(Wagram/Creative Vibes)

When I received this album I was genuinely intrigued. The album is called “Tribal Mix 4”, yet it was described as house.   So into the CD player in my car it went and whilst I wouldn’t describe this music as tribal, I certainly enjoyed trying to work it all out!

The album begins with “Watch The Sunrise“, a track that starts with an intriguing Spanish flamenco guitar, but as soon as the beat arrives becomes camper than a row of tents!   Normally this sort of Oxford Street, Mardi Gras, cheese is guaranteed to infuriate the life out of me, but this little tune is so infectious and well, happy, that I couldn’t help but like it. Then the mix takes a surprising turn by morphing into a wonderfully light progressive-style number with some funky bass lines.   The vocals on “Promised Land” put it on the house side of progressive, but even so, it’s so different from the opening number that the listener is both engaged and slightly confused all at once.

This sense of confusion is only heightened when the house theme resumes with Antoine Clamaran’s “Let’s Get Together” and the magnificent “Let it Play” by Kujay Dada.   The latter of these tracks is actually a re-working of the 1984 club classic (read one hit wonder in 1980’s speak) by Shannon, which although it came too late to be described as “disco”, that’s what most people called it.   Back in the 1980s I was a sullen moody teenager, full of angst and with a hatred of anything that dared to even smile, so naturally I loathed the original.   But this version has me dancing in my car so wildly that I elicit stares of amazement from the other people stuck in the jams with me.   If this doesn’t put a smile on your face, you’re either a moody teenager, or you’re dead!

Back in the early 1990s “progressive” was just a term coined to describe house music that had a harder edge.   It still contained all the rising pianos and the soaring female vocals typical of the house music of the day but it was just deeper and tougher.   This mix by Philippe reminds me of that early stage of progressive music.   While the music on this CD is house, by upping the energy without delving into the darkness, Phillipe manages an unusual balancing act which ends up somewhere between house and progressive: an act that both pleases and impresses me.

There are some interesting little cameo sounds that crop up from time to time throughout this mix.   One of them is the voice on “Want a Gay” by Laurent Pautrat.   I’m not sure if the name of the track is a statement, a question or a business proposal, but the voice sounds decidedly like the one that says “House Pumping” on Bumps 90s classic by the same name which appeared on the original mix for Renaissance by Sasha and Digweed.   Another example is a sample from “Pump up the Jam” which is featured in Philippe B vs Todd Terry’s “Can you feel it”. Another track which I am sure I have heard somewhere before, but can’t place, is “Body Rock” by Raw Shape.   I keep expecting a screaming female vocal to sing “I believe, I believe, I believe” every time I hear it, but I don’t know why.   Answers on a postcard to the usual address please!

There are a few tracks on this mix which have the potential to become annoying; but somehow this manages to be a mix where even things I usually don’t like put a smile on my face. There’s an exception to every rule, of course, and on this mix the track “Washing Machine” is a definite exception.   The music itself is surprisingly good; in fact, take the vocals out and it’s a stormer of a track.   But for some reason the producer, in their infinite stupidity, decided to “fuck” the track.   The vocal consists of a voice, an android version of Bob Downe, complaining that someone has engaged in intercourse with his washing machine and now it no longer manages the simple task of cleaning his clothes.   Why an android would need clothes is beyond me, but then so is French humour and maybe therein lies the root of the problem! (no pun intended)

That little gripe aside, however, I must admit that I am really taken with this album.   The fact it’s called “Tribal Mix 4” but there isn’t a tribal track until Austin Leeds’ “Violence”, the last track on the CD, doesn’t phase me one iota.   Call it Euro Electro House and Progressive, call it electronic music, call it Daphne and dress it in a pink frock for all I care, I would rather just listen to it and enjoy it.   If you like house, or the lighter side of progressive, then there’s a huge chance you’re going to love this.   Even if you’re a miserable git, you’ll probably still enjoy it, but you won’t be able to tell everyone like I’m going to!