This release from Ministry of Sound sees the Australian collective do something a little different, and focus on giving exposure to the latest and greatest in underground house sounds. A huge selection of music lies across three CDs, with each mixed by a different house guru. We get everything from the deepest of house to dirty, funky sounds, with plenty of techno influences thrown alongside a little bit of progressive. It makes for an interesting listen, and will certainly give fans of Ministry of Sound an insight into how vast the house realm can be.

One of San Francisco’s finest Justin Martin takes responsibility for the first cab of the rank and starts us off on a nice, deep feel laced with some straight up house and garage sounds. It intrigues you right from the start with the trippy and weird introduction of The Capacitron by The Martin Brothers and from here, the CD flows beautifully with some smooth mixing and second-to-none track selection. It brings more of a minimal feel at the start with the likes of Kutasi and Lessons Pt 1 before moving into some more deep and dark vibes. It cruises on through and picks up a little towards the end with some more upbeat gems like Symphonia and the zappy, crescending Voxer. Quirky, bumpy tech that bears a lot of similarities to what we heard from him on his recent Australian tour, and it’s an absolute win.

Klaus Hill is a UK expat who relocated to Australia several years ago and he picks up where the first CD left off, kicking off with a bit more bounce, jive and pizzazz. It’s a little bit more than your typical straight-laced house sounds, initially medium-tempo and deep before soon kicking over into some punchy bass from Renaissance Man, and getting a little experimental with a numbers like Chinagora Bioxxx Bounce. The twists continue with more upbeat progressive numbers like Rio and Bonkers, even adding some old school house flavours from the early 90s before finishing with party house winners like Being Bad Feels Pretty Good.

Style of Eye takes the end game mix and adds his own take on things, with a distinct techno and tech house feel. It starts a little dirty and minimal, before a bit of bounce and energy picks it up a few tracks in with Bumping in the Air, before getting a little sassy with Foxy. Style of Eye’s own remix of the Lilly Allen track Not Fair adds a progressive element and from there, the vibe takes a slightly different turn with some experimental numbers and even a few industrial, dark tracks. A couple more experimental numbers take us towards the conclusion with some weird, soulful vocals and bizarre samples, with Style of Eye’s own Grounded winding in as the finishing piece.

The Underground 2009 is not what you would normally expect from a Ministry of Sound collection. However, as the title states this is full of underground sounds, and I think it’s great that Ministry are looking to help push other sounds outside of mainstream house. Each CD is cleverly mixed and programmed, making it a well polished and oiled collection. Hopefully it’ll get some mainstream punters listening outside of the box, and exposing them to some new sounds. Styling and sexy.

Check out the tracklisting…

Disc One – Justin Martin
01. The Martin Brothers – The Capacitron
02. James Braun – Lessons Part 1
03. Matthias Tanzmann – Kutaisi
04. Cruz – Tanquito
05. Michael Melchner – You Understand
06. Mike Monday – I Am Plankton (Pezzner Mix 20)
07. Harrison Crump – Gone (Bingo Players Remix)
08. Tim Green – Kich In
09. Zombie Disco Squad – Vie!
10. Zombie Disco Squad – The Dance
11. Maetrik – Show Me
12a. Laidback Luke – Generation Noise (Afrojack Remix – Riva Starr Re-Chunk)
12b. Justin Martin – My Angelic Demons (Riva Starr Re-Chunk)
13. Blatta & Inesha feat. Ask – Blow Up (Hijack Remix)
14. Fake Blood – Mars
15. Style Of Eye – Retur 2
16. Hatzler – Shore
17. D.H.S – House Of God (Phonique Remix)
18. Click Box – Voxer
19. James Braun – Symphonia
20. Claude VonStroke – Storm On Lake Saint Claire

Disc Two – Klaus Hill
01. Dance Area – AA 24 7 (Noob Remix)
02. Wolfgang Gartner – The Grey Agenda
03. Chase & Status ft. Kano – Against All Odds (Dave Spoon Remix)
04. Adam Shaw – Engage
05. Renaissance Man – Spraycan
06. Afrojack – Do My Dance (Sidney Samson Remix)
07. Big Dope P – Chinagora Bloxxx Bounce (Oliver $ Remix)
08. Armand Van Helden – Illin N Fillin It (Jamie Fanatic Doo Doo Mix)
09. Bumblebeez – Rio (Boy 8-Bit Remix)
10. Santiago & Bushido – All That I Can Say
11. FUKKK OFFF – Rave Is King (Zodiac Cartel Remix)
12. Dizzee Rascal & Armand Van Helden – Bonkers (Club Mix)
13. Klaus Hill – Ghetto Tek
14. Jesse Rose – Touch My Horn (Crookers Remix)
15. rackNruin – Skitzo VIP
16. Dada Life – Happy Hands & Happy Feet (Alex Gopher Remix)
17. Diplo & Laidback Luke – Hey! (Original)
18. Roots Manuva – Do Nah Bodda Mi (Red Light Remix)
19. Foamo – Wardance
20. Last Japan – Oi!
21. Bloody Beetroots feat. Steve Aoki – Warp 1.7
22. Does It Offend You, Yeah? – Being Bad Feels Pretty Good (Klaus Hill Remix)

Disc Three – Style of Eye
01. Style of Eye – Entro
02. Luca Lozano – It’s Wild Out
03. Piemont – Bumping In The Air
04. Style of Eye – Road Race
05a. Alex Celler – La Palma
05b. Style Of Eye – Grounded (Acapella)
06. L-tzenkirchen – Foxy
07. V V Brown – LEAVE! (Style Of Eye Remix)
08. Lily Allen – Not Fair (Style Of Eye Remix)
09. Mark Broom – Meltin Pot
10. Skylark – Krakatoa (Joel Mull Moodswing Remix)
11. Heckmann – Silverscreen (Butch-s Special K Remix)
12. Deepgroove & Jamie Anderson – Juggernaut
13. Fake Blood – Mars (Style Of Eye Remix)
14. Empire Of The Sun – We Are The People (Style Of Eye Remix)
15. Popof – Serenity (Noob Remix)
16. Julian Jeweil – Marjo And Linda
17. Andr- Winter – Trauma
18. Style Of Eye – Grounded