Ask any ghost and they’ll tell you that if you absolutely have to die, drowning is a pretty sweet way to go. Once you’re through the initial shock you drift away into a candyland of exotic dreams and delicious visions. A bittersweet and chillaxing experience. Apparently. A very similar thing happens when you experience Harbour Boat Trips 01. There’s the initial trauma of unmet expectation. But let yourself be lured beneath the waves and you’ll find yourself in an enchanted watery garden of musical treasures.

I’m going to skip to the end for a second and mention here and now that the final track is killer and worth the wait. Hope I didn’t spoil it for you. Back to the review.

Harbour Boat Trips 01: Copenhagen is the first in a series of releases from the spanking new label HFN. And it’s the first mix album from Anders Trentemoller. Its setting is Copenhagen because Anders is from Copenhagen. Genius. Anders has recently seduced us with icy delicacy on The Last Resort, his debut artist albums. He’s bent our little brains as well, with some twisted live sets and wicked remixes of Bookashade, Modeselektor, Royksopp, Moby, Depeche Mode and The Knife. And all before strudelbreak! He’s without question a proven operative. But if you were expecting a cranking DJ mix jammed with Trentemoller production wizardry, guess again! Anders has headed out of the club and into his loungeroom, ransacked his CD shelves and made us a mixtape of his favourite chilling/hanging/vacuuming-the-harbour-view-condo tracks ever.

Tight beatmixing has given way to crossfades that drift from one track to the next. And his selection is totally diverse with tracks chosen from across the last 30 years and ranging from acoustic lyrical ballads to psychedelic indie nugaze to minimal experimental electronica.

Initiating us into Trentemoller’s liquid world we’re seduced with haunting acoustic lullabies like Grouper’s Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping and Icelandic siren Emiliana Torrini’s Lifesaver. Five tracks in, and you’ve swayed along to Danish newcomers I Got You On Tape and peaced-out to American vintage guitar/Hammond Organ drifter Gila from Beach House. By now you’re starting to wonder if you’ve accidentally downloaded a 70’s Christian Folk Compilation.

Then salvation! The guitars are all plugged in and the reverb cranked to 11 by the Brian Jonestown Massacre with jangly 90s shoegazer Anenome. A weird experimental track Back to the Burner from The Hypothetical Prophets (Proroky) pulls some fancy sonic effects that totally conceal the fact that this track was created in 1981, using analog studio trickery and actual tape loops.

To satisfy your beat-needs, Anders borderlines into progressive house with a hint of danger, dropping David Garcet’s New Wave Mix of Confidence between a subtle electro tripper from the UK’s Muscleheads, and chilling but beautiful labwork (a la Burial) from Rennie Foster with Devil’s Water.

Of course he’s dropped three of his own remixes. His production Vamp gets a ‘live edit’ that finally shows off his mighty mixing skills. And his remix of The Raveonettes’ cover of Joy Division’s She’s Lost Control rocks out with some serious passion. But the master stroke is the final track. _The Trentemoller Edit remix_ of Copenhagen, a nod to the city’s live bands from the Copenhagen Collective, mashed up with 80’s classic Soft Cell’s Tainted Love. It’s a total ripper.

From the acoustic ambience of the first track, to the cranking electro of the final, Harbour Boat Trips 01 is a progressive work of love as Anders Trentemoller shares his favourite tracks. It’s an eclectic collection, and even a quick scan through the tracklist sets you up for the descent to your watery grave beneath the Copenhagen Harbour! Ghosts, devils, beaches, death, life, burial, rescue, eternal sleep. Watery enchantment edged with a melancholy and darkness. Both on paper and musically, this mix is a delicious peek into his take-home toybox for when he’s feeling suicidal.

The Enchanted Ingredients:

01 Grouper – Heavy Water/I’d Rather Be Sleeping
02 Gravenhurst – I Turn My Face To The Forest Floor
03 Emiliana Torrini – Lifesaver
04 I Got You On Tape – Somersault
05 Beach House – Gila
06 The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Anenome
07 The Raveonettes – Aly, Walk With Me (Nic Endo Remix)
08 The Hypothetical Prophets (Proroky) – Back To The Burner
09 Suicide – Cheree
10 Muscleheads – Phosphorescence
11 David Garcet – Confidence (New Wave Mix)
12 Rennie Foster – Devil’s Water
13 Caribou – Melody Day (Four Tet Remix)
14 The Raveonettes/Trentemoller – She’s Lost Control
15 A Place To Bury Strangers – I Know I’ll See You
16 Suicide – Ghost Rider
17 Khan – Fantomes
18 Trentemoller – Vamp (Live Edit)
19 Two Lone Swordsmen – Kamanda’s Response
20 Copenhagen Collective/Soft Cell – Copenhagen (Trentemoller Edit Mix)/Tainted Love