Following in the footsteps of some of the world's leading DJs Danny Howells picks out a few of his most influential records in compiling (and remixing) his latest release - Choice, A Choice Collection of Classics. Danny joins a who's who of long standing legends that have graced this Azuli compilation that includes Jeff Mills, Louie Vega, Derrick Carter, Francois Kervorkian, Tony Humphries, Frankie Knuckles, John Digweed and Danny Tenaglia.
"There’s not a lot I don’t listen to," says Danny, in relation to the styles he's included in his Choice, A Collection of Classics on Azuli; his style as crazy as his wardrobe, consistently cramming the funkiest of house with the most acidic of techno. The Choices release follows on from the huge success of his Global Underground 027 Miami CD (released earlier this year) and his new Dig Deeper residency at The End in London which has also been a storming success.
On speaking about the release in more detail Danny said, "When I was asked by David Piccioni at Azuli whether I'd be interested in joining some of my musical heroes such as Jeff Mills, Tenaglia, Kevorkian etc, in compiling two cds of my favourite records of all time, my response was quite simple. Dream come true! I don't think there's anybody out there who would turn this down - this is one of the most fun and exciting projects I've ever been involved in, and to say that I'm pleased with the result is an understatement.
"He along with a stack of the key tracks that influenced me during my first few years as a DJ, by legends such as DJ Pierre, David Morales, Todd Terry et al, I've also been able to include tracks that influenced me at an earlier age. Some of my all time favourite records are on here, Carly Simon, The Temptations, Iron Butterfly, Orbital etc. It's a very honest and personal selection, and I really hope people enjoy my Choice as much as I enjoyed putting it together."
The full Choices tracklisting is below, prepare to get your funk on.
Danny Howells - Choices Tracklisting
CD1
01. Urban Soul ‘Alright’ (Original Mix)
02. T-Coy ‘Carino 90’
03. Turntable Orchestra ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me (Extended Club Mix)
04. Fire Island ‘In Your Bones’ (Vocal Mix)
05. Fire island ft Ricardo Da Force ‘Fire Island’
06. Pleasure Done ‘8 Minutes of Techfunk’
07. Photon Inc ‘Give a Little Love’ (Tha Wild Pitch Mix)
08. PM Dawn ‘A Watchers Point of View (Todd Terry Melody Mix) (DH Edit)
09. Ce Ce Peniston ‘Keep Givin’ Me Your Love (Boss Mix)
10. Chito’s Revenge ‘Oracion’
11. Hocus Pocus ‘Hocus Pocus (Magical Trance Mix)
12. Slack ‘Painkiller’
13. Ready for Dead ‘Ready for Dead (Ambient Mix)
CD2
01. Sub Sub ‘Space Face (DH Edit)
02. Coldcut & Hextatic ‘Timber’ (Oringinal Version)
03. Michael Bundt ‘The Brain of Oscar Panniza)
04. Japanm ‘Ghosts’
05. Iron Butterfly ‘in a Gadda Da Vida
06. The Tempations ‘Papa Was a Rolkling Stone’ (DH Stripped Down Mix)
07. Faze Action ‘Plans & Designs)
08. Black Science Orchestra ‘Save Us (Funky Music)
09. Visnadi ‘Hunts Up’ (NoFutureNoPast Mix)
10. Visnadi ‘Racing Tracks (Indianapolis Drive Mix)
11. Orbital ‘Impact’
12. Holy Ghost Inc ‘Mad Monks on Zinc’ (Original Mix)
13. Black Science orchestra ‘Save Us’ (Funky Music) (Intro Reprise)
14. Carly Simon ‘Why’
The release is still a while off with the album set to hit stores January 30, 2006. The launch party will take place in the week prior to release at London's AKA on Thursday 25th January with a full set of 'Choice' tour dates still to be confirmed.