In the forever overcrowded dance music compilations market, previous releases from Seamless Recordings have always been conspicuous for their endearing quality. Most of them mine a house-based vein, but the Later series explores more eclectic territory. Following in the footsteps of Bent and Faze Action, UK disco-house collective Crazy P(enis) have put together a nice little mix of after-hours tunes, exploring a balanced selection of different sounds to create an entertaining journey that goes beyond the standard content typically pushed by these kinds of late night compilations.

The tracklisting displays a variety of sources, with the Crazy P team fusing some unsigned obscurities with tracks from some more established acts, as well as throwing in a few of their own tracks and remixes. Smokey, smooth jazz is the name of the game in the early stages of the mix. The psychedelic hues of Post Office’s Rust make for an engrossing start, and Into My Life from Crazy P’s Jim Baron, in the form of his Ron Basejam alter-ego, delicately rolls along on layers of wandering double bass, brushed drums, hand claps, piano, and strings. Bugge Wesseltoft & Sidsel Endresen’s Try radiates with a stark fragility, which is then turned on its head by the restrained, tripped-out funk of Dom B. Sensi from Those Norwegians.

A bit further on, things begin to get more dancefloor oriented, with the electro-disco of Owusu & Hannibal’s Lonnie’s Secret, and then it’s over to Crazy P themselves, first with Hot Toddy’s (Crazy P’s Chris Todd) instrumental cut Late Night Boogie, which pretty much does what it says on the tin, and then the group’s Never Gonna Reach Me, which contains all the elements of a classic Crazy P track – seductive vocal, funky bass, steady guitar riff, and solid beat, that all build to a glorious peak.

From a comedy perspective, track of the mix has to be George Double’s Breast Meat. A standard funk workout, with a niggling little brass riff, underpins a London geezer-esque rap that acts as social commentary on the perils of trying to get a decent feed from a takeaway. It’s a tune of sheer genius, and contains such classic lines and rhymes as “Sorry man it just clicked in my mind/ This chicken shop’s just for the blind/ They can’t see this stuff you got on offer/ This chicken that looks like it’s just been run over,” (it sounds better than it reads).

The mix then returns to the funkier end of town with the old-school sounds of The Traveller Part 2 from The Haggis Horns. Credited to Crazy P pres. The Syndromes, The Hit starts off as a synth-driven disco-funk track that halfway through transforms into a fantastic vocal-led slice of warped disco. No mix can claim to be funky without tipping its hat to James Brown, and on here PBR Streetgang reference the man himself on their J2thaB, while We Funk the Party from Tahuna Breaks, in the form of a storming Crazy P remix, brings proceedings to a close.

There’s an air of subtle elegance around all of this that is immensely appealing. The mix ebbs and flows with just the right amount of pace, and it never veers into that depressing blandness that permeates so many chill-out / back to our place / end of the night / you’re not rich enough to come in this bar-type compilations. It’s definitely worth checking out, and it will certainly stand up to repeated listens further down the line. Quality music like this never goes out of fashion.