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REVIEW: 'Southport Weekender Volume 10'
Thursday 23rd May 2013 | Alex
‘Southport Weekender Volume 10’ is a compilation disc that (I’m told) reflects the tone and talent of the festival. If they’re right then it’s probably a cool festival – one that’s contemplative and multifarious at its best, but that’s trivial at its worst.
The mix serves as promotion. Miguel Migs takes care of disc one – a producer from the US, he’s played Southport before and contributes a funky assortment of deep house, and Atjazz supplies a jazzy second collection. There’s some exclusive stuff thrown in: an unheard remix of Tortured Soul pops up, and they rework some stuff from The Muthafunkas.
CD 1 is really fucking refined – it’s a really polished assemblage. Funk effortlessly becomes disco through blends that are absolutely smooth: cross-genre features are isolated and continued before the new stuff is brought back over the top. Sudden, profligate samples are made to work – stabby vocal excerpts can end up sounding artificial and completely separate from the music, but not here.
CD 2 isn’t as good. The disco on there is a standout, though. Atjazz gives it some real attitude – a slick obtrusiveness that’s as in-your-face as it should be. And track 13’s a good’un – it’s breezy and contemplative with direction enough to be captivating.
There are problems, though. It’s psychedelic, I get that, but Migs’ fifth track is just uncomfortable and dizzying - imitate the surreal ecstasy, not the brutal comedown. And yeah, he hits a lot of genres – boogie, nu disco, soul, but it’s all a bit feeble – a quantity over quality type thing. If he wants variation he should ditch the occasional harsh synth and instead explore the outer-reaches of the genres he claims to incorporate.
Both DJs are talented and Atjazz certainly cherishes house music – I’m sure he knows the history inside out. Having said that, I’m not sure what the second mix is for. It never quite gets going. Jazz can get away with slipping into bottomless triviality now and again; this guy can’t.
It's out July 1st. Have a listen to a track from Miguel Migs' 'Outside the Skyline' here -
Written by Alex Dean - @AlexDean94
