When one thinks of the Renaissance label, one tends to picture upbeat house and progressive sounds. When I first started listening to the mix collection from M.A.N.D.Y (the duo of Patrick Bodmer and Phillip Jung), I knew I was in for something at least a little bit diverse and unique. Over two CDs, M.A.N.D.Y manage to cram in a whopping 44 tracks (yes, that is 44!) of everything from the most chilled ambience to upbeat tech house, to uplifting progressive to down tempo lounge house. Even with the large tracklisting, none of the mixing is rushed, the CD flows perfectly despite the diversity in sound, and it really is a true testament to the talent that has put this together.

The first CD comes perfectly in the most subtle and well placed ebbs and flows where MANDY entrance you with very spacey, ambient numbers and can then raise the tempo before seducing you back to a dreamlike state once again. Wave Mind by Shed starts the CD off with a down on low feel in mind, entrancing and mesmerising us. Just when you wonder if a beat is coming through this floating electronica, Sit Down Relax by Toby Deschamps hits the bass although not too much tempo and even a little funky. The house trail then winds down an interesting path with all kinds of sounds from dark and sombre, to a little tech house on Walking Home and even gets a touch on the progressive side with Perfect Day. Just when you think it will keep on the up and up, another subtle re-direction in traffic grounds you again back to chilled sounds and even the popular La Ballade Du Georges makes an appearance here. This is the perfect, sink back and lose yourself track which has made a number of appearances in mixes of recent and also could not be better placed. Still not one for staying put as yet, MANDY keep you on your toes and do add more up tempo house sounds like the deep and haunting Paper Moon or even funky The Light 3000. By the end of the first CD, your appetite for sound is screaming for more!

The second CD is more house-focused, but contains 26 plus one bonus at the end! It’s a feat how they fit all this into seventy minutes of CD but they did and did it masterfully. Gimme by Kenny Larkin kicks off proceedings here with a little primitive touch before we get stirred into another melting pot of extensive sounds. Strange Behaviour adds something different with a little soul and jazzy twist, This is My Friend gives uplifting vibes with some laid back string instrument accompaniment and we spike at one point to a sneaky progressive number with Bonafied Lovin’.

The amazing thing is that the music flows so well, it is hard to hear when one track stops and another starts. Everything seriously blends that well! Just when you think you have heard it all, we even getting old school house sounds with Eat The Positive and Eucalypse Now. Some really well oiled and polished house sees us out towards the end before ending with an awesome piano solo in The DJ by DJ Hell.

Most of these tracks are, on their own, from genres that I do not normally listen to. However, after being masterfully melded together by the gurus in M.A.N.D.Y, they craft this into a spectacular, aural masterpiece which I thoroughly enjoyed and I know I will enjoy again. Definitely left me with a bit of a ‘wow’ factor at the end and M.A.N.D.Y is one act I will most definitely keep an eye on in the future. Real artists rocking the air waves!