Xploding Plastix - 2003 - The Donca Matic Singalongs

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Westbam - 2002 - Right On

		1		Recognize		2:59
		2		Inner City Front		3:31
		3		Roots. Rock. Riot		3:24
		4		Coras Corner		6:38
		5		World Rebellion Plan		3:19
		6		Oldschool Baby		3:59
		7		Psycholectro		4:10
		8		The Disco in My Head		5:22
		9		4th Floor		5:15
		10		Right On		4:00
		11		Air Max		4:58
		12		Bleiben und Abfahren		5:22
		13		Backstage Kings		5:22

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Deee-Lite - 1990 - World Clique

Its reputation may rest on only one hit single -- but what a hit. "Groove Is in the Heart" defined the summer of 1990 on radio and MTV with its delicious combination of funk, modern dance sheen, and Lady Miss Kier's smart, sharp diva ways. Add in guest vocals and bass from Bootsy Collins (a pity his hilarious video cameo wasn't represented here), brass from the original Horny Horns duo of Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker, and a smooth mid-song rap from A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip, and the results sounded good then and now. The rest of World Clique offers variations on the song's theme, with Kier's sweet, light vocals and DJs Dimitri and Towa Tei making it work in various ways. It's still a bit surprising that Kier didn't go on to greater fame on her own, because she definitely has not merely the pipes but the personality to carry something on her own -- compared to the dog-whistle vocal calisthenics of someone like Mariah Carey, there's no contest. Check out her work on songs like "Good Beat" and the amusing sass of such numbers as "Try Me on, I'm Very You." The two musicians come up with a seamless, adept flow throughout, merrily raiding whatever they so choose in the past for their own purposes. Disco is the heart of it all, with everything from hip-hop breaks to bubble-salsa piano -- even early Depeche Mode! -- taking a bow; hints of the future genre-mashing Towa Tei would make his own trademark are already plentiful. Bootsy and the Horny Horns crop up at other points as well, adding just enough classic funk to blend with the crisper electronic pulses and arrangements.

		1		Deee-Lite Theme [*]	Deee Lite	2:10
		2		Good Beat	Deee Lite	4:40
		3		Power of Love	Deee Lite	4:40
		4		Try Me On...I'm Very You	Deee Lite	5:14
		5		Smile On	Deee Lite	3:55
		6		What Is Love?	Brill, Kirkby, Tei	3:38
		7		World Clique	Deee Lite	3:20
		8		E.S.P.	Deee Lite	3:43
		9		Groove Is in the Heart	Deee Lite	3:51
		10		Who Was That?	Deee Lite	4:35
		11		Deep Ending	Deee Lite	3:47
		12		Build the Bridge	Deee Lite	4:32

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M People - 1997 - Fresco

M People spent a considerable amount of time on Fresco, the group's fourth album, crafting a record that would break them out of the Europop straitjacket and establish them as an international dance-pop act. In other words, Fresco is less a club album than it is a radio record, filled with carefully constructed songs with strong rhythms, sturdy hooks, and pop-soul melodies. Too bad that much of the record simply isn't as memorable. Sure, there are several potential singles with naggingly catchy melodies and the entire production is appealingly glossy and accessible, but the songs simply aren't there and neither is the charming, unashamed brashness of their early work. A few songs -- the garage techno of "Angel St.," the catchy house of "Fantasy Island" and the sweeping orchestrated pop of "Just for You" -- make the album worthwhile, but on the whole Fresco is a distressing step backward for a group that had yet to make a false move.

		1		Just for You	Heard, Pickering, Small	6:01
		2		Fantasy Island	Heard, Pickering, Small	5:39
		3		Never Mind Love	Heard, Pickering, Small	4:24
		4		Last Night 10,000	Heard, Pickering, Small	5:13
		5		Smile	Heard, Pickering, Small	6:04
		6		Red Flower Sunset	Heard, Pickering, Small	4:57
		7		Angel St.	Heard, Pickering, Small	5:31
		8		Lonely	Heard, Pickering, Small	4:46
		9		Rhythm and Blues	Heard, Pickering, Small	4:17
		10		Believe It	Heard, Pickering, Small	5:08
		11		Bohemia	Heard, Pickering, Small	3:28
		12		Avalon	Ferry	6:02

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Underworld

Underworld became one of the most crucial electronic acts of the 1990s via an intriguing synthesis of old and new. The trio's two-man frontline, vocalist Karl Hyde and guitarist Rick Smith, had been recording together since the early-'80s new wave explosion; after two unsuccessful albums released as Underworld during the late '80s, the pair finally hit it big when they recruited Darren Emerson, a young DJ hipped to the sound of techno and trance. Traditional pop song forms were jettisoned in favor of Hyde's heavily treated vocals, barely there whispering, and surreal wordplay, stretched out over the urban breakbeat trance ripped out by Emerson and co. while Smith's cascade of guitar-shard effects provided a bluesy foil to the stark music. All in all, the decision to go pop was hardly a concession to the mainstream. The first Underworld album by the trio, Dubnobasswithmyheadman, appeared in late 1993 to a flurry of critical acclaim; the trio then gained U.S. distribution for the album with TVT. Second Toughest in the Infants, the group's sophomore LP, updated their sound slightly and received more praise than the debut. Unlike the first, the LP also sold well, thanks in part to the non-album single "Born Slippy," featured on the soundtrack to the seminal film Trainspotting.

The roots of Underworld go back to the dawn of the 1980s, when Hyde and Smith formed a new wave band called Freur. The group released Doot-Doot in 1983 and Get Us out of Here two years later, but later disintegrated. Hyde worked on guitar sessions for Debbie Harry and Prince, then reunited with Smith in 1988 to form an industrial-funk band called Underworld. The pair earned an American contract with Sire and released their debut album, Underneath the Radar, in 1988. Change the Weather followed one year later, even though little attention had been paid to the first. By the end of the decade, Underworld had disappeared also.

As they had several years earlier, Hyde and Smith shed their skin yet again, recruiting hotshot DJ Darren Emerson and renaming themselves Lemon Interrupt. In 1992, the trio debuted with two singles, "Dirty"/"Minneapolis" and "Bigmouth"/"Eclipse," both released on Junior Boys Own Records. After they reverted back to Underworld, 1993's "Rez" and "MMM...Skyscraper I Love You" caused a minor sensation in the dance community. Instead of adding small elements of techno to a basically pop or rock formula (as many bands had attempted with varying success), Underworld treated techno as the dominant force. Their debut album, Dubnobasswithmyheadman, was praised by many critics upon release later in 1993 and crossed over to the British pop charts. Hyde, Smith, and Emerson impressed many at their concert dates as well; the trio apparently relished playing live, touring Great Britain twice plus Japan, Europe, and the annual summer-festival circuit, where their Glastonbury appearance became the stuff of legend.

Dubnobasswithmyheadman was released in the U.S. in 1995 after being licensed to TVT Records. During the rest of the year, Underworld were relatively quiet, releasing only the single "Born Slippy." Finally, Second Toughest in the Infants appeared in early 1996 to much critical praise. The trio gained no small amount of commercial success later in the year when "Born Slippy" was featured on the soundtrack to Trainspotting, the controversial Scottish film that earned praise from critics all over the globe. Underworld also remained busy with Tomato -- their own graphic-design company responsible for commercials from such high-profile clients as Nike, Sony, Adidas, and Pepsi -- and remixing work for Depeche Mode, Björk, St. Etienne, Sven Väth, Simply Red, and Leftfield. Emerson continued to DJ on a regular basis, releasing mix albums for Mixmag! and Deconstruction. Though Underworld's 1999 LP Beaucoup Fish was initially a disappointment, critically and commercially, the band continued to tour the world. The live album Everything, Everything followed in 2000, after which Emerson left to continue his DJ career. A Hundred Days Off, Underworld's first LP as a duo since 1989, was released in mid-2002. One year later, the stopgap compilation 1992-2002 appeared.

By 2005, the duo had officially been joined by one of Britain's most respected DJs, Darren Price (although he contributed to A Hundred Days Off), and his work also appeared on a series of online-only EPs Underworld released during 2005 and 2006. They also recorded new material for the soundtrack of the Anthony Minghella film Breaking and Entering. Their first "proper" full-length since 2002, Oblivion with Bells, appeared in 2007.

1996 - Second Toughest In the Infants (2CD)

Underworld - 1996 - Second Toughest In the Infants (2CD)

On their second album, Underworld continue to explore the fringes of dub, dance, and techno, creating a seamless, eclectic fusion of various dance genres. Second Toughest in the Infants carries the same knockout punch of their debut, Dubnobasswithmyheadman, but it's subtler and more varied, offering proof that the outfit is one of the leading dance collectives of the mid-'90s.

		1		Juanita/Kiteless/To Dream of Love	Emerson, Hyde, Smith	16:36
		2		Banstyle/Sappys Curry	Emerson, Hyde, Smith	15:22
		3		Confusion the Waitress	Emerson, Hyde, Smith	6:47
		4		Rowla	Emerson, Hyde, Smith	6:31
		5		Pearls Girl	Emerson, Hyde, Smith	9:36
		6		Air Towel	Emerson, Hyde, Smith	7:37
		7		Blueski	Emerson, Hyde, Smith	2:55
		8		Stagger	Emerson, Hyde, Smith	7:37

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Van Dyk, Paul

From early Berlin techno and house through to progressive trance, producer/DJ Paul van Dyk has soundtracked the German electronic dance scene ever since he moved to the city and began mixing in 1988. A native of a German town near Frankfurt, van Dyk first heard house music on the radio during the mid-'80s. Soon he was experimenting with a rudimentary turntable setup, and after hitting Berlin, he gigged around the city. By 1991, he had appeared at the legendary Tresor club; he later set up his own E-Werk club, and debuted on record as Visions of Shiva, with fellow trance wizard Cosmic Baby. He remixed for New Order, Humate, Sven Väth, and others, then signed to the German MFS Records for his first album, 1994's 45 RPM. By the midpoint of the 1990s, van Dyk had become a globe-trotting DJ and remixer. His second album, Seven Ways, resulted in British and German dance chart entries for the singles "Beautiful Place," "Forbidden Fruit," and "Words." While both of his albums were issued in America during 1998, van Dyk added a remix collection (Perspective) and mix album (Vorsprung Dyk Technik) to his discography. 2000 saw the release of the single "Tell Me Why (The Riddle)," the album Out There and Back, and the EP We Are Alive. As a follow-up to global club dates in support of those releases, van Dyk released another EP, Columbia, in mid-2001. After a relatively quiet 2002 (on the recording front), van Dyk returned with a mix-album/greatest-hits/DVD (Global), the soundtrack to a film (Zurdo), and a new production album (Reflections). He released the second volume of his Politics of Dancing mix album series in 2005 and returned with another studio album, In Between, in 2007.

2005 - 1121-Orchestral Show

Van Dyk, Paul - 2005 - 1121-Orchestral Show

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Tei, Towa - 1998 - Sound Museum

Not many producers could juggle vocal tracks by Kylie Minogue and Biz Markie, plus a bossa nova cover of Hall & Oates' "Private Eyes," but Towa Tei does an excellent job of uniting a disparate mix of club-centric grooves. There are several highlights, but none better than Biz Markie's sprightly, infectious "BMT."

		1		Sound Museum	Tei	3:28
Composed by: Tei Performed by: Tei, Black Bottom Horns
		2		Time After Time	Tei, Viv	5:13
Composed by: Tei, Viv Performed by: Tei, Viv, Amel Larrieux
		3		Happy	Bahamadia, Tei, Viv	5:07
Composed by: Bahamadia, Tei, Viv Performed by: Tei, Viv, Bahamadia
		4		B.M.T.	Biz Markie, Mos Def, Tei	3:28
Composed by: Biz Markie, Mos Def, Tei Performed by: Tei, Biz Markie, Mos Def
		5		Higher	Tei, Yano, Yavahn	4:13
Composed by: Tei, Yano, Yavahn Performed by: Tei, Yavahn, Akiko Yano
		6		Corridor		2:35
		7		GBI (German Bold Italic)	Minogue, Tei	6:58
Composed by: Minogue, Tei Performed by: Tei, Kylie Minogue, Haruomi Hosono
		8		Tamilano	Tei	4:17
		9		Private Eyes	Allen, Allen, Hall, Pash	3:51
		10		Everything We Do Is Music	Tei	10:31

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