It’s a funny coincidence that, while listen to this album, I am in the middle of reading Last Night A DJ Saved My Life; a bible of some sort in the history of DJing. Its relevance to this album lies with two tracks that a large proportion of modern music owes a great deal of gratitude to:

First is ‘Planet Rock’, originally laid down by Afrika Bambaataa and Arthur Baker, however the version on this album is live funk with heavy eastern influences. Far from being a copy, it pays homage in a fresh and inspiring way.

The second track is one that I have never had the pleasure, at least consciously, of hearing. The original version is an anthem to early DJs and modern crate diggers, recorded by British rockers Babe Ruth. ‘The Mexican’ has been covered and sampled a million times, but this version is an explosive Latin melting pot of heavy drum breaks, afro funk and psychedelic space jazz.

The art of crate digger is far from lost, and you need look no further than the sampling of eighties trash by most dance artists in the mainstream charts to see it. But, for the more discerning beat head, this album represents those that are still on a never ending search for the perfect break. Whether it’s from an unknown Romanian funk band, or a cover of a classic, this album has it all.