It seems ironic that Paris is the world’s most popular tourist city, yet its clubbing and dance music culture rarely feature on its visitors’ “must do” lists. Suffice to say; it is no surprise that it has taken thirty (or rather twenty-nine) volumes of the famous Global Underground series to finally reach this celebrated world city. There are no prizes for guessing whose name appears alongside this city for Global Underground #030. The name of this DJ also appears alongside a selection of otherwise uncelebrated clubbing destinations throughout the series. I am of course referring to Nick Warren.

Global Underground has of course showcased the talents of legendary DJs like Sasha, Digweed, Tenaglia and Oakenfold, amongst others. These big names chose to stick to the well beaten clubbing track by taking in destinations like London, Los Angeles and New York. Nick Warren, on the other hand, prides himself on putting his equally as legendary name alongside destinations that would normally elude the staple gun of any international clubbing itinerary. Warren has chosen Paris because of its emerging new wave of clubbing culture. The series is all about profiling a city’s atmosphere, its people, its dance music scene and its sound, by means of two mix CDs, Nick Warren seldom fails this mission objective.

Late last year Nick Warren performed a set live at Paris’ The Mix Club, which would form the inspiration for GU#030. This instalment is quite similar to Nick Warren’s GU#024: Reykjavik release, in that one disc is devoted to a more laid back selection of tunes whilst the second mix ups the tempo and invites us to the dance floor. What is different about this mix from the aforementioned gem, as well as other Nick Warren GU mixes, is that the melancholic melodies have given way to something just a little bit different and something very special.

I cannot help but wonder about what my impressions will be of Paris when I arrive there for the first time one day. The first track from CD1; ‘After’ by the Space Gypsies, seems to sum up this curious feeling quite well. I am sure the city’s romantic side won’t be the first thing that I see. This moody chill-out track, with its cold piano instrumentation, had me thinking about the depraved, underprivileged dark side of Parisian lower class life, rather than the better off, artistic, avant garde and eclectic side of the city.

‘Strange Parallels’ is the second tune from Warren’s CD1 mix, and it flows on magically following “After.” My high school English teacher once said to me that “you can always tell what the temperature is like whilst a piece of music is being made or recorded.” This brilliant teacher of mine is a passionate black metal fan but these words ring true in that ‘Strange Parallels’ has a very wintry feel to it. If you don’t want to stay in the dreary cold weather for too long, don’t worry! ‘Zusammenallian’ by Audioglider increases the tempo and liveliness of the mix with its dreamy undertones and a sumptuous broken beat.

Nick Warren could be telling us of his own first impressions of the city. He has achieved what I think is the objective of the Global Underground series; to inspire us to think about the city in question. After ‘Zusammenallien’ invited me to step inside a beautiful Parisian bar, the drifty, moody feeling returns with ‘Sedatives’ by Nova. This is an elegant tune, laden with violins and a broken vocal sample. My imagination is inspired by this track. I hope that Paris’ nightlife and bar/club culture is as eccentric, eclectic and electric as this track would have me believe.

The mood of the mix settles down and remains at a constantly relaxed level until Warren unveils another masterpiece by Tripswitch, which is called ‘Roll Your Own’. A folky sounding guitar can be heard underneath a gentle beat. This is one of those chill out tracks that has a mood which can almost be described as being “uplifting.” Nick Warren’s CD1 mix has been masterfully mixed, the flow of each track from one to the next is perfect. The best transition between tracks occurs between ‘Roll Your Own’ and Cates & DPL’s ‘Living In A’, the latter of which is a complex creation to say the least. Its melody had me thinking of Parisian cuisine and where to go so as to avoid the mediocre and overpriced food that is served near Paris’ famous tourist traps.

Another major difference between Warren’s Reykjavik and Paris GU CD1 mixes is their level of intensity, and the structure of each mix. Reykjavik gets very dark, heavy and stormy during its second half, whereas Paris maintains its subtlety for the majority of the mix. If I had to pick out a standout track from this mix, it’d be the aptly named ‘Lonely Planet’ by Aurtas. Perhaps the iconic travel name should talk to the people behind the Global Underground series about rectifying their terrible ‘Six Degrees’ series’ theme music. ‘Lonely Planet’ is the only track on this mix CD that takes on a dark and heavy mood.

Joey Fehrenbach’s ‘Behold’ flows on magnificently, again it is a dark and drifty tune but its beat is nowhere near as heavy as that of its predecessor. The more I listen to this mix, the more I absolutely love it. About the only criticism that I would have for it, and this is a small one, is that it is too morish… Listening to the mix is a lot like drinking a fine champagne, I did not want to reach the bottom of the glass so quickly. But why stop at the champers when there is a night of indulging in the finest cocktails, as well as immersing oneself in the thick of Parisian dance floor culture, on offer? It is time to go out dancing! It is time to put on CD2.

Truth be told, I really did not know what to expect from this mix, just as I do not know what to expect from the Parisian dance sound. Given the write-ups that I had seen previewing this mix, I imagined that Nick Warren was about to go all minimal on us. This isn’t quite the case though, as Nick Warren’s CD2 mix is a finely mixed cocktail featuring liberal measures of house, electro, progressive and melodic, non offensive trance. Believe me when I say that this mix will take more than just the one listen to fully appreciate it.

CD2 gets off to a great start with the sweaty, soaking wet bassline of ‘August’ by I Miss. This track, along with ‘Sweep’ by Blue Foundation, seem like they are the one track given the brilliant manner in which Warren has mixed them together. ‘Sweep’ itself is a soulful, melodic vocal house number that would ordinarily befit my expectations of the Parisian sound. The only reason as to why this track does not befit my expectations is that I would imagine hearing this sort of tune in a cafe rather than in Paris’ up and coming club scene.

With electro being the commercial sound of the moment, it is no surprise that Nick has injected a little bit of this sound into his mix. ‘Head Down’ by Essenvee is not your average electro tune, however. It is quite different to say the least. It’s not hard to imagine the Parisian locals rocking out to this kind of sound as ‘Head Down’ has the words “funky” and “style” written all over it. The funky flavours continue as the exorbitant, ascending an almost trance-like feeling of Pole Folder’s ‘Buenos Airies Bokoto 10pm’ takes over. I would like to say that these are two splendid highlight tunes from Nick Warren’s CD2 mix, but they have far too much competition.

‘Neptune’ by 16 Bit Lolitas follows on brilliantly, and if you like that chunky, funky, punchy electro-type beat and bassline, minus the annoying “in your face” electro synths and attitude, you’ll absolutely fall in love with this track. Nick Warren has opted to mix together two 16 Bit Lolitas tunes as he drops ‘Non Verbal Language’. This track, with its spoken word sample about body language, as well as the dubby melody of ‘Paradise Rockers’ by Habersham & Kazell, cap off a delectably funky section within the mix.

The tempo thus far is kept at a fairly relaxed level, however given how funky some of these tunes are, the mix is anything but ploddy. Progressive naysayers should especially give this mix a go even if they are adverse to anything electro in nature. After ‘Paradise Rockers’, Nick Warren shifts the momentum of his mix towards a more traditionally progressive feel. ‘Fivefivezero’, by Oliver Moldan and Isma Ae, flows on quite well, even though its tempo is significantly greater. It could be said that this track has something of a traditional prog-trance feel. Miika Kuisma’s ‘One Morning by the Riverside’ is Warren’s next tune, and again the tempo has been altered (going back down this time), but the mood remains quite melodic.

I cannot help but notice two qualities of Nick’s CD2 mix; one is that it must be played loud, and the second is that so far I have heard a selection of tunes that, to me, pan out just like a good club set. ‘I’m Lost’ by Ohmna keeps up the present trance-like moodiness. The melody of this track has a descending aura to it, whilst its melody illustrates the ‘I’m Lost’ title perfectly. Did I mention that this mix is unfolding like the perfect club set? Nick Warren’s intuitive ability to read a crowd has been captured on CD, as demonstrated by the fact that the next tune lifts the mood straight back up again. ‘8 Bit Era Dub’ by Eelke Kleijn is another subtle, non offensive electro gem.

Strange as it may seem, I am enjoying the subtle electro influence. I am not talking about that boring electro sound which big name prog DJs turned to before it became “so 2004”, I am talking about good quality, funky and spicy house music. The subtlety factor has proven to be Warren’s secret weapon. For those of you out there who do like a good quality, fully fledged electro track (which isn’t too offensive), you will be more than satisfied by this CD’s closing track; which is called ‘Blackout’ by Tannen. I imagine that Nick Warren chose this track as his encore following an inspirational The Mix Club performance.

If Nick Warren’s Global Underground #030: Paris mix CD is anything to go by, Paris is one very exciting clubbing destination. If it is as eclectic, funky and stylish as the sounds showcased across both CDs, I will be there with bells on. As I have mentioned, it took me a while to really appreciate this mix. The more that I listen to it, the more I think that the glory years of this well known series have been revisited. If you are undecided as to your opinion on this mix, turn up the volume and really listen to it properly. In the meantime I am looking forward to Nick Warren’s tour of Australia as well as my very first visit to the City of Love.