Various Artists - Afterdark vol. 3, mixed by Roger Sanchez & Laidback Luke

New York house don Roger Sanchez backs up his third edition of the popular Afterdark series. Focussing more on his self-confessed ‘dark side’, Sanchez and his padawan Laidback Luke have hit us up with 2 discs of deep, driving and moody beats that are firmly aimed at the dance floor of the wee hours. Those used to Sanchez’s more uplifting side should be prepared for an assault of some much tougher beats, touching on electro, prog, tribal and tech vibes along the way. Laidback Luke’s sound goes even harder towards the electro edge on his manic disc.

The S-Man kicks his disc off with the urban house number Lick Them Lips from Charles H. Brown & Tuccillo. All the Mr V fans will definitely dig this sound, as they will DJ Disciple’s Rise Up later in the mix. In typical Sanchez-style mixing we are half way into the second track before the first has even finished, with Pier Bucci’s Hay Consuelo, with Samim stripping down the original to the most basic of beats giving full credence to the ghostly Latin vocals.

After thumping the beats out, we are offered up some tasty vocal moments with Prime 33’s ‘Burn’ (the Deadmau5 mix) and Dario Nunex & David Veo’s A Chance, a dirty house number sure to please. Sanchez’ electro-tech alter-ego comes to the surface with tracks such as Quiver’s Dancing In Dark Rooms (*Jim Rivers* mix). Unlikely bedfellows, Jim Morrison of The Doors sits alongside mid-nineties trance star Da Hool in his cover of the classic Light My Fire. This is actually a pretty cool track, if only for kitsch value. One of the highlights on the album would have to be Johan Ilves’ Campfire Stories – bold, crunchy synths punctuated this tribal house journey.

Laidback Luke is definitely not ashamed of his production work, featuring himself on no less than 9 of the 15 tracks on his disc. He kicks things off with his remix of 2000 and One’s Pak Pak, a track that builds to Everest. His touch of the classic Plastic Dreams from Jaydee isn’t a bad effort, giving it the requisite bigger beats needed for a mix such as his. It is however his remix of seminal club classic Push the Feeling On from The Nightcrawlers that is most disappointing, it takes great skill to really mess up a good track but Laidback Luke is just the man to do it. All is almost forgiven when Le Knight Club’s (ha ha get it?) Rhumba comes on, a funkier bass line is not heard elsewhere across both discs. Simple yet butt-shakingly effective. The closing track, a collaboration with Swedish house mafiosos Angello and Ingrosso takes shape in It. Warehouse party flashbacks take over as the siren and acid bass line takes the disc out.

It’s no surprise that Sanchez steals the show with his disc, tight, clever mixing and an excellent selection of tough beats are sure to appease the masses. Laidback Luke misses the mark however, taking the more-bleeps-the-better approach, resulting in a gurner’s breakfast of a mix. There are a couple of moments where he shines but all in all it was too messy. For those seeking something the commercial side of underground and some slamming drums this is the one for you. Handbag housers duck it.

In a word: Driving.

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