- A lethal concoction of electro, breaks, punk, house and tek (at least that's whats stated on the cover), Mashed is the mix compilation CD which feels like it should have been released twenty years ago - mixed by none other than local heroes, The Wok DJ's (made up of Hussle head honcho Declan Lee and Tim McGee) on the first CD and the very versatile Ajax on CD 2.
CD 1: Punk House & Dirty Breaks mixed by Wok DJ's
Goldfrapp's Train sets the first CD in locomotion and Goldfrapp have done well to give the tune a real chug-a-long feel thanks in part goes to the swingtime beats and clever female vocals. From one well done tune to a really crap one, what's up with those vocals on Tiga's cover of Nelly's Hot In Herre? Tiga have turned the anthemic Neptunes produced tune into something of a jackin' 2-stepper (with a little hint of their Justin Timberlake beats) yet ruined it completely with lame vocals.
Moguai are represented yet again and there's no surprise that both U Know Y and The Rock appear in the mix this time however, the Wok mash em both up with acapellas.
Green Velvet's Genedefekt sits on the same theme that made La La Land such a popular tune - dark techno beats and twisted vocals - sidling up alongside it is the more lighthearted Way Of Life by Stylophonic featuring the vocal stylings of Digital Underground.
Continuing on the hip-house theme is Mekon's one hit from 2000 - What's Going On? featuring the rhyme styles of Roxanne Shante' with Junior Cartier on a house remix tip, whereas Basement Jaxx go all ragga house on their classic Hold Ya Lighta - before they got signed to XL Records.
Bad Cabbage gets rude on their tune Your Rude (Get Fucked) which I personally think is just another tune that will ride off the success of it's title and nothing else while Audio Bully's don't seem to give a fuuuuuuuuu%k on their punk/house hybrid We Don't Care.
Kid Creme brings back the hip house on the four to the floor thump on Down And Under and Felix Da Housecat's Silver Screen - Shower Scene still retains it's classic status and makes for a welcome inclusion here. Andrew Kornweibel and Tony Neal form Presser and their tune Radio gets cooked up by the Wok into an 80's disco/electro affair and it's good to see the locals getting represented on local compilations.
CD 2: Retro Tek mixed by Ajax
Whether he's playing tech house, hip hop or breaks Ajax is known for mixing it up in style at the same time pulling out the bootlegs which add a certain degree of spice to a mix. (Sometimes they are known to spoil the recipe too!) Ajax kicks off his mix with what feels like a electronic synthesiser version of Jimi Hendrix's Star Spangled Banner this time done by Mr Negative, right before Gary Numan sings about Cars - I was just a baby when this baby first came out and yet it still rocks dancefloors to this day! Considering the mix is called Retro Tek, this is the only tune which goes back farther than 3 or 4 years - it's hardly retro!
Sunship remix Basement Jaxx's Jus 1 Kiss into a subtle 2-step reworking and Detroit Grand Poobah's Sandwiches gets mashed up by Ajax to include both the Krafty Kuts remix and the sleazy detroit tek of the original - nice! Sean Kosa keeps the electro vibes going on Rent Is Due while Tube and Berger's Wunderbar is just of those tunes that breaks and house DJ's can't seem to get enough of.
Someone that definitely deserves to be on this CD is Les Rhythmes Digitales considering his love for 80's disco and synthesisers and Disco II Disco makes for a fine inclusion before Ajax brings the tempo down for Grand Popo Football Club's Men Are Not Nice Guys - laidback, jazzy beats and a sassy female on vocals, I could almost believe her if I wasn't a nice guy myself. Still on the female vocals tip is the melancholy Seventeen by Ladytron.
Seelenluft's Manila is fast becoming one of the "must have tracks on any compilation for 2003". Ewan Pearson remixes it into an electro tek number and keeps the 12 year old rappers vocals in there.
Overall some pretty good mixes from both the Wok and Ajax but there's nothing REALLY new here - there are plenty of other CD's with similar tracks on them (how many CD's am I going to listen to with that Manilla tune on it? Even more so with Satisfaction, U Know Y and The Rock!) - but Ajax and the Wok DJ's give the CD a little bit of 80's personality, albeit one that wears acid wash denim and white Reeboks. For those who like a little retro flavour to their music, Mashed is the perfect compilation, you can find it in your record store - it's the one which looks like it's wearing too much white face make up, messy pink lipstick and thick black eyeliner!