This latest instalment of Cocoon’s seasonal mix compilation is a deeper beast than previous encounters, and all the better for it. Sven Väth kicks off with a great triple of Isolée, Lusine and The Mole, before Markus Fix steals the early show with his expansive piano. Then The Superior Inferior has an encounter with early house in ‘Echelon XIII’ before the mix’s coup de grace, the superb Soy Mustafa track ‘Bug In The Bassbin’, where a jazz-style breakdown threatens to take over before proper order is restored. It sounds nasty but is incredibly effective! The beginning of the second mix is quite muted, with the vocoder of Henrik Schwarz’s ‘Take Words In Return’, but soon enough Butch’s ‘Desert Storm’ has the place rocking, and BeatMakerZ’ ‘wAFF’ sees off all competition after that with some rumbling bass and bruising kick drum. Despite the regularity with which this compilation appears, it always seems to be moving alongside or a step ahead of the crowd. This is no exception.
4 out of 5
Reviewed By Ben Hogwood
