(Pump-Kin Music/Rajon)

Pump-Kin Music is the brainchild of Italian electro maestro Benny Benassi, founded to “open a channel for new producers from all over the world”. Admirable intentions indeed – Benassi promises to personally listen to every track submitted to the label. But to establish a sound for the label and get contributions flowing, Benassi has compiled a bunch of tracks which personally excite and inspire him. Far from being yet another electro-lite hits collection (I’m looking at you, multinational dance label…), Cooking for Pump-Kin Phase One is an exceptionally fresh, consistently high quality selection, ranging from easy to love electro to relentless tech house.

Zdarlight is a stunning exercise in funky, bass-heavy electro from German wunderkinds Digitalism. Despite their provenance, the Digitalism sound is distinctly French (there are definite echoes of early Daft Punk), seething with attitude and irresistable hooks. Definitely my personal pick of this mix. Time Slide By from Les Visiteurs (a Boris Dlugosch side-project) shifts into dirtier, more minimal territory, with snarly punk vocal courtesy of Tommie Sunshine. Moonbotica’s excellent Listen continues in the darker vein, an unsettling juxtaposition of grinding electro and haunting piano and vocal samples.

Tomas Andersson’s Washing Up has garnered quite a bit of attention recently, due in large part to Tiga’s remix treatment. It’s an interesting remix, but far from the best thing on this disc. On a similar tip, Sikk’s Washing Machine is a driving, brain-smashing adventure in modern electro. The vocals are dumb (“My washing machine does not work, someone fucked my washing machine), but the track is an absolute stormer. Here’s hoping a vocal-less dub surfaces soon. 

Trentemoller recently worked wonders on Yoshimoto’s Du What U Du, with their definitive remix of the track becoming one of the most memorable dance releases of recent years. Their reworking of Matthias Schaffhauser’s Coincidance is equally good, showing a tougher side to their distinctive style. By the last few tracks, the melodic fluff has been completely stripped away, with a run of tough, minimal numbers from Francesco Farfa, Bellone and Mario Piu. Serious, no-prisoners, main-floor stuff. It’s all a bit much for home listening, but I certainly wouldn’t be complaining on the dancefloor.

Bennassi’s mixing throughout is so unobtrusive this could almost be called unmixed. Which is absolutely fine, this kind of compilation is about the tracks, not turntable artistry. All in all this is an exceptional mix, and a timely reminder that there is life in electro yet.