Review: Lee Burridge and Matthew Dekay's All Day I Dream label have successfully carved out their own very particular niche in the house music canon over the past decade or so, specialising in melodic, mellifluous grooves coming from that place where deep house, progressive house and Balearic/chill-out/downtempo blur into one. And here, they serve up a 12-track compilation that sticks more or less entirely to that same blueprint. As such, it's perhaps unlikely to win them many new converts, but with cuts from the likes of Mass Digital, Squire and Death On The Balcony, fans of the label will be more than satisfied.
Review: We tend to think of All Day I Dream's particular brand of melodious and atmospheric house music as being summery and sun-kissed, but as this second "Winter Sampler" proves, many of the label's tracks that sound just as good on crystal clear winter mornings. Musically, much of the material tiptoes the fine line between tech-house, deep house and what would once have been classic progressive house, with highlights provided by Zone+ (the drowsy and glacial dancefloor hypnotism of "The Muse"), Makebo & Anomita (the simmering bliss of "Symphonic Fantasy"), Katrinka (the deep, chunky Afro-house of "Mila") and Tim Green (the bubbly, snow-flecked electronics and Innervisions-esque grooves of "Sowa").
Newman (I Love) - "Menina Que Passa" - (8:36) 120 BPM
Essay - "Archangel" - (9:23) 126 BPM
Modd - "Evening Fog" - (9:11) 122 BPM
Review: A sampler collection here from All Day I Dream, the label set up in 2011 by Lee Burridge and Matthew Dekay to explore "beautiful, emotional and melancholic shades of house and techno". What you get are 13 tracks coming from that part of the spectrum where deep house and ambient collide, with just a hint of prog and the very deepest trance in the mix too - tracks that will be equally at home in the warm-up, on weary 6am floors or chillin' on the sofa. Standouts include Fulltone's 'A Whole Lot Of Winters', one of collection's more overtly floor-friendly cuts, and Hermanez's deceptively funky 'Ensina'.