Daniel Wang is set to release a two disc compilation celebrating 15 years of his Balihu imprint next month.

Rush Hour Recordings has commissioned the effort, marking the first time that much of Wang's material has made it onto the CD format. Early hits, unreleased material and plenty of Wang's friends are heard throughout. The first disc is devoted solely to Wang tracks from 1993 through to 1997, while the second includes tracks from other producers such as Brennan Green, Ilya Santana, Masssimiliano Pagliara and Carlos Hernandez, reflecting Wang's slow process of opening the label up to outside influences. We caught up with Wang to talk about the release, which will come in limited edition, numbered (1000 units) deluxe DVD packaging.

Does this release mark the end of Balihu, or just the start of a new chapter?

It is definitely NOT the end, but it is sort of a conclusion of "the first 3 phases." In the first five or six years I was quite unknown, so I had no choice. Balihu was the only way to release my tracks. Now, I no longer feel like my production has to depend on the existence of this label. If the music is good enough, I'm glad to let other people handle the sales and legal aspects. Honestly, it is getting too difficult to sell vinyl, and I don't know if Balihu ought to start releasing CDs...

You've been a little quiet on the production front of late. What can we expect from you in the near future?

Near future—hard to say! There are several excellent tracks sitting on my hard drive for three or four years now, unfinished. I feel like I've been lazy, enjoying all the travel and parties and the openness of life in Berlin, but that initial hunger which drove me in the mid '90s is long gone. In the future, though, just beautiful songs. I hate to say "more mature," but that's the idea. Vocals from myself a la Tony Bennett meets Amanda Lear? Hmmmm.

Your only commercial mix CD was a Japanese-only release and is now quite sought after. Do you have any desire to produce another one in the near future?

Yes. MANY people have proposed mix CD concepts to me, but the biggest problem is getting legal licensing for all the tracks I'd REALLY like to compile. The mix CDs have been done in my head a long time ago and keep getting revised, but they're mostly instrumental compilations of my own edits and improvements of rarities from Alec Constandinos, Cerrone, Voyage, Jacques Morali, American jazz and pop... No "electro" or "italo," it's all real strings and guitars—the tracks I play in my sets. Maybe I should just do this illegally because it will never happen in a legal way!

Tracklist
CD 1
01. Daniel Wang - Like Some Dream
02. Daniel Wang - Get Up Get Up
03. Daniel Wang - Warped
04. Daniel Wang - On The Moon
05. Daniel Wang - East Village Hustle
06. Daniel Wang - The Twirl
07. Daniel Wang - In The Street
08. Daniel Wang - In A Golden Haze
09. Daniel Wang - Free Lovin
10. Daniel Wang - Glow Worms
11. Daniel Wang - Seven Shadows
12. Daniel Wang - Disco Delay
13. Daniel Wang - ADSR
14. Daniel Wang - Iye-ubao
15. Daniel Wang - Ah n'Arrete Pas
16. Daniel Wang - NYTK (1978 mix)

CD 2
01. Daniel Wang - Thousand Mirror Moon
02. Daniel Wang - Lets Go to Mars
03. Daniel Wang - Solarian Six
04. Carlos Hernadez - Shyboy 123
05. Brennan Green - No Matter
06. Daniel Wang - Zeit ist Ein Fluss
07. Daniel Wang - Blau Drei
08. Brennan Green - Behind the Ocean
09. Brennan Green - Nolitas Magnet
10. Ilya Santana - Crystal Sea
11. Ilya Santana - Wicked Sequence
12. Massimiliano Pagliara - Beach Birds

Rush Hour will release Daniel Wang's Presents Balihu 1993 -2008 in September 2009. 13 Comments