V/A – Ame…Mixing / 2007 Sonar Kollectiv / 15 Tracks / http://www.sonarkollectiv.com / Reviewed 24 February 2007

The disc starts out with Laurie Spiegel’s “Appalachian Grove 1”, a track that gradually gets louder as more intense as the song rolls on. The first half of the track is much more ambient than the rest of the track, which seems to be constructed much in the way of a backing beat for a dance track. In true mix fashion, Laurie Spiegel feeds into New Musik’s “24 Hours From Culture – Part II”, allowing individuals no break with this electronic cum dance mix. New Musik’s track on this disc sounds to be influenced much more by the eighties than Laurie Spiegel’s, but does not have a dated feel like so many of those other tracks that attempt to do the same thing.

The track sputters a little bit towards the middle/end, but the momentum that was accumulated earlier has not completely dissipated. Double’s “Woman of the World” is influenced by the oldest set of acts of any track on the disc, having a sixties feel threaded alongside the eighties sound that influenced New Musik’s track. What results is something that recharges the disc’s batteries; the album is back on stronger foundations by the end of this track and the beginning of the Nexus track. Throwing in the horn allows for the track (and by extension) the rest of the disc to take a different tack. The disc needs all the energy it could conceivably muster, for the Coldcut featuring Robert Owens track fills over nine minutes of this album’s runtime. If the disc is not ingrained itself well into the skin, minds, and hearts of listeners, the listenership could scurry like rats if the track is weak in the least.

“Walk A Mile in My Shoes” (the aforementioned Coldcut / Owens track) starts strong enough with a tremendous amount of energy and a clap track to get individuals re-focused with the track, but the future remains uncertain for this disc at this early point. The fact that this is the first track with a strong vocal presence makes the 9 minutes of this song go by much faster than if this track was purely instrumental. “Ame…Mixing” is a disc that allows for a story to be told throughout all 76 minutes of the disc, and this means that individuals will have much to listen to and get behind. A high repeat value, as well.

Top Tracks: Coldcut / Owens “Walk A Mile in My Shoes”, Jonny L / “This Time”

Rating: 7.3/10

[JMcQ]