This is an unmixed collection of recent-ish releases from Chicago house label Large Music, covering a wide range of deep, dubby house sounds. It’s all the kind of stuff that you can have playing in the background and kind of nod your head to, and use the word “nice” to describe. If a DJ played the tracks while you were drinking in a bar, you’d most likely enjoy your night and, after an hour or so of not really listening, go “this guy’s playing some really nice stuff, isn’t he?”

But it’s a lot more than just “nice” music when you give it a proper listen – this is all immaculately produced, wonderfully laid-back, smoothly grooving funk with more class in the hole in the middle of the CD than most other house compilations have put together.

Peter Hecher’s ‘Funkdafied’ kicks the disc off as it means to go on, with a funking electro bassline soon being joined by smooth lounge keys and a rolling, stabbing techy beat. Like the rest of the tracks on the compilation, it finds its groove early on and settles down into it for a smiling, stoned, toe-tapping six minutes. No need to shout, no need to drop a huge snare roll in the middle to get people’s attention… just groove away, maaaaaan…

Roy Davis Jr’s ‘Soul Music’ does deep-yet-uplifting melodic, vocal house with a real touch of class, Peter Hecher’s ‘Respect 2 Giogio’ is unsurprisingly a cruising, anthemic synth tribute to Mr Moroder, and Pete Moss’s wonderful ‘Deep Desires’ sucks you right into a single chord for the entire track using a farting bassline and looping dubby sounds.’Nu-Bionics’ by Natural Rhythm finishes the comp off with a chirpy slice of filtered beats and rasping, jazzy trumpet flourishes. Class all the way.

As I said before, you can put the CD on and bob away without really listening – you’ll only notice it when it finishes and you realise that you’ve been in an unnaturally good mood for the last hour. Listen to it like this over and over again and each time you’ll sink deeper and deeper into its lush production and infectiously laid-back groove.

Best word to describe it? “Niiiiice.”