Cocoon Ibiza is now 15 years old – and the label have always scored highly by documenting their forthcoming Mediterranean adventures at the start of every summer. Here they do so with the help of Mathias Kaden and Popof, two DJs who will be on the island a lot this summer, and who serve up the tech house and electro that are best associated with them. Tech house, of course, does not always have a great press – so it’s good to report that Kaden doesn’t mess around, working the bell like chimes of Pablo Bolivar’s ‘Heat’ into beat form with the minimum of fuss, before the waves of the Shonky remix of El Prevost’s ‘Allez Ally’ wash into the deepness of The Analog Roland Orchestra’s ‘Pattern Four’. Ripperton’s ‘Let’s Hope’ is indicative of the blissful mood the set reaches towards the end. Popof’s mix finds its fee with the chunky ‘City Watch Over Me’ of Camea and the curly bass of Nikola Gala’s ‘The Process’, in Acid Off mix format. His own ‘Work It Out’ dazzles in this company, while Johnny D’s ‘Point Of No Return’ secures the necessary rush as the mix heads into its business end. Two very solid and workable sets, indicating that anyone bound for Cocoon this summer will not be short of good music!
4 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
