Danny Tenaglia's latest offering is a rarely seen compilation album from one of the biggest trance, house, techno legends in the current industry over 2 CDs to commemorate the 10 years which Back to Basics has been running and the superb nights which come with it.

With a CV so long and impressive that you just would not know where to start and who to compare to, Danny Tengalia is a man who has been at the forefront of club culture since god knows how long.
This compilation is one which brings together 2 CDs and 24 tracks of the finest across the genres which we broadly classify as trance, house and techno.

This CD represents 10 years at Dave Beer's "Back To Basics" night which began at the now legendary Music Factory of Leeds in the UK. A club night which many clubbers from the early-mid 90s clubbing phenomena would remember, and this commemorates just that.

With a tracklist containing tracks such as Fused - Terror, Cevin Fisher - Work It Out, and Breeder's "Carnival XIII, theres something for everyone.

Tracklist:

CD1.

1. Moon Knights - Midnight Lady (Deep Rose Mix)
2. Dubtribe Sound System - Do It Now
3. BRS - Catch the Boat (Fthing Loft Interpretation)
4. Black Powder - Mosaferat
5. Narcotic Thrust feat Yvonne Lewis - Safe From Harm (Andy Morris & Stuart Crichton Mix)
6. David James - (Always) A Permanent State
7. Cevin Fisher - Work It Out (C.F's Original NYC Mix)
8. Corrina Joseph - Live Your Life With Me
9. Blaze pres. James Toney Jr. Project - Afro Groove / Afro Moog
10. Christian Morgenstern - Aux Talk Funkativity
11. Contact - Contact (16B Mix) / Celeda - Be Yourself (And Noone Else) (Acapella)
12. Superchumbo feat. Victoria Wilson-James - The Revolution

CD2

1. Quicksound feat. Isabelle Rajotte - Stop Foolin Around
2. Breeder - Carnival XIII (Agro Mix)
3. The Kings of Tribal - Situation
4. Stefano Greppi - Freedom Is (DJ Vibe Mix)
5. Soul Mekanik - I'll Call You (Thin Red Man Mix)
6. Sapphirecut - Free Your Mind
7. Cass & Slide + Danny Tenaglia - Fever Rising (Ben Shaw Mix)
8. Sharpside - Belgian Resistance
9. Dream Sequence feat Blake Baxter - Work That Body (Dat Body Mix)
10. Graylock - C.T.M. (Steve Rachmad Longcut)
11. The Hacker - Just Play (Jamie Anderson Mix)
12. Fused - Terror

Haven't heard most of the songs? Well, you ought to check this CD out.

Starting with the first CD, one would not expect a very laid back 80s esque house track with vocal which would fit into the likes of Sunday groove track or perhaps a night which started off with Erick Morillo on the decks. A very chilled affair and a great atmospheric start, and one which gets me into the groove. The first mix, is one of flawless fluidity which I would often attribute to D.T. or any of the true masters of the turntables.

Bringing in Dubtribe keeps the jazzy like housey affair going with the Pet Shop Boy's like vocals keeping it subliminal and bubbly, which slowly moulds into the more funkier Fred Everything Mix of "Catch the Boat", building up the appetite for more dubbier and funkier grooves which are sure to appear. With a vocalist similar to one from Aim's "Cold Water Music", this is filled with electronic buzzes and whirrs and builds up from the housey grooves which were laid down from tracks 1 and 2.

Tribal, is the word which fits the NY Danny Tenaglia style, and Black Powder's "Mosaferat" as well as "Safe From Harm" from Narcotic Thrust" (nope, not from Massive Attack) does just that on Danny's next 2 tracks. Coming out on Brother Brown records and Universal Music respectively, with the Brother Brown label that brought you the latest track from Miro, under their "Orange" guise, these 2 tracks is deeper and clubbier, and one would imagine the dance floors beginning to move in unison at this time, with those feet moving with the beats.

A Permanent State needs no introduction. From one of the biggest labels at the moment, Hooj Choons, the use of the vocal "Are You Having Fun" always creates a reaction from the crowd, no matter where its played. Bringing in a very dubby and electronic feel to the groove, seemingly teasing the crowd into a frenzy. Following up next is Cevin Fisher's "Work it Out", probably my favourite track on this first disc, and to me, this is the turning point of the first disc, as soon as it mixes out from David James' last track, into a very Renaissance like affair (in the likes of Dave Seaman and Sasha / Digweed 95-esque), definitely one of the highlights of the disc.

Basement Jaxx, the 2 guys who has been known for putting in the grooves for Ibiza last year with their numerous dance smashes, comes back with this "Live Your Life With Me" under their Corrina Joseph guise, and brings in a vocal house track which was very big when it came out originally in 1997. Skipping the next 2 tracks which are similar to the ones on the first half of the CD, we reach a special track here. A bind between the 16B Remix of "Contact - Contact" and Danny Tenaglia's own production of "Be Yourself" under his guise Celeda, with vocalist Victoria Sharpe. Danny has fused the acapella into Contact's Contact, with superb quality, and I have never heard such a great combination on a compilation before. Definitely another highlight.

The CD finishes off with Tom Stephan's production under his Superchumbo guise titled "The Revolution", a very mysterious affair of dark stabs and grooves which has never been played before and the first time it has appeared anywhere with this special remix from Tom. Very nice way to finish the CD off with quality tribal like drums and those vocals from Victoria Wilson-James building the dance floor into a fiery.

We move over to disc 2, we start off with some African tribal chants and deep snare fills and drum stabs which make a change from the first disc and definitely moves the pace up from the housey disco grooves to a more progressive vibe. Breeder, who have been renowned for their superb productions over the past, with Simon Noble and Rowan Blades on the production, have put out tracks which have been picked up by Sasha, Digweed, Dave Seaman, Anthony Pappa, and now Danny Tengalia. This track was done in 2001 and is a very haunting progressive tumbler, which has an eerie monster like cry throughout parts of the track... Something out of a horror movie?

Robbie Rivera puts out a drum laiden production which does not fail! The first time I heard this, I just thought "wow, definitey a mover". Very simple, and not many elements to it, but it works on the dance floors with its very tribal drums and percussions. Peak time stuff!

Tribal and progressive seems to be the words of the second disc and the next 2 tracks keep it dark, and chunky, just how D.T. does it in his acclaimed nights, with a melodic affair coming on track 6, with "Free Your Mind" being one of the more melody laiden tracks of this disc, and one of my favourites. Tribal Melodies, can't beat that in my books, especially with a this perfect build to it. It would go down superbly in any set, from house to trance to techno, and I could even see someone like Tiesto or Armin van Buuren picking this up as a starter track.. Beautiful stuff

Cass, Slide + Danny Tenaglia's first collaboration is one which came out on Fire Recordings last year, titled "Fever Rising", and this Ben Shaw mix in my opinion is the strongest mix out of all, and definitely fits in well into this compilation and acts as a good point of conversion as the pace is quickened yet again as we reach the massive "Belgian Resistance" with its electronic vibes and grooves. Some might consider this as techno, others would consider it as tribal house. But whatever it is, it is a very dark and funky track which woud definitely cause a stir on most dance floors. A very good track for a transition from house - trance in my opinion.

As we move to the final moments of the Danny Tenaglia journey, the techno grooves increase and swivvel the listener around a bit with the productions from Dream Sequence (which is actually on Germany's premier techno label and club, Tresor), and then to Graylock and ending the techno vibes with The Hacker's "Just Play". Jamie Anderson brings in the remix of this peak time DT track adding a bit of a house vibe to it whilst keeping the bass line tumbling and grinding. Personally not a track I'd buy as a single, but I can definitely imagine it working well on the dance floor with its chimes, tingles and rumbles.

Fused - Terror, is the end of the Danny Tengalia journey, and is a truly truly awesome track from 2000. "Anybody Out There"? is what a woman says at the beginning, in a piano laiden introduction which starts off slow and seems to give a "pause in time" feel with its chimes, then about 1 and a half minutes into the mix, the drums build up speed, and roll into a male choir chant which would get the arms in the air, before progressing into a very Daft Punk-esque bassline with its swirling chimes in the background. Anyone who plays this will get a reaction from the crowd guaranteed and is definitely a groovy track to fit into a peak time set or finish a journey as this one has. Thats not all, a truly sensational piano and vocal line comes through putting in what I would consider the best track to finish the CD off, and what a track it is!

The CD as a whole is very Danny Tenaglia, and shows that he has kept his own distinct style through the time of change and trends. Personally, I would recommend this to all progressive heads amongst you, with a variety of progressive and tribal grooves to get the clubber moving in all sorts of directions.

Danny Tenaglia has been at the forefront, and has pioneered much of the tribal and progressive grooves we hear today, and I would highly recommend this CD for any of his fans, as well as those who have never heard his sound before. Although I am not a definitive progressive head, this CD appeals to me greatly with its diverse track selection and beautiful grooves.

Drums, Progression, Melody, Tribalism, combined with the superb mixing from Danny Tengalia is what gives this album a recommended thumbs up from me.

Released on React Music in the UK already and a release on May 7th stateside on System Recordings.

Available in all good music stores.

http://www.react-music.co.uk
http://www.systemrecordings.com/

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