Thursday, October 14, 2010

Various Artists - The Instrumental Session (2010)

The Sonar Kollektiv label is an interesting one for us – the music we love at Meme Magazine has big funky grooves at one end of the spectrum and deep electronica at the other – Sonar Kollektiv sits right in the middle of this, bridging our diverse tastes. And this is no more obvious than when listening to the latest compilation from the boys from Berlin. Entitled ‘The Instrumental Session’, this is a collection of tracks showcasing the extensive talents of the label’s artists, from the jazzy vibe of DJ Ghe to the heavy bass lines of D’Stephanie, with all songs having a strong emphsis on those beats (in fact some tracks, such as ‘L.O.V.E. Beats’ is made purely from drum paterrns). Apart from the ‘instrumental’ theme (and two of the tracks do have vocals, so that’s not particularly true), this did, on first impressions, just seem to be ‘another label compilation’. Luckily for us all, the quality of the music is very high indeed – and it becomes almost a lesson for all in how to do instrumental music really well. Highlights for us include ‘D-D-D-Dance’ by Micatone and ‘Obviously’ by Stee Downes, but the important thing, as with any compilation, is that the whole thing hangs together, and this one certainly does. ‘The Instrumental Session’ is available now on Sonar Kollectiv.

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