Various Artists – Selador Sessions Vol 1 Mixed By Dave Seaman (Selador)

Dave Seaman decided to do something a bit different to create the Selador Sessions compilation, the first in a series. He went cap in hand to his audience, raising £32,000 through a Kickstarter campaign that made recording the CD possible. So far so good, but what ultimately makes this venture work is that Seaman has always been a DJ to put his audience first, which is probably how he managed to get the money.

As a result it is no surprise to report he delivers for his investors with room to spare, producing two mixes that are what you would expect from him, but still original and forward looking. The first mix gets a characteristically spacey start, but before long is heading for the magnificently moody Tube & Berger remix of Coyu & Edu Imbernon’s ‘Open Air’.

Gradually the music gathers more power, with Seaman & John ‘00’ Fleming’s ‘Pixelated’ and Paul Rutherford’s ‘Get Real’ darkly majestic, Seaman ensuring there is always a kick drum of some weight underpinning it all. The second mix has a breakdown that twinkles in Luke Fair’s ‘Long Road’, and Seaman scores heavily with the inclusion of two Scuba tracks, ‘Too Strong’ and ‘Hardbody’, that set us up for some harder jinks like the rolling bass of Jamie Jones feat Luca C’s’ ‘Tonight In Tokyo’ and the subtly powerful One Million Toys track ‘Ohara’. So the long and short of it is that if you put some money into this, you’re definitely getting value for it!

5 out of 5.

Reviewed by Ben Hogwood.