James Zabiela was once the fast rising prodigy of electronic music; one of the few ‘next generation’ DJs to rise to the top purely on the back of his DJ skills, rather than as a producer. Now the boy is all grown up. Renaissance have officially donned Mr Zabiela as one of their ‘Masters’, and given him the reins of their enduring Masters Series umm… series. With some seminal releases already under his belt, including 2004’s ALiVE (notable for his amazing utilisation of the CDJs) and Utilities from 2005 (which incorporated CDJs, Ableton and an EFX1000, along with extensive notes from the man himself explaining what we was doing), JZ has always used the compilation format to try and push things forward. This release is no different. Taking the well-worn approach of providing a downtempo/uptempo double disc release, Zabiela infuses his own flavour by layering recordings taken from his day to day life – snippets of street conversations, airport lobbies and random quotes.

The first CD – the ‘Down’ disc – is a thoughtful, layered, textured and deeply satisfying collection of music. From the delicate, fractured beats and soft pads of Cyan341 to the restless, icey synths of Boards of Canada, the mix meanders its way through a thousand subtle moods, touching at many of the different and diverse corners of electronica. Beautifully programmed and interspersed with Zabiela’s own recordings, this is the kind of music you want to listen to in a dark room with nothing but your imagination and plenty of time. From the delicate beginnings, the mix truly comes alive with the stunning arpeggios that lilt and sway through R3volve’s All That You Lost. The music reaches an exultant conclusion with the surprising drum n’ bass sounds of Chasing a Feeling from Quivver, before melting into a remarkably peaceful conclusion in the form of Departing Gate from Near the Parenthesis. While many DJs have tried their hand at compiling a cohesive downbeat mix, this surely ranks as one of the best.

The second disc is a more straight-up affair – a collection of the kind of tech, prog and various twisted beats that we’ve come to expect from Zabiela. The early stanza is deep, a touch discordant and even a little disconcerting. Proceedings open with the chunky bass of Komytea’s Afghanistan before transitioning into the swirlingly chaotic melody of Paul Woolford’s Surrender. Twisted layers of tech from Extrawelt and Spectre continue the brooding introduction, until some melodic release arrives in the form of another pumping Komytea cut, Professional Killers. It’s perhaps the fact that the beats seem so familiar that on the whole, this mix never really reaches any real heights; it’s surprisingly subdued, despite a suitably melodic conclusion.

There is certainly the odd bit of JZ trickery to be found – some scratching and subtle use of effects are laced throughout both mixes, but they never pull the focus from the music. While the ‘Up’ disc is not really my cuppa and falls a little flat, this release warrants a speedy purchase on the strength of the ‘Down’ disc alone and firmly places Zabiela’s name alongside the likes of Hernan Catteneo and Dave Seamen as a worthy addition to stable of Renaissance Masters.