Review: The first compilation on Koze's Pampa label is a lovingly curated affair. It starts with the left field house of Herbert's take on Lianne La Havas and Ada's r&b-infused "You & Me", as well as DJ Koze's own hymnal take on Roman Flugel's "9 Years". Other Pampa regulars like Axel Boman are well represented and he provides the ultra-mellow "In The Dust of This Planet". Equally though, Koze also provides a platform for newcomers to the fold. There's the utterly bizarre, glitch-hop of Nasrawi and Funskstorung's contributions, and at the other end of the spectrum, wide-eyed deep house from Mount Kimbie and Jamie xx & Kosi Kos' pumping indie-dance "Come We Go".
Review: Remix compilations can be a little hit-and-miss, but this one - gathering together five years of eccentric and often inspired reinterpretations from German veteran DJ Koze - is anything but. Koze often saves his best work for the remix domain, delivering imaginative reworks that take the original material into surprising new places. So, Herbert's "If Only" is turned into a sparse chunk of atmosphere-rich late night deep house, Caribou's "Found Out" is blessed with a new sense of wonky, left-of-centre purpose, and Zwanie Johnson's "Golden Song" is given a decidedly Balearic, beatless makeover. Highlights are plentiful, with Koze's dubby, low-slung afro-jazz reinterpretation of Soap & Skin's "Marche Funebre" standing out.
Review: How many long-running compilation series are still going in this day and age? Ok, well respected ones then. Sean Brosnan's Future Disco series has always delivered the goods and can always be used as a benchmark for where the nu-disco world is at any one time. This time, it's (perhaps unsurprisingly) all about the vintage house vibes so not so disco then, but still a thrilling listen. Highlights include the slinky DJ T-esque "You're The One", the ever-brilliant DJ Koze's remix of hot newcomers Mount Kimble and the deeply enchanting Axel Boman remix of "Naughty".
Review: DJ Koze's Pampa has already a lot to be proud about - including the reissue of Isolee's We Are Monster - but this new album by Ada may propel it into the mainstream. Sounding like "Bryter Later" period Nick Drake getting comfortable with Jose Padilla's DJ sets, the German producer delivers jaw-droppingly beautiful songs like "Faith" and "On The Mend", where breathy vocals and plaintive, chiming bells are combined with mournful guitar playing and ambient textures. Meanwhile, "Interlude" and "Happy Birthday" embrace IDM sensibilities, the latter in particular teeming with warbling melodies. However, it would be wrong to dismiss Meine Zarten Pfoten as being fey or ephemeral, and the brooding bass of "At The Gate" is a reminder that while Ada's head is in the clouds, her feet remain planted on the dancefloor.
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