After years of releasing masses of generic compilations, Defected seem to be taking a different tack and releasing mix albums that are a little left of centre. Recently Gilles Peterson weighed into the space usually occupied by the likes of Masters At Work, Bob Sinclar and others with his eclectic collection of sounds. Now underground house man Charles Webster is having a crack. On Defected Presents…Charles Webster, across three discs Webster provides us with a collection of his favourites over the years. Disc one encompasses a deeper house sound, we then move into a collection of random tracks that don’t sound like they are going to work, but do, and finally a disc of Charles Webster’s exclusive releases and remixes under his various guises.

Webster opens up with the lush sounds of Warren Harris’ Cottage before continuing on a deep house tip, not a Nude Dimensions deep sound but a proper deep sound. Understated beats and sparse instrumentation are definitely the order of the day. Dropping in the highly underrated Kings of Tomorrow’s _Chang_s’ is a delight as is the classic Detroit number I Can’t Kick This Feeling When It Hits from the elusive Moodymann. Seemingly not confined by the expectation of the average Defected mix, Webster’s includes the reprise of Rosie Gaines Closer Than Close, no beats for almost two and a half minutes is great and acts as an interlude before we get back into it the beats

The lush sounds of Plaid’s Ralome open up disc two, as we meander along to the down tempo grooves, Black Sabbath’s softer side comes up in Planet Caravan. Webster has certainly dug deep, throwing everything into his mix, the jazz fusion piece Ene Alantchi Alnorem from Girma Hadgu was a treat, Brian Eno’s boring as hell Deep Blue Day less so. For those who like their music left of centre will love this disc but it may go over the heads of others and dismissed for being too eclectic. It certainly was a surprise to see a Cranberries song appear on a Defected mix.

In total indulgence for his third disc, Webster piles together the music of no doubt his favourite artist – himself. Going from the down tempo sexiness of Ready (Unreleased Vinyl Mix) to the stripped down house beats of I’m Falling (Paris Bordeaux Mix), it’s good quality stuff to boot. His remix of the almost 20 year old When I Fell In Love from UBQ Project is a great finishing touch and definitely leaves the listener feeling warm and fuzzy.

Webster has managed to sell over 100,000 albums but hasn’t had any big hit singles; he circles the edge of the house and downtempo scene, not willingly to get dragged into either. Rather he sets his own style and rules and he has been kind enough to give you a little insight across three discs. It is unlikely that you will love each disc, as straight up house fans might find themselves bored with the off-the-wall sounds on disc two and those after something a little deeper and down tempo may be overwhelmed by the beats on disc one. Regardless there is something on here for everyone.

In a word: Original.