(Ministry of Sound/EMI)

Firing with a loud bang, this iconic gang of Sydney DJs provide a feast of tech, electro and mashed up madness that explores not only commercial territory, but takes a stroll to the unheard dark side. 

This is the second instalment in the Ministry Of Sound ‘Mashed’ series; the first wicked compilation mixed by Ajax and the Wok DJs being hailed as only a mild success. Some would argue that the 2003 album was too early for its time. Now, with electro-house trend sky-rocketing who else could do a better job than the Bang Gang DJs? The Bang Gang DJs comprises Ajax, Gus Da Hoodrat, Jaime Doom, Dangerous Dan and Damage. Their Sydney clubnight is famous for it’s blend of pop, house and electro all sampled, twisted and bent (often by accident) to the crowds adoring delight. With good music comes a good reputation, which leads to Australian tours. The two disc album covers much ground. The first CD explores commercial ground, while to second CD is a little more underground, but still very to digest and largely enjoyable.

Crammed with the latest sleazy, trashy and highly-danceable pseudo-electro hits the first CD doesn’t waste any time delving into the depths of heavy vocodered madness. Instantly you feel like it’s 3a.m on Saturday morning at Club 77 on William Street in Sydney (the home of Bang Gang). The smooth 80’s sounds achieved by the vocals of Annie work well as we move into ‘Dare’ by Gorillaz. Moving out of the opening stages we are greeted by varying tempos and a cocktail of vocal and samples. Another highlight early is the huge jazzy bassline and dirty vocals of Ignition’s ‘Love Is War’. From here the boys explore an array of twisted sounds, quirky vibes and lots of techy goodness laced with raw percussion and accompanied by lots of layering of vocals and samples.

With the inclusion of ‘Rock Your Body’ by Kiko and Tom Neville’s remix of ‘Destroy Rock & Roll’ the middle of the mix explores familiar territory that are not mixed superbly, but mashing together 24 tracks in 70 minutes isn’t easy! The funky, cheesy, smiling vibe created by the boys at their club night is very presented in the mix, this is demonstrated in their wicked mix of ‘Flat Beat’ with the accapella of Daft Punk’s ‘Technologic’. Always keeping it irreverent the boys weave through a host of random samples and off-kittler quirky-as-your-grandmothers-dentures tracks. Approaching the latter stages of the mix the intensity increases and it’s not hard to see the audience getting lost. This doesn’t last long as we are bombarded with one of the best closing stages of a mix I’ve ever heard.

The beginning of the end sees Soulwax’s ‘NY Excuse’ played the whole way through, layered with a juicy 80’s-esque accapella creating a huge crowd friendly build-up. The excitement doesn’t end as we are greeted with the vocals “Show me your tits… and let’s make a hit”; the sleaziness doesn’t cease as we are greeted by the rock bad-boys Bloc Party. I don’t want to give too much away, but the tracks in the closing stages all work so well, it’s the closest thing to being there! From tight-black-jean rock the boys casually walk right into heavy synth driven arcade inspired electroclash, the energy and anticipation doesn’t cease as the jive-worthy ‘Night On Fire’ by VHS Or Beta signals the musical end of the mix. The fun doesn’t stop though as the boys include some stupid yet fun old-skool sounding gems to close off the first round.

It’s safe to say the first CD is there to keep the punter and fans that dig their clubnight happy. Luckily for those who like twisted electro out of left field there’s a second disk. It’s my personal pick! It starts with rude vocals layered over tough 80’s inspired electro. The early stages of mix flow better than the first CD and are the kind of the stuff you hear at Bang Gang before and after the peak hours. Highlights early are flawless layering of the accapella of Tiga’s ‘Louder Than A Bomb’, Justin Robertson’s mix of ‘The Creeps’ and a top shelf remix by electro new-comer Sharam Jey. The mix keeps the dancefloor very warm with Tiga’s ‘Jack The Box’ flawlessly encrusted with ‘Ghet’s Noch’ accapella and a host of quick mixes. With only a few tracks exceeding 3 minutes in length the flow is slightly questionable in my opinion. That aside, the closing stages of the mix are enviable. It all begins with huge, off the scale bomb courtesy of Thomas Schumacher, the flawlessly zapping electro riff and big echoed vocal work brilliantly into a new ‘soon-to-be-famous’ gem called ‘Popper’.

I really liked the Bang Gang guys exploring more ‘proper electro’, that would be my only suggested improvement for the inevitable follow up to this compilation. The closing stages of the mix will have you jumping around the room. The huge riff of Mayer’s mix of ‘Yes Sir, I Can Hardcore’ work marvellously with the bassline in Sikk’s ‘My Washing Machine’ (not to mention the flawless layering of a host of accapellas!). As usual, the boys leave giving the crowd what they want, the last 4 tracks are gems, buy the CD and see what I’m talking about!