Hatiras returns after his well received "Electronic Luv Volume 1" with the followup mix CD. Check out what's different in this mixCD.

Hatiras – Electronic Luv Too
2004 has been a busy year for Hatiras and it has been one that has brought much change. He closed down his Adrenaline label and created Blow Media. Electronic Luv Volume 1 was so successful that Hatiras just had to make another volume for his ever-growing fan base. If you don’t know who Hatiras is, you probably have been living in a cave for the last few years. His biggest claim to fame to date was his release in 2000 called “Spaced Invaders” and since then, he has toured the world and continued to release singles on 12”. In the last year, he released an album with Jaxon under the alias of Hatjak and as mentioned above, formed a new label called Blow Media. Hatiras has lofty goals for his new label and according to some, he is just getting started but time will tell, if he reaches those goals.

Hatiras – Electronic Luv Too (Blow Media/NueMethod)

01. Hatiras – Electronic Luv Too (Intro)
02. Hatiras – Sultan’s Tent
03. Hatjak – It Was (Hatiras’ Loose Screws Mix)
04. The Marlon Jacksons – Steal Your Bike (Konk West Remix)
05. Boza – Jack Da Ripper
5B. Hatiras Feat. Shanchoy – Shady Luv (Accapella)
06. Smooth & J – The Ride
6B. Smooth & J Feat. Alex Peace – B-Like Me (Accapella)
07. Hatiras Feat. Flipside – Hydrophonic Music
08. DJ’s Rule – Feel Love (Hatiras’ 2004 Remix)
09. Hatiras & Macka – Spanish Fly
10. Patrick Alavi – Zoulway (Ben Delay’s Sugarland Mix)
11. Antek – Impakt (Noise Mix)
12. Hatiras Feat. Tara – Money Shot (Hatiras’ Blowing Loads Remix)
13. Smooth & J – Get Naked
14. Hatjak – Excuse Me (Hatiras’ Rock On Remix)
15. 4N6 – Axegrinder
16. Boza – Feel For Me
17. Hatiras Feat. Shanchoy – Something Something

1. Hatiras – Electronic Luv Too (Intro)

The mix CD starts off this time with a longer intro than volume one. A robotic voice says “Hatiras Electronic Luv volume two”, which is backed by a weird riff. The intro moves into a more electro house direction and it is really different from the first CD. The intro gets tops marks near the very end because it employs something that I feel the music industry needs to use more of, which is tracks that employ swear words but I only like the ones that use it in a decent manner. You suddenly hear a vocoded “Ah shit” in the background and for the last minute; it is repeated many times, which is rather nice.

2. Hatiras – Sultan’s Tent

We now move from electro house to more Chicago influenced house, which Hatiras seems to be a big fan of and he seems to use a lot of those type of tracks in his deejay sets. This track relies more on the drums to move it along and it also makes good use of sound effects that hit you at times. “Sultan’s Tent” employs a weird vocal that repeats “chchchch” at times, the track is more of a bridge song that connects the introduction into the part where the mix really starts to pick up, which is song number three.

3. Hatjak – It Was (Hatiras’ Loose Screws Mix)

The original mix of this song was used with great reactions in volume one, Hatiras adds his own remix to it and I think he employs the old adage, which is if ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Hatjak goes right into verse one, which was the same as the original mix. I think that this mix is catchier than the original. The main electro line has more dirtiness and it gives you a grungier feel. The vocal is used less in this mix but it is not anything near a dub mix. This version is also more house oriented than the original mix from volume one. As the song nears completion, you really see the main difference between this version and the original are that this version is more house oriented and it has less bang at times. It is still enjoyable and it serves its purpose by building the mix.

4. The Marlon Jacksons – Steal Your Bike (Konk West Remix)

“Steal your bike” begins with a weird sample and it has a guy saying how much he hates this friend of his because his friend stole his girlfriend. The song is still more Chicago house oriented with a slight electro feel. The bass line is very solid and percussion driven. The vocalist goes on about how he wants to steal his friend’s bike for stealing his girlfriend. This song tends to show a side of Hatiras’s deejay sets that most have not recognized - he likes house tunes that are not complex but he likes crazy vocals, usually with swear words or ones talking about crazy things that happen.

5.Boza – Jack Da Ripper
5B. Hatiras Feat. Shanchoy – Shady Luv (Accapella)

In track number five, Hatiras uses a electro oriented song with a slight house feeling at times with one of the most unique accapellas that I’ve heard in recent memory. At the start, you hear what is supposed to be Hatiras’ answering machine. Yes, a lot of answering machine message vocals have been used in tracks in the last few years, a few were real messages but this one is obviously made up. You hear that Hatiras has four new messages on his answering machine. The vocalist is Shanchoy, who is another new face from the Hatiras camp. She talks about how she saw Hatiras kissing another girl and as she talks, you get the sense that she is Hatiras’s girlfriend. The girl goes on to say that she burned all his records, all his boxers and briefs and she burned his car and for the last message, she talks about how she got it on with Hatiras’s best friend in the kitchen, the bathroom, the living room and of course the bedroom. The bass line is heavy at times, you are not paying attention to the backing track, and you are more interested in the accapella, which is used well here. Let this be a lesson to us all, jilted girlfriends suck and who said music could not teach you valuable life lessons.

6. Smooth & J – The Ride
6B. Smooth & J Feat. Alex Peace – B-Like Me (Accapella)

Hatiras follows up one accapella song with another. The last time I saw Alex Peace on an album, it was Hatiras’s Electronic Luv Volume 1 and that was the best track on the mix CD, which was a nasty tech house stormer. This continues the fun loving house theme that the album has been on since track three. We start with a typical Chicago house sound; the bass line gives you that Chicago house feel. The backing track is relatively simple in sound, really with just a little more bang at times. The accapella talks about B-like me, and the vocalist used here talks about being a player at times, it’s still fun to listen to, though sadly not as much fun as song five’s accapella.

7. Hatiras Feat. Flipside – Hydrophonic Music

Hatiras brings in the voice of MC Flipside, who was on Toronto Radio for a number of years and who is also well known as a jungle MC in the Toronto club scene. The song hear is very, very similar to song six, the only difference being the bass line is slightly different but you wonder have I left song six ?. MC Flipside’s voice says “Yo Hatiras, give another hit of hydrophonic ish” and then the song goes into sound effects and then a stronger bass line comes back in. For those who know MC Flipside, you find the song ironic because you know music is not the only hit that Flipside wants to get a piece of. Near the end of the track, hydrophonic is continuously repeated and then all of the sudden, Hatiras flips the fader, with no mixing and we move into song number eight.

8. DJ’s Rule – Feel Love (Hatiras’ 2004 Remix)

We move into a remix of a popular Canadian house song that is played often on commercial radio stations. I was never a fan of the original and I’m not a fan of this remix either. The original was vocal driven, the voice was good but the riffs were just too cheesy for my liking. The only difference here is that this remix has an electro addition and there is a better breakdown. The vocal has the first verse, the vocal is good but the song is still so much similar to the original mix. The breakdown is much more sudden and much more well thought out but I’m not sure why this track was chosen but the mix is done by Hatiras, not Andy P. The song ends as Hatiras fades out one track and brings in the other one, no mixing involved here.

9. Hatiras & Macka – Spanish Fly

Now Hatiras ditches electro house and Chicago house for Latin House. You immediately hear that Spanish guitar riff and you get that Latin themed flavor. Whistles come in from the background; it reminds you of Da Hool’s ‘Meet You At The Love Parade’ at this point. The best part about this track is obviously the vocal, which gives you a sexual feel and it sounds so exotic. The lyrics probably add fuel to the fire, the vocal says “Oh yeah, touch you”, the only problem is the song does drag on but it does provide some variety in the music here. Near the end, the song suddenly changes gears, you realize it is a bit of mixing, not really a sudden track change. The track at the very end gains a grungier feel; the tell tale sign is the percussion change, which is obvious.

10. Patrick Alavi – Zoulway (Ben Delay’s Sugarland Mix)

The percussion really drives this track and it just screams Chicago house at you. The bass line is banging at times and I like it. The only part of the track that ticks you off is a voice comes in saying “Hatiras in the mix volume 2”, I’ve never heard anything like this on a commercial CD release. I think we know it is Hatiras mixing the CD, that’s blatantly obvious. The song does not do much except repeat “Superstar” but the bass line helps it chug along but not the greatest of tracks but not to shabby either.

11. Antek – Impakt (Noise Mix)

The song is not mixed in here; Hatiras just pulls a fader job and switches tunes. Some won’t mind it but I rather have the deejay mix a track in, unless they are using cut and paste. The vocal here just repeats one word “Superstar” and it reminds me of Wildchild’s “Renegade Master” from 1996. The track also makes great use of these almost eerie sound effects but they don’t take over, the beat just drives it here. The sound effects near the end gain this dirty feel. Hatiras then mixes out Impakt and we go into Money Shot.

12. Hatiras Feat. Tara – Money Shot (Hatiras’ Blowing Loads Remix)

The first thing that comes apparent is that while Hatiras loves to have fun, he loves to use sexual connotations at every decent opportunity. The vocalist sings all about how she is getting hot by looking at everyone. The sound effects here are the same ones as the ones that were used in song eleven. The vocal drives this song but you go along because you want to know what the vocalist will say next and with a remix name of Blowing Loads remix, you certainly have had your interest picked.

13. Smooth & J – Get Naked

The mix continues into the sexual connotation mode and for most people, having sex is having fun, so it fits in with Hatiras’ mentality. The vocal starts talking about being on the floor naked, which should immediately hook most of you. We have not changed from the Chicago house mould yet; this is fun loving music, which is driven by a simple bass line. The only other vocal that you hear is when the vocalist repeats “Lover” near the middle of the song.

14. Hatjak – Excuse Me (Hatiras’ Rock On Remix)

I’m not sure what the original song sounded like but I’ll hazard a guess that it was Rock song. It seems that everyone is redoing rock songs these days, after Adam Freeland redid “Smells like Teen Spirit” and “Seven Nation Army” and from James Lavelle’s rock influenced GU026. It is hard to tell where Hatiras got the idea from but musicians tend to borrow similar ideas from one another at times, nothing wrong with that. It begins with a guitar line, almost rock heavy in terms of the riffs and you think “oh no, not another James Lavelle style remix” but then the similarities end. A house bass line come in and you realize that the track is rock influenced but still house for the most part. Jaxon, who appeared in the Electronic Luv 1, sings the vocal but you can’t tell it is him because he sings this much more differently than his previous songs on Hatiras’s mix CDs. His vocal is well done, the heavy guitar riff backs up the vocal and the house bass line completes the trio. It is certainly a new direction for a house mix CD and full marks to Hatiras for taking risks.

15. 4N6 – Axegrinder

A wailing guitar beings this track, it seems that Hatiras wanted to continue the rock elements in the tracks. The rock elements do fade out, as you move into the track and the house influence takes over. There is not much to describe here besides the house influence and wailing guitar riffs.

16. Boza – Feel For Me

This song is just plain weird at times; guitar driven house is what you should call it. A subtle riff drives it but the guitar parts are really weird at times. You get the 1980’s feel with the rock riffs here but that’s the only thing that is common with anything else here.

17. Hatiras Feat. Shanchoy – Something Something

Hatiras ends the mix with a vocal driven house song that he created. The song is well crafted but his overkill of using his own tracks is wearing thin.

Conclusion:
Hatiras has a lot in common with James Lavelle. Hatiras did an amazing first mix CD, just like GU023 with Lavelle but just like GU026, Hatiras fell into the same trap. Ten of the songs here are Hatiras remixes or Hatiras tracks, add Boza and Smooth J’s tracks, you don’t have much variety here. The same thing happened to Lavelle, who with GU026, used Meat Katie and his own remixes or tracks. The CD is not bad, it is fun loving house but I think that artists using too many of their tracks on albums is a bad thing. If you like fun loving house then pick this album up, if not, head for his first electronic luv album, it is much more solid.

Available at HMV in Canada for $13.99