(Global Underground/Shock)

Mr Lee Burridge has been around for a long time. Since the days of the original Tyrant Soundsystem, with Sasha and long-time partner in crime Craig Richards, Lee has filtered to the forefront of quality tech-house and quirky eclectic beats. After mixing up a storm with Nubreed 005, Burridge is back with another offering for GlobalUnderground – entitled 24:7.

Like Danny Howells first in the new series, 24:7 shows off distinct Day and Night styles over 2 CDs, and the mixing and track selection oozes with class that only Burridge can provide. Kicking the Day disc off is the beautiful Logic Box – Liquid; which starts with wavy chords and vocals, then all of a sudden a funked-up bassline drops in that would make the smallest of ears prick-up. This is what Burridge is all about, music that makes people take notice. Tough echo-filled bass comes with Miguel Plascencia – Work It, and then eccentric riffs provide the backdrop with Rhythm Plate – Rush On Me. The first three tracks are all so different, yet go so well together – even with the fact that they all have hugely diverse vocal samples. Gold.

Tasty breakbeats creep in with Morrison – Nothing Serious, then the electro-tech chords of Justus Konhcke – 2 After 909 all help make this first CD ridiculously spectacular. Oh wait, we aren’t even half way through and I am already wetting my pants. Breaks continue through the middle of the mix, all so damn well mixed, but they have this kind of natural mixed sound to it that makes it seem nothing like a ProTools job. The minimal tech of JT Donaldson – Make You High/Make You Higher go seamlessly into the familiar squelches of Steve Bug – That Kid, and by this time I have fallen off the chair in dazes of excitement.

Crazy tripped-out sounds are all the way through Philemon – Phil’s Science, and continue into the suitably titled Music For Freaks And Their Friends – We Dig You Acid. Ending things is the rare Rabbit In The Moon – Deeper, which was released with 1000 transparent purple vinyl pressings. It is definitely deep, and concludes the first CD in epic style. The Day disc goes down as nothing less than one of the best all-round mixes I have ever heard.

The Night disc begins with the dark and brooding chords of Terry Francis’ Dirtfrog Dub of Sarah Jane Morris – Ever Gonna Make It, and its seems the night is set to be a distinctly sinister sound. All of a sudden things are made funky with tracks like Roch Dadier – La Pierre Polie, and yes that is the one letting us ‘experience a brand new vibe.’ Electro sounds come in smoothly with Fyta & Ray Willbern – Shake It!, and funky filter grooves kick in with Taka Boom – Groove Me (the Koolkingmuthafuckindjonionzmix to be exact). Vocals are in full force with the slightly batty I-Wolf – Be My Light, and although the tracks are excellent so far it is just a little bit too much all over the place.

Jeff Bennett takes it deep with Swapping, and things go ridiculously druggy with Ricardo Villalobos – What You Say Is More Than I Can Say; fat squelches, psycho percussion patterns, haunting chords, and echo-filters are make this crazy early-morning mind-bending material. Nectar – Mercurial Drums keeps the eccentric theme going, with some acid squelches, and the mixing is superb throughout. The excellent talents of Steve Porter and Eli Wilkie are show off under the Agent 001 guise with Daniel Wiggy, which goes tightly into the tribal rhythms of Simon Garcia & Karim Shaker – Central Park.

Epic chords are the dominate feature of Mateo Murphy – Spectrum, and it sounds very much like an ending track – until Lee decides to drop one more bomb into the mix. Electro synths, warped vocoder and old-skool 80’s snares kick in with the Alter Ego Remix of Spektrum – Freak Box. A brilliant conclusion, as it is unusual and guarantees a cheeky smile.

Mix CDs just don’t get much better than this, for me at least. The day disc represents a stunning array of music that would not normally go so well together, but shines with Burridge magic. The night disc is solid with a great tracklisting, but it doesn’t click quite as much – though if it was just the night CD I would be raving about it. Lee Burridge 24:7 showcases a man with a wonderful ear for music, a true passion, and skills to die for. To music fans who often feel GlobalUnderground is all about brooding progressive, please check this out as you will be pleasantly surprised. This definitely goes down as one of my favourite CDs of all time.

Out Now. 10/10.