Nolimit Posted July 11 Report Share Posted July 11 came across this review of zabiela's upcoming cd mix that will be released July 22nd Review courtesy of www.spaced.co.ukThe Groovetech phenomenon is a relatively recently one - they set up their online record store 6 years ago and have now developed into an significant presence in the dance music community. As well as selling mountains of vinyl from all genres, their interactive platform allows them to broadcast DJ sets from some of the biggest names in the business. So you can understand why they chose the rising talent of James Zabiela to represent their first foray into the world of the mix album. A relatively recent phenomenon himself, James was singled out by John Digweed and then Sasha as embodying the genre-defying technical proficiency that is beginning to mark out a new wave of DJing.Groovetech seem to have borrowed a fair proportion of their production values from the Global Underground series for their venture, which is fair enough really as few could claim to have a better track record in this department. Hence the beats and instrumentals are as flawlessly arranged as you'd expect from Groovetech's mentors, but that's where any comparison ends. James shuns the temptation to build the structure of this album around the progression of pounding rhythms, opting instead to ply his cunning trade of seamlessly gliding through breaks, prog, techno and dub to create a refreshingly different sound.Starting off with warm, dubby basslines he gradually introduces some expansive-sounding electro in the mid-range, all of which is perfectly balanced by breaky, snapping percussion. The first real climax of the album is when James drops the glorious Pretender and then scratches over the top of it with his usual aplomb; then it's off into funky, techy territory for a few tracks before stripping everything down with the help of Dan Goodall's Trippid to prepare the listener for the finale.And what a finale it is - a blinding piece of techno in the Thomas Schumacher remix of Route 27, and then you're treated to James' own re-working of Royksopp's Remind Me. And, just to give you an idea of what his studio skills are like, this last track was deemed by Wall of Sound as being worthy enough to merit a release as part of a double 12", with Tom Middleton supplying his version as the other half of the package.If you were going to force me to find fault with this album, then I'd tell you that Mr Zabiela's free-flowing structure doesn't quite suit such clinical production, and that perhaps they could have let him scratch a little more and use the computers a little less; but this is a minor gripe when you consider everything that he and Groovetech have achieved. With a stunning festival performance now under his belt, this is one DJ that we're going to hear a great deal more from yet, and Groovetech's potential appears to be similarly vast. Success has rarely seemed so deserved. go out and get your copy. it's all that and then some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeygk Posted July 11 Report Share Posted July 11 ME WANT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phrankadelic Posted July 11 Report Share Posted July 11 already reserved my vinyl copy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyg5 Posted July 11 Report Share Posted July 11 get'ng my copy on saturday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeacasta2 Posted July 11 Report Share Posted July 11 I haven't been a big JZ fan but I finally sampled GTD at groovetech. Let's just say I sampled every single track! I'll def be buying this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nolimit Posted July 12 Author Report Share Posted July 12 loli knew you would one of these days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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