Jimmy Van M's latest release, Balance 10.1, is a great mix that is unfortunately named.
Having no connection to his previous 3-CD offering Balance 10, it's destined to be confusing for fans. Especially given 10's focus on down tempo after-hours music. But the focus of this new single disc is to delve back with a laser focus into a proper club mix. 10.1 is shaking a groove and distracting you long enough to buy your girlfriend a drink.
Jimmy's specialty lies somewhere between progressive house and minimal techno, and finds kinship with the likes of John Digweed and some of the more recent offerings from Dave Seaman's Audio Therapy label. It's what "IDM" might actually be if that term/genre hadn't already been confiscated by artists wandering off into experimental irrelevance.
Make no mistake, though, Van M's music is meant for the clubs, it isn't meant to be an academic exercise. But that doesn't mean it can't also have some class.
The mix starts off gently enough with Moonbeam's "Uaret," a tasty but gentle, bubbling rise of an opener that would fit nicely into one of Sasha's sets. From there, things quickly find their tempo for the rest of the disc with a remix of Planet Funk's "Static" and the Radioslave remix of Unkle's "Burn My Shadow" (which, just for the record, bears practically zero resemblance to the original).
The more melodic tracks, such as Stephan Bodzin's "Cucuma" and Umek's "Carbon Occasions," help give the mix some added depth. Although the style of the disc remains fairly consistent throughout, there are enough dynamic peaks that it never suffers from a slump into minimal techno that wears out its welcome. The remix of James Figurine's "555666888333" does a good job of exemplifying this by balancing a driving backbone with a gentle chord progression.
Some of the standout cuts include Mouse Down's peak-time "Sexy 4 All" and Julian Juweil's "Air Conditionné", which delivers an excellent and lush epic dimension to the set.
Overall, Balance 10.1 is a nice mix that fits in very well with Jimmy Van M's Bedrock and Balance roots. Fans would do well to not overlook this one.
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