The vibes of summer appear yet again with this pre-summer fest from Transient Records titled Mashed Mellow Grooves, containing new material from James Holden, Cass & Slide and many more, bringing in the finest talent and diverse sounds for this double CD.

Mashed Mellow Grooves is set to be one of the highlights of Summer 2002, with its lush beats and diverse atmospheric grooves.

One of the most anticipated CD compilations of this summer is one from Transient Records, the label which, usually associated with the more psychedelic side of trance, has brought some of the finest artists together in this superb compilation.

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

1. Wai Wan feat. Loretta Heywood - Feelin Me Feelin You
2. Soup - Shade *
3. DDW - One Bridge Too Far *
4. Arnica Montana - Coast 2 Coast *
5. London Sewer Tour - Bognor Dub *
6. Elysium Cray - Futaba *
7. Private Taste - First (Ashtrax Ambient Mix)
8. Cass & Slide - Valium Behaviour
9. Healer - Daylight *

Disc 2:

1. Supertonic - Shimmer
2. Quaid - Far Syded
3. Twelve Moons - Zero Gravity (Vocoder Mix) *
4. Jedi Knights - Solina
5. Graham Camp - What Is It (Mellow Dub) *
6. James Holden - Nothing (Dub Mix) *
7. Koker Boom - Noisette Moment *
8. Ulrich Schnauss - You Were the Only One Around

* : Previously unreleased tracks


Starting with the sultry Wai Wan track, the housey and jazzy vibes eases you into the album. Bringing in the superb vocal talents of Loretta Heywood, known for her appearance on Bomb the Bass - Winter in July, which came out a little while ago. The funky bassline which comes with this track reminds you of some of the older more housier tracks the world has seen, but definitely something different to much of what we are accustomed to. Jazz, drums, guitars, vocals give this track a wonderful summer feel, which would be perfect for those afterhour sessions.

Moving forward to our first unreleased track from "Soup", a relatively unheard of act, this track keeps the vibe from the opening Wai Wan track and adds a bit of darkness and sublimeness to it. How I would classify this? Although not strictly in my ballpark, this is a nice chunky jazzy funk laiden instrumental track, putting forward a superb production and is a wicked track to open or end a set with, teasing the crowd into a full lick.

More unreleased material on the way from DDW and Arnica Montana, the next 2 tracks in the progression of the more flavoury disc 1. DDW's "One Bridge too Far" keeps to the rhythm of the mood set from the previous 2 tracks, but adds a bit of different flavour into the tracklist and teases the listener into thinking "there really is something to look forward to in the CD" and the simplicity of the track is gruesome puts this track nicely into its place on the CD. This brings onto a change, to a track which definitely suits the CD title, aptly named "Coast to Coast". Balaeric guitars and chords is what comes to mind from listening to this superb track, arguable one of the best on this Disc, and the congas which come into play just past the one minute mark give the track a very mediteranean feel already.

I think the theme for the first half of this disc is guitars, jazz melodies and funked up basslines, and the next track from an interestingly named "London Sewer Tour" sums it all up in a nice dubby episode of simplicity.

Elsyium Cray's Futaba is yet another previously unreleased track and is an interesting addition to this compilation as it is the only 4/4 track, which has a subliminal JDS kind of touch to it which suplements the superb synth which drives you in and out of a trance before locking a crowd in. Probably one of the not-so-chilled tracks of the CD, it is none worse than any of the others, bringing in distinctly interesting elements to the CD whilst keeping the summer funky groove to it which is perfect for a teaser in a set or on the home speakers.

I'm sure the next track is one which many of you have heard of before. Having come out Automatic Records last year with a bunch of remixes, notably the superb Max Graham Mix, and this one from Ashley Casselle under his Ashtrax guise, putting in one of my favourites on the entire compilation. This beautiful Ashtrax Ambient Mix has that melody which will pull you to the beaches even if you live in the Arctic, with its smooth mellow synths and stabs of bass. Having the foundation of a full on trance track, this Ambient Mix is by far the best mix of this tune!

To say that Pete Martin & Cass Cutbush are the forefront of electronic progressive music would be an understatement. With their latest releases on Fire Recordings and others, including their recent album, they have been busy in the studio with this track titled "Valium Behaviour". Deep, dark, creepy and haunting, just the way that they like it, but at the same time, not the usual Cass & Slide production you may be accustomed to. Dancefloor stuff? Maybe, but definitely a top nothc production to put in the penultimate track in this grand finale on the first disc, which leads onto Healer's "Daylight", yet ANOTHER unreleased track which is an interesting ending to an already strong finish. Melancholy, minor bass lines, and some synths + strings make this track one I would descibe as "interesting". Perhaps I would have put this earlier in the CD and ended with Cass & Slide's beautiful stormer, but nonetheless, Daylight is a superb finish to the first disc, which shows the diversity the summer will be bringing to your ears, and speakers around the world....

But if you thought that was the end, think again..

Disc 2 brings in a somewhat greater surprise to the first disc and is something for those looking for that extra "whoomph".

Starting with the electronically driven "Shimmer" from Supertonic, the atmospheric feeling this track gives this CD the start that it deserves and is definitely one of the top tracks of the CD, and is an excellent formality to the next, eclectically breakbeaty track from Quaid titled "Far Syded". Laid back, and a distant chilled breakbeat affair, the diversity seen in disc one is still apparant and these 2 tracks seem to carry on where the first disc left off, but still keeping it sublime and robust.

Twelve Moons is the next production guise, who bring in a superbly experimental track, traversing across breakbeat, progressive and electro genres, and even a somewhat drum and bass feel. This is a fiercesome track which reminds you that there is still some kick floating around the global dance music industry and that the summer is not all about laid back ambience. Some may hate it, but others will love it...

Tom Middleton, a name which we have grown accustomed to within the progressive and house genres, particularly his work under Cosmos, is here under his Jedi Knights guise alongside fellow producer Mark Pritchard. Solina is a classic from Tom and Mark, and contains all the elements of a superb house laiden electronic style track with its touches of snare drums and bass kicks, as well as almost classical style melodies, making this one of the highlights of the CD and the compilation. Summery feel, added with funky beats put this as one of the top here.

Graham Camp, some may know from his Automatic Record releases such as Solid Union and Stabilizer, which were very dark hypnotic progressive rockers aimed at the dance floor. Here he pushes his other half forward into a more melodic and uplifting percussive track, added with a trip-hop ike vocal line. Although this is the Mellow Dub, I am sure you can imagine how the original would have sounded like.. deep dark chunky and eerie.. perfect for those late nights grooves. I think the past several tracks highlight the somewhat deeper and darker side of the 'chillout summer' theme, and as we move on, my favourite track of the CD comes forward from none other than James Holden..

This track, titled "Nothing" is of pure class and of the highest quality. Different to his past productions, this Dub Mix is one which will remind you of classic Sasha style ambience, with deep rolling bass and a touch of vocals, haunting your speakers for a lifetime. To say that this is the best track of this CD would be an understatement and I highly recommend you have a listen to this as it is definitely one of his best, just stunning..

And as we near the inevitable end of our journey, the chilled finale is haunting, with the final 2 tracks from Koker Boom and Ulrich Schnauss, both producers which I have not seen any material from in the past, but these 2 tracks respectively highlight their style and quality of productions.

From the reggae tinged Noisette Moment which brings you to a part of mellow which I am sure many have not experience before, to the classically almost ambient "You Were the Only One Around", the ending 2 tracks puts in a raw finish, where James Holden left off with his masterpiece.

Summer is coming? I think so, and this CD highlights the different perspectives from which the summer brings. Unlike many boring ambient chillout CDs, this one keeps the 'chilled' mood, whilst bringing in elements and visions we have rarely witnessed from a CD, and is one of the tips for containing some of the hottest tracks of the next 6 months.

9/10 from me!

Conclusion: