(International DeeJay Gigolo/Inertia)

Helmut Grier, aka DJ Hell, the punk antichrist of  the ego driven, and often over hyped world of the super star DJ returns with the 9th compilation on his very own Gigolo Records label. With a roster of artists from different spectrums on the pop charts, like the much over hyped PR machines of P. Diddy and Grace Jones, to well established electro artists such as Felix Da Housecat and Fisherspooner, to more underground unknown artists like Kiko and Gino, Hell has managed to spread the entire music sphere within the space of 90 minutes.

CD one opens with the bizarre pairing of P. Diddy and Felix Da Housecat, both of whom leaders in there respective genres, the union is part of Diddy’s dalliance into dance music, and it’s not bad, but it hasn’t exactly set the dance floors alight. The same could be said about Anthony Rothers remix of Miss Kitten and The Hackers “1982”, as an original, a fantastically chaotic mix of eighties synths and Kittens hauntingly robotic vocals, but it isn’t done any justice here. Therein lies the problem on the first CD, as it feels like your trying to get into an exclusive club, where only a handful of people understand the concepts behind the music. Maybe this is what Hell had in mind, especially after tackling Grace Jones’s “I’ve Seen That Face Before”, giving it a more soulless edge, almost to the point of nausea. However there are some saving graces (no pun intended) in the form of Bodzin & Huntemann’s “Black Ice”, with it’s sleazy electro synths and Mikes Perras’s “Beginning of Life”, which for some reason reminds me of Frankie Knuckles “Whistle Song”. In the end UHU, do there best to bring in a bit of gloomy disco beats, but it does little to save this side of the album which was for the most part was pretty boring.

What the first album lacks in anything remotely interesting, is generously compensated by the second CD. There are so many great tracks on this side, it was hard to believe that it came from the same sleeve as the first CD. The first track that caught my attention was Xlover’s “Suckerbox”, which has a very addictive bass line. Elsewhere Kiko and Gino’s “Good Sluts Factory” lives up to it’s name, with it’s filthy lyrics and even nastier beats, a band called Freaks revives the no wave punk stuff that’s ever so hot right now and Digitaria shows us how to do a robot voice right with a quirky track called “Teen Years”.  And then, just when you thought the common theme was going to be all electro, Hell throws in a really dark techno track by Mick Wallis, which goes down like a treat. But my favorite track is by far “Transmission” by Replica, definitely the trashiest moment on the album with its dots and bleeps, creepy samples (I think a dog barks somewhere) sounds like what Aphex Twin would be making if he was doing electro. Not far behind (literally, cause it’s the next song) is another punk number by a great band called Sonido Lasser Draker, which sounds like it should be on some warped version of sesame street.

So the question remains, what kind of an album was Hell trying to make here? The first CD truly didn’t make an positive impression on me at all, I would have been more than happy with just the one mix.  But then again, others who listen to the first CD might find things you like on it, Hell obviously has a lot of pulling power by way of gathering these tracks, and is probably trying to make electro a little more accessible. But at the end of the day, there’s no doubt that Hell has an eclectic taste, something that always shows up in his mixes, and therefore puts him one step ahead of everyone else.