funk of his 80s heyday.
Best tracks: The hydraulic Kraftwerk-in-the-Bronx of his own Bambaataa's Theme, the hip-hop version of Gary Glitter Rock and Roll by DJ Boo, Leftfield's Bambaataa-vocalled Afrika Shox.
Best played: When you really want to get that 80s party moving. Or are in the mood for bit of a head-spin on the kitchen lino.
Worst feature: It disappears up its own analogue synthesizers around the mid point. And no Planet Rock, more's the pity.
Roni Size and Reprazent, In The Mode (Talkin' Loud)
What: The second album from the Bristol drum'n'bass guru and his crew following up the Mercury Prize-winning New Forms and featuring guest vocals turns from the Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man, the Roots Rahzel and Rage Against the Machine's Zach De La Rocha.
Best tracks: The Method Man track Ghetto Celebrity and Rhaze's In Tune For the Sound for its mix of hip-hop and d'n'b hydraulics; The runaway train of the opener Railing Pt 2.
Best played: Just after the noise control officers have left.
Worst feature: De La Rocha comparing himself to Salman Rushdie on Centre of the Storm. At just over 70 fairly unrelenting minutes, it is too long.
Etienne De Crecy Tempovision (Zomba)
What: The first album under his own name - previous nom de disques have included Super Discount and Motorbass - from French producer De Crecy who has connections to other stalwarts of the Gallic-electronica scene, Air, Alex Gopher, and Daft Punk. As the saying goes, if you like those, you'll like this, 11-tracks of French designer-funk with a touch of dub, soul and jazz. Sleek but neat.
Best tracks: The house-gone-disco Am I Wrong, the Isaac Hayes-in-space of When Jack Met Jill and Basement Jaxx-ish jazz-funk of Three Day Weekend.
Best played: After you've grown a little tired of the Euro-technopop bits from Madonna's latest.
Worst feature: The 14 minute go-nowhere finale Hold The Line.
Artful Dodger, Presents Re-Rewind (ffr)
What: Excellently named Artful Dodger (London's Mark Hill and Pete Devereux) and practitioners of "two-step garage" here remix their "when the crowd say bo selecta" Re-Rewind hit, their classy Craig David-fronted Woman Trouble, All Saints' I Know Where It's At and invite a few chums to contribute some of their own remixes.
Best played: At an aerobics class for the twitchy and nervous.
Best tracks: The percussive It Ain't Enough, the Sunshine/VPD slice'n'dice and raggamuffin approach on We R Family.
Worst feature: The relentless cut-ups grate on repeat play and that voice-processing thing you remember from Cher's Believe gets a thrashing around the middle.
A Guy Called Gerald, Essence (!K7)
What: Drum'n'bass meets seductive lounge. Full of spacey ambience over that biscuit-tin-falling-down-stairs percussion plus the slinky soulful vocals of Louise Rhodes (from Lamb) and Wendy Page, and the welcome return of Lady Keir of Deee-Lite on Hurry to go Easy.
Best played: Through headphones to fully appreciate the panning and sonic subtlety. It's a trip.
Best tracks: The opening instrumental First Breath which sets up the sensuous Humanity, the breathy Glow, and fiesty closer Landed
Worst feature: Seems to be a concept album, and "a glaring lack of melody or exciting moments" as someone tartly noted on the Internet.
Various, Boxed, (Xover)
What: Double disc of cheesy, mostly mind-numbing early 80s-styled tchinka-tchinka dancefloor which leavens everything out into the same-same drum machine and relentless groove ethic.
Best played: Anywhere during daylight when you want to clear the room. In a club at 2 am when people are indiscriminate.
Best tracks: There are one or two among the 26 on offer. Probably. I suppose.
Worst feature: Either disc one or the non-stop digital mix of disc two, it's too close to call.
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