Cr2 have taken up the reins from Defected on the annual series of Café Mambo mix compilations, and their first foray into the world of chilled house and Balearica is a resounding success. Much of this is due to the tune selection and pacing of Alex Wolfenden, who mixes first a CD of down tempo sunshine music, then a quicker set of more driven material. The second set, designed as a pre-club mix, is marginally the better, with some nice flashes of cosmic disco, deep house and tougher beats as the mix reaches its climax, with the Uner mix of Dogman’s ‘The Void’ and Yousef’s take on Moby’s ‘Wait For Me’ especially good. For daytime listening CD1 offers blissful grooves from the studio of Smith & Mudd (‘My Hill’ being especially good), Prins Thomas (a remix of The Main Stem) and a real gem in the Tensnake version of Jake Island’s ‘What If You Wanted More’. Well worth a couple of hours of your time.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Ben Hogwood
