- Inflight Sessions is Danny McMillan's output mix series for showcasing his current fascination with the deeper, darker and techier side of the breakbeat spectrum. His first CD introduced us to the McMillan sound and while it was mixed nicely, I personally found the track selection a little uninteresting, possibly due to the fact that there were around 2 other compilations out at the time which featured some of the same tracks. Now it's mix number 2 and McMillan's pulled out the latest tunes from his record box including new releases from his own Inflight label.
One half of the 2 Sinners, Klaus "Heavyweight" Hill opens up the mix with The Big Man - a chilled out, atmospheric breaks tune to set the tone and with it's emphasis on the top end rather than the bass makes for a swell start to the mix. The chill out session doesn't last long as Distraction Diversion's Diversion pumps up the bass and rolls out the funkier breaks, with some 70's funk style bongos and dub effects thrown in the mix.
TCR's Chris Carter keeps the bass booming on Botty Funk, which draws influence from the Plump DJs sound especially with that housey breakbeat pattern. No messing around with one of breakbeats heavyweight producers.
Another one of breakbeats heavyweight producers is my favourite, Meat Katie and he appears here twice, both collaborative efforts, firstly on the dark tribal style of Juju alongside Elite Force. If you have it on vinyl, check the Apollo Kids remix for some rolling breaks style. Meat Katie then teams up with Lee Coombs for Not House Music - damn straight! it's breaks music and this time, they've shed their tribal-house/breaks crossover style for more of a funky breakbeat affair.
A mix CD isn't complete without a few tracks from the artist that mixed it so McMillan appears with partner Tab on the teched-up and funked-up Momentary Lapse. Check the techy melody for some of that ol' skool acid 303 throwback. Rolling Thunder lives up to it's name - it's a breakbeat roller, and the thunder comes from the deep, growly vocals and the high-pitched tech stabs appearing on the track. Last but not least (in fact probably the best on this album) of McMillan & Tab's tracks is Above The Clouds bringing the deep and heavy bass in tune with a crisp rolling breakbeat and sweet drum fills. If you liked their other tunes like Lost World, Supersonic and Detroit, then these 3 tunes should appeal to you.
McMillan brings the mix to a close with Precision Cuts' Psychedelic Squeezebox - a track which relies on the basic elements of breaks and bass, with a few female vocal stabs on top, bringing the techy stirrings and wash effects in the middle - in other words, get remove the mayhem on top and wind down the mix.
For a mix that FreQ Nasty calls sublime on the CD sticker, this is a pretty charged up selection of breaks tracks (hmmm I wonder what FreQ Nasty must be up to in his lab then?). 02 is definitely better than the first one and it's easy to see why the label is called Inflight Entertainment - with the amount of drivel being offered on airlines headsets, Inflight offers breakbeat fans a perfect alternative. Turn it up loud or play this one in the background.