As things warm up, and can't seem to get any hotter, one may be curious about a mysterious cool breeze that's suddenly, refreshingly flowing through the air. To many this may be a surprise, but to the Chillin Music label who -- by no coincidence -- are celebrating their ten year anniversary, it was something they knew all along when they took the temperature of the dance climate and declared: "let there be chill." They have the science of keeping it cool down pat and over their decade of releasing quality house music they've worked with some truly heavyweight artists. Until now, they hadn't re-released any tracks or put together a compilation, but on this special occasion they present their first collection -- 10 Years of Chillin Music. This new report, featuring some exclusive, unreleased tracks, looks to be just as equally refreshing to the dance community.
Among the highlights, label head Rob Slac gets the remix treatment from Birmingham's Chris James (OFF, Get Physical) of Purple Velvet and Coat of Arms fame. Chris goes to work on "Shake & Freak," applying his familiar signature sound with delayed and reverberating rim shots, claps, and metallic bells scattered about over deep, icey pads and a punchy, full bass line. Germany's Marc Faenger, a Minus family member, takes a dubby, minimal techno knife to Mass Digital's "2 Hearts 2 Souls" which he partitions off into sections of varying structure. Pezzner is a Seattle artist with a reputation that precedes him, known for taking listeners through figurative landscapes he's released on labels like Freerange and Crosstown Rebels. On his remix of "Trains Over Broadway" by Whiskey Disco owner Sleazy McQueen, Pezzner entertains listeners in a disco jungle with guitar strings plucked like vines by a canopy of chattering animals and the rumble of tightly skinned drums. Things get a bit more tech on tracks like Dirt Crew's smooth remix of "Again" by Pablo Boilvar and the bigger, harder efforts of Daypack Solo's remix of Sasse's "City Lights" and Ardalan's (Dirtybird) original production "The Sea."
Danny Howells - “Awesome package … classic Pezzner remix, too.”
Tensnake - “I like the Dirt Crew remix.”
Audiojack - “Nice remixes … Pezzner's is my pick!”
Tyree Cooper - “I'm feelin’ 'City Lights' it will most definitely work over here.”
Matthias Vogt (Motorcitysoul) - “I’m in love with Pezzner’s magic Native Language Rework.”
Da Funk - “The Pezzner and Dirt Crew remixes are the ones for me for me … very nice!”
Shur-i-kan - “It's all about Ardalan's 'The Sea'.”
Evan Iff (Large Music / Dirt Crew) - “Congrats on ten years … I have a quite a few Chillin tracks in my library. The Pezzner and Dirt Crew remixes are the ones for me here."
Alvaro Hylander (DeepWit Recordings / Balance Alliance) - “Congrats on ten years to the Chillin Music crew! This is lovely stuff as ever … I'll be playing some of these.”
Craig Stewart (Montana & Stewart / DCSTrax) - “Dirt Crew and Pezzner remix mixes are very, very tasty. Great work and congratulations on ten years … wow!”
Al Bradley (3am Recordings) - “Superb stuff right here. Each cut offers something brilliant for the dance floors, so it's tough to pick a favorite, but Dirt Crew turn in a sensationally deep vibe here. Wicked slow-ish grooves.”
Bruce Tantum (Lowlife) - “Tons of great cuts here, splitting the difference between deep 'n' spacey and pumpin' 'n' jacking! Really good stuff … I'm digging all of these tunes a lot.”
SimonG (Deep South Audio, New Zealand) - “Not dropping a beat … this comp just hums. Congrats on the ten years and the great work this label has brought to the table.”
Joshua Jacobs (Music You Need blog) - “Super deep and chilled out vibes that are great for end of the summer grooving.”
Myxzlplix (Subdivisions Global Radio Show) - “This is one stellar collection of deep house no one should miss. No fillers here, all tracks stand tall on their own. Chillin is a label to be reckoned with for sure.”
DJ Nova (Rodon FM, Greece) - “One of the best East Coast underground labels for years. It's really great to celebrate the ten year anniversary with Chillin Music and this compilation.”
Available now from Beatport.