Various Artists ‘Renaissance Masters: Francois K’

RenaissanceMaster3282013

Various Artists / Renaissance Masters: Francois K

CD 

Renaissance / Released April 2013

 

Since the devaluing of recorded DJ mixes, a sad result of the podcast, labelling a release as the ‘best mix of the year so far’ doesn’t really carry the same weight it once did. As such we can only assure you that even if this latest addition to the Renaissance Masters Series had been released a decade ago, it would have still been a real highlight.

That’s thanks, at least in part, to the fact it really isn’t messing about. Then again, this is Francois Kevorkian, one of the most infamously enjoyable players of records to hear on the planet, meaning anything else would have been well below his par. The distinctly (and refreshingly) club-focused approach to the way both discs work is perhaps unsurprising then, although this doesn’t mean it’s anything short of impressive.

As if taking control of a dancefloor for the entire evening our captain (oh what a captain indeed) takes us from the pre-bar downtempo moods of Jazzanova’s I Human (as remixed by Mike Huckaby) through to a veritable breakneck techno symposium in which the likes of Gary Beck drop seamlessly into Alan Fitzpatrick, Adam Beyer and most notably Trevino’s excellent Forged. The latter being a low grumbling progressive driver if ever we could describe something as such- a world away from the opening brass and light percussive stepping beats.

Of course it’s hardly anything new to offer a journey by disc, or in this case discs, but what makes Mr. K’s latest outing in compilation format so appealing is the way in which it’s done. If there’s one art form that is becoming forgotten in a world of seamless movements between sub-genres and canons its how to make a set sound constantly engaging, perpetually varied, and yet completely logical and born entirely of the same musical world. Consider this a lesson in selecting the right track next, and making it start at precisely the right point- irrespective of whether all official mixes have god knows what studio gubbins assisting in the process.

 


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